DL2SXM

I haven't flown UA in years either and theres a good reason for it, all one has to do is peruse all the negative threads on the UA forum.

As for DL, I to will be earning a huge percentage less of skymiles, but Delta claims award travel at lower redemption rates will be easier to find. HAA!! If you believe that then I have a bridge to sell you! Unfortunately, the race to the bottom continues.

heraclitus

I've taken LCCs in the past and had positive experiences, but Ryanair is a bridge too far... the stories of the "eff you" customer service stance is more than I'm willing to deal with. Supposedly they've changed, but I'll give it another 5 years before trying them just to be safe.

ND76

I haven't been on Ryanair since 2006; so I can't comment on what they are like now. I did fly seven different segments with them between 2003-06 and had good luck with them. They are not a business traveler airline; you must get to the airport 2 hours in advance to make sure you don't run afoul of their timing rules (i.e., get to the counter 39 mins 59 secs before departure time and lose your seat and your money, as 40 mins is the cut-off).

In quite a few cases they use general aviation airports with runways of 6,000 feet or more where the local government or chamber of commerce is willing to build them a terminal. Beauvais, France, about 50 miles north of Paris, comes immediately to mind; when I was there in 2006 the landside operation was in a brand new building but airside was essentially a portable dance hall. I've never been there, but the abandoned air force base called Hahn Airport is Ryanair's most egregious example of referring an airport to a distant city (it is something like 124 km or 77 miles from Frankfurt; that would be like the owners of Washington County Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Maryland calling themselves "Washington").

They cut corners in other ways, by not using jetways; many if not all of their aircraft have airstairs built into both the front and rear left doors.

Also, all service items on board are for sale; I heard that the Ryanair FA compensation is based on a commission of a percentage of products sold. I'm not sure whether they still do duty-free.

If you can put up with all of the foregoing, you can get good deals with them. However, they have a ton of LCC competition now. The "legacy" or "flagship" airlines have really taken hits on intra-European service.

heraclitus

I used Hahn airport back when I was a student to catch a Wizz Air flight. I was staying in Mainz so that cut the ride down a bit... it was a long distance but worth it for the savings. Not a fancy terminal by any standard, but as a bargain seeking student I didn't care

European LCCs like Wizz, Easyjet seem a bit friendlier compared to Ryanair, which took glee in refusing to provide any customer service whatsoever. That's why I never bothered to use them.

Lonely Flyer

The poll seems skewed in that many of those polled probably have only experienced 1 or 2 airline and the overall majority would be US based so RyanAir is really an unknown to most.

joshwex90

First, UA doesn't fly BE. That's DL.
Next, their seat isn't "really outdated."
Even if it was outdated, that's no excuse for them being one of the 5 "worst airlines." There are plenty of worse airlines based on their customers, not based on how great a seat that LIES FLAT stacks up to the competition.

And their on-time rate isn't close to the industry's worst, your hyperbole not withstanding.

kp88

they should add tiger airway (AU) to the list

brumbrum

Surely. The #1 in torture goes currently to Wizz ;-)

brumbrum

many many FR segments flown, many times later than t-30 at the gate (no checked baggage, so going directly there), never refused. Not as hot as it seems to be ;-)

HatAndJacket

They had me in agreement for the first two choices of theirs, and no surprise to me that UA makes the list will all the trouble they've had, but last time i checked, unless I'm mistaken, Ryan Air is not a US airline, and if this is supposed to be the world's top 5 worst airlines, no way DL and UA should be on the list... frontier probably shouldn't be either... and the reasons DAL makes the list I don't agree with... I fly them all the time and 99% of the time the in flight experience is great, baggage handling is great, on time efficiency is great, staff is great... I really don't understand those complaints... if they want to complain about SkyMiles and all those garbage changes I understand but to call DAL one of the worst airlines in the US is a dumb statement.

JumboJet

Easy targets. Ducks in a barrel.

santarosaflyer

Crap happens with any airline. I have been flying United for almost 25 years. The difference is with the merged United, the folks at 'customer service' seem to invent reasons to deny any claim. On one international flight, there was a problem with the toilets. The F/A came through and gave us cards to request some type of compensation. Everyone on the plane was given one.

I went on line and completed the information. It took some weeks to get a response. A series of questions as to how I got the card, etc. It was almost like I was committing a criminal act by completing the form. Another month past and I got 10,000 miles. I think they wanted me to just forget it.

flipstah

I guess I have to fly Delta and United more. My flights with them have been delightful (US to Asia with Delta and Canada to USA for United).

Philippine Airlines should be on the list for having old and outdated fleet while charging premium $$$ for fares.

There's a reason why PAL is the only major SE Asian airline that's not part of an alliance.

CPRich

This would be the very definition an an "unscientific poll". UA worse than Air Koryo?

Sheikh Yerbooty

Obviously the list is idiotic; it's compiled from responders from a specific geographic area - an area not unknown for being more than a bit self-centered when it comes to this type of polls.

Someone upthread suggested Wizzair, and it's probably not a bad bet for a bottom feeding sardine-can operator. But is it worse or better than Ryanair or Spirit? Don't know, would you rather die from bubonic plague or ebola?

But you'd need to venture way off the beaten track to find the true horrors; those airlines where actually reaching your destination in one piece is a bit of a miracle. Just down from that will be the airlines who are measuring on time performance in weeks or days, using aircraft where the maintenance records have been lost for decades, and always with a sense of customer service analogous with a crocodiles's loving affection for chicken. You will find these airlines in various parts of Asia, and most parts of Africa. Go give Fly540 of Ghana a whirl, I dare you, and if you survive the ordeal you can tell me more about how horrible it was you could only stuff 2 of your kitchen sinks in the overhead, last time you commuted from ORD to SYR.

You mean the airline that serves up a multi-course hot meal on a 1.5 hour flight, has extremely attentive and charming staff serving in a cabin showing patina rather than neglect, doesn't charge you anything besides the basic ticket price, and does so using aircraft that are rather exotic?