Coverstory
Airlines, Which Ones Match Up In These Changing Times
By Rita Cook
Hardly a week goes by without some type of airline story in the news. Either customers who are being forced to pay for bags when airfares have already gone up anyway or soft drinks and water being an extra charge onboard, having gone the way of food service. However, in the bleak outlook for air travel and with summer vacation upon the masses, there are a few airlines that do offer a bang for the buck even if the buck might not go as far these days.
Asian Airline EVA is a Taiwanese-based airline that was founded in 1989 with its maiden flight taking off in July of 1991. The airline still offers good service, even in economy and with that, there is also lots of legroom. One throwback from the past is the fact that men are not allowed to be flight attendants on board and the women who are flight attendants are young and still wearing those cute hats from the 60s.
Food is, of course marginal, in economy like on just about any other airline these days, but first/business class called Laurel Class is excellent; food and beyond and you will feel like you are staying in a hotel room instead of sitting in a premium class airline seat.
All flights from America filter through Tai Pei, Taiwan's capital, but it's an easy transition and the airport is comfortable and friendly. Once in Tai Pei you can get to just about anywhere in Asia quickly and comfortable with EVA Air flying to more than 40 destinations on four continents, also including Australia and Europe.
EVA or the Evergreen Group's corporate culture is all about innovation, challenge and teamwork and the airline's core values promote safe, punctual flights, friendly professional services and let's face it that is getting harder to find these days at 35,000 feet.
EVA Airline's focus is on flight safety and this philosophy has actually gained worldwide recognition with the airline being awarded the Gold Wing by Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration. EVA Airlines is also ranked as one of the world's top-10 safest carriers by Aero International Magazine in Germany. With as many as 11 new Airbus A330-200s in the fleet, four advanced Boeing 777s for long hauls and eight more scheduled to be in service soon, passengers really do experience all the comforts. Even in the economy section there is a leading-edge sound system.
In business class, or the Premium Laurel Class cabin, each seat is 61 inches from the one in front of it. Compared to existing Airbus A330-200s operating mid-range and short-range flights, EVA Air's Premium Laurel Class cabin seating is definitely the most spacious. Headrest and bottom cushion are fully adjustable and the pneumatic lumbar support and leg rest are
both electrically operated. The retractable armrest allows passengers to stretch and there is also a 110-volt 60Hz universal power outlet for notebook computers and other electronic devices. Each seat is fitted with a telephone for direct dialing to anywhere in the world and LED personal reading lamps that can be fully adjusted for luminance and lighting area.
German service and quality at its best, Luftansa is the must when flying anywhere on the European Continent from the United States or beyond. Big seats, good food and friendly service are just a few of the reasons, but one big selling point is that Lufthansa is almost always on time. Let's face it, that does make a difference these days when connecting flights have most people sprinting through airports like track fields. One airport to avoid a connection in if possible might be Frankfort, unless you have a lot of time. The airport is a city and a large one and it does take some time to navigate, but if you have a few hours to kill it is one of the best in Europe.
Lufthansa also offers over 207destinations in 81 countries, so even if Europe is just a connecting flight to perhaps, Africa, this airline is still a good choice. Lufthansa also just added both Seattle and Calgary routes for the summer so there are more than 280 weekly connections to fly nonstop to 22 North American destinations, major gateways in the United States and Canada being Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington, D.C.
The company is also offering private jet service this summer called the LPJ fleet and featuring nine aircraft from Cessna's to Bombardiers. And, on business class long hauls on those regular Lufthansa flights expect the "PrivateBed," which is the longest bed in business class at 6.6-feet.
One of the youngest fleets, but the most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly, Lufthansa has 513 aircraft with an average of about 10 years. To date the airline is one of the world's 10 largest airlines and the second largest European carrier.
Finally, food on board Lufthansa is better than some restaurants and even economy is premium. In business and first class the Star Chefs program, an in-flight food and beverage service that has been in place since 2000, offers unique culinary options and wines at 35,000 feet.
