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ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium Member
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON

ArthurS to Gone

Premium Member

to Gone

Re: Family of smokers very expensive for Sunwing flight

said by Gone:

said by LazMan:

United's been great

That's the shame of it all, because the flight and crew on the way there were fantastic. The way back? Not so much.

United lately has been a mixed bag due to their merger. I used to fly them almost exclusively all of the world, now I'll only fly them when it's convenient to do so. With the exception of Virgin America, Jet Blue, and WestJet, most North American airlines are very poor with the quality of their service.

Also consider that the crew on red-eye flights in North America are usually bottom rung on the seniority list, so definitely the quality isn't there, with any airline. I'm sure you would have a different experience had you taken the morning flight home.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

Our flight there was an "evening" flight that departed from Cleveland at 7PM. It was still great, and the crew seemed a lot more experienced. They joked with each other, chatted up the passengers, gave away more free booze to people than I could keep track of and overall were a delight to deal with. The flight deck was also in constant communication with us throughout the flight.

One thing that really turned me off on the way back was that when landing some guy had a bag on his seat and one of the flight attendants found it and said it needed to be stowed. The guy was obviously a little miffed because he was there during takeoff and the entire time. The flight attendant got outright rude with the guy, blamed his college for not stowing it to begin with, and then after he had to make room in the overhead he visibly rolled his eyes and huffed for the rest of the passengers to see. Not professional at all. Add this to not being able to hear announcements due to mumbling, no communication at all from the flight deck (and a seatbelt light staying on the entire time) and being completely ignored as far as drinks went - outright asking for something, making eye contact and then just having them ignore you and walk past - and it was a flight from hell.

On the connecting flight from Newark to Buffalo the flight attendant had to fight with a lot of people to turn off their phones and iPods. One guy got pissy because he thought airplane mode was good enough. In that case, she got frustrated and not-quite-shouted, literally, "come on guys! It's for our safety!" and shook her head. I sympathized with her, and for the rest of the flight she was great.

ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium Member
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON

2 edits

ArthurS

Premium Member

said by Gone:

One thing that really turned me off on the way back was that when landing some guy had a bag on his seat and one of the flight attendants found it and said it needed to be stowed. The guy was obviously a little miffed because he was there during takeoff and the entire time. The flight attendant got outright rude with the guy, blamed his college for not stowing it to begin with, and then after he had to make room in the overhead he visibly rolled his eyes and huffed for the rest of the passengers to see. Not professional at all. Add this to not being able to hear announcements due to mumbling, no communication at all from the flight deck (and a seatbelt light staying on the entire time) and being completely ignored as far as drinks went - outright asking for something, making eye contact and then just having them ignore you and walk past - and it was a flight from hell.

Yep, sounds like a redeye flight that could have happened on just about any airline in North America!
I do a few redeyes each year, each one I have very low expectations for service unless I'm upgraded to the first class cabin (even then, I don't expect much other than a more comfortable seat), so I don't end up being disappointed. A few things to make it as painless as possible: Find the longest redeye route home, because shorter redeye flights don't have enough time to get a decent sleep. Buy yourself a bottle of water at the airport, that way you don't have to wait for it during the flight, and it's convenient to have when you wake up. Use earplugs and an eyemask, as soon as the plane is airborne, go to sleep. Get a window seat even if you have to sit at the back of the plane, that way you are not interrupted when a fellow passenger needs to get up. But don't get a window exit row seat unless you can put up with the cold air around the exit door seals. Flying is certainly not as fun as it used to be, and the penny pinching most airlines have ended up doing these past few years has made it even worse.