For Central and South America, TACA, meaning Transportes Aéreos Del Continente Americano (Air Transport of the American Continent) is a good choice. Founded in 1931 and known for years as the worlds largest cargo carrier, the airline flies the El Salvador flag as the home country, but the TACA group is made of up five combined Central American airlines, which are Aviateca (Guatemala), Lacsa (Costa Rica), NICA (Nicaragua), Taca (El Salvador) and Taca de Honduras (Honduras). The airline flies not only in South and Central America, but also has many flights in North America as well including
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, New York, Miami, Dallas, Toronto, Houston, Oakland, to name a few. The logo, five golden macaws flying in formation, actually depict the five original airlines in the group.
Even better, you can charter TACA flights as well so there really is something for everyone. Clean and friendly service is standard on TACA and the food is good as well as regional depending on the destination. When flying to Central or South America on the airline it is also very convenient as there are so many gates and gates agents to help at the many cities, especially in the main hubs, which are Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, Comalapa International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador and Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru.
With a total of 50 destinations around the world, the Los Angeles mayor at one time asked Taca to open a San Salvador-Ontario route and there is also a San Jose-Santo Domingo for those travelers preferring smaller airports.
The fleet currently has four Airbus A321-200s, 25 Airbus A320-200s, seven Airbus A319-100s with 11 Embraer 190 on order. TACA actually operates with the youngest fleet in the Americas and offers excellent business class service on board with big, comfortable seats and all the amenities needed including an excellent audio/video service and friendly flight attendants.
Either love the airline or hate it, but American Airlines is one of the best carriers in North America also being the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection ® airlines actually serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 daily flights. That said the combined network fleet is more than 1,000 aircraft, which means when you get stranded somewhere there is a more of a chance this airline can get you home faster on another flight. In fact, American Airlines alone has more than 655 active jets in their fleet.
American Airlines is also the founding member of the oneworld ® Alliance, bringing together some of the best names in the airline business and allowing for all of these airlines to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. In fact, with all the partners American has it and its members serve almost 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories worldwide.
Like many airlines, American Airlines has, in the past and is currently, facing financial problems. While the company did not go into bankruptcy after September 11, it has turned out that American Airlines led the industry in both labor costs and indebtedness at the end of last year.
The good news with American is there are so many different types of planes flown that depending on where you are flying business class seats on long hauls will be premium (for example from Dallas to Maui the business class seats are sleepers) or even on the shorter flights business class service is still number one with friendly flight attendants and excellent food. While other domestic carriers might be working to catch up with American, the airline does know how to move people from place to place and keep people happy onboard as good as any of the competition these days.
Founded in 1926, a young aviator named Charles A. Lindbergh stowed a bag of mail in his little DH-4 biplane and took off from Chicago for St. Louis. Later that day, he and two other pilots flew three plane loads of mail from St. Louis to Chicago. At the time, Lindbergh was chief pilot of Robertson Aircraft Corporation of Missouri, which was the second aviation company to hold a U.S. airmail contract. It was one of scores of companies that eventually consolidated to form the modern-day American Airlines. The consolidation began in 1929, when The Aviation Corporation was formed to acquire young aviation companies, including Robertson. In 1930, The Aviation Corporation's airline subsidiaries were incorporated into American Airways, Inc. In 1934, American Airways became American Airlines, Inc. American Airlines began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 10, 1939 and that's the American Airlines story.
The airline also recently began charging $15 for the first bag, however Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American Airlines notes, "We have not noticed any change of behavior in passengers carrying on or checking bags this summer. Since our new first checked-bag fee took effect for tickets purchased on or after June 15, most customers traveling this summer will not be affected. Most summer travelers bought their vacation tickets well in advance. We have had absolutely no issues with our baggage policy at any airport across the nation so far this summer. Our customers seem to have taken it in stride."
For an excellent low cost carrier with no frills Spirit Air is really worth the mention. Celebrating its 17th year, the Fort Lauderdale-based airline is the leading ultra low cost carrier, serving 43 markets in the United States, Bahamas, Caribbean, Central and South America with 200 daily flights. With humble beginnings it was in 1980 that the airline, a Detroit-based charter tour operator providing travel packages to entertainment destinations such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas, decided to think bigger. Ten years later, Charter One began scheduled service from Boston and Providence, Rhode Island to Atlantic City and in 1992; Charter One brought jet equipment into the fleet, changed its name to Spirit Airlines and inaugurated service from Detroit to Atlantic City.
Not just content with flying from coast to coast in 2001 Spirit inaugurated service to San Juan, Puerto Rico and implemented a fully-integrated Spanish language customer service plan, including a website and dedicated reservation line. May and June 2002 brought new service to Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as expanded service in nearly every market. Fall of 2003 brought Spirit to Washington, DC's Reagan National Airport and Cancun, Mexico. In fall 2004, Spirit introduced service to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
The airlines goal of becoming the leading low cost carrier to the Caribbean became a reality in 2005 - 2006, with new flights to the Bahamas, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Turks & Caicos Islands with additional service to the Caribbean beginning in 2007 to Haiti, Aruba, St. Maarten/St. Martin, and increased service to Puerto Rico via Aguadilla and Ponce. Low cost service to Latin America began in 2007, with new service to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in Central America, and new service to Peru in South America. In 2008, Spirit added more flights to Latin America with new flights to Panama and Colombia. Spirit also grew to many new markets. Service to Boston; Atlanta; San Antonio; Columbia, South Carolina; Long Island MacArthur; and Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago will all be onboard by mid-2008.
However, if you are looking for high-end frills Spirit Air is not a good choice. The airline charges for just about everything, but the good news is you know it upfront. Spirit's optional services and products include big front seats with over six inches of width, two by two seating and an extra six inches of legroom compared to the deluxe seats. Other options are hotel, car and vacation packages and cruises, event tickets, golf tee times and tours, travel insurance, onboard beverages and snacks and discounted airport parking.
"Spirit is an ultra low cost airline that offers an unbundled product," says Misty Pinson, Spirit Airlines PR representative. "What does that mean for the customer? Like the automobile, brokerage and computer industries, Spirit's approach offers standard product features and options - basically a ticket that gets you safely from point A to point B aboard a new fleet of aircraft with the assistance of friendly staff. A variety of optional add-ons are available for an additional fee, including Big Front Seats, checked luggage, onboard beverages and snacks, seat assignments."
The various fees for each of the services is $15 for the first checked bag if you pre-reserve it online at spiritair.com or $25 for the first checked bag if you don't pre-reserve it online; $25 for the second checked bag. Passengers may purchase a seat assignment in advance from $5 middle seat, $10 aisle or window seat and $15 for an exit row seat, but seat assignments are free upon check-in. The menu of beverages and snacks are various prices as well.
Spirit's fleet consists of Airbus A319s, seating 145 passengers and A321s, which seat 218 passengers. Spirit's new fleet was designed with customers in mind with all leather seats, moveable headrests, and extra large overhead bins. The corporate philosophy began and is still today to maintain the role as a leading low cost carrier to the Caribbean and Latin America and the airline strives to provide low-fares with friendly and reliable service to its customers. In 2007, Spirit unveiled its new ultra low cost carrier brand that celebrates the colors of the Caribbean and Latin America regions. The company's energetic new colors reinforce Spirit's four brand principles: Caliente Red - Low Fares, Environmental Green - On-time and Reliable, Sunshine Yellow - Clean New Planes and Ocean Blue - Friendly Staff.
The A319 specifications include a capacity for 144 passengers with 136 deluxe leather seats and eight big front seats, on some flights you can pay as little as $25 for an upgrade too. The A321 specifications offer room for 198 passengers with 182 deluxe leather seats and 16 big front seats.
Forced to fly to get from point A to point B this summer, take a deep breath and keep up your wits about you and try one of these customer-friendly airlines for better service in the (friendly) skies.