KWP:
I apologize. Believe it, or not, the intention in my previous post was to warn, not to be a critic. SJS5572 put it very well when he/she stated: “We have deregulated ourselves into service oblivion!” Accordingly, and to respond to Jim, yes, we have a right to expect better service from US-based airlines. However, until such time as the US Dept. of Transportation (“DOT”) institutes a significant amount of re-regulation of US-based airlines, Americans will continue to suffer with an out-of-control Pandora, which was let out of its box by de-regulation. Thus, my previous post had such circumstances in mind.
Indeed, in one of my “profiles,” (see link below) I advocate using Amtrak whenever circumstances permit. Obviously, a trip from Seattle to St. Maarten is NOT one of those circumstances! So, when air travel, with a US-based airline, is unavoidable one should lean toward those airlines which appear to inflict the least “damage.” This may involve spending a lot of extra money; traveling by an indirect routing; staying overnight at some point prior to your destination; or “all of the above.” As an example, Continental Air has been noted as having the lowest number of complaints against US-based airlines of similiar age. However, a trip, from Seattle to St. Maarten, on Continental, requires a routing through Newark, NJ
The source for my statements about the quality of US-based airlines is from a study done by the University of Nebraska, and WichitaStateUniversity. The findings of said study can be found at:
http://aqr.aero/aqrreports/2008aqr.pdf . What is revealing about this report is the comparison of complaints between the older airlines and those airlines which began flying within the past 35 years. Jet Blue, for example, reports a complaint figure .78 complaints per 100,000 passengers carried, against American’s 1.65 complaints for the same number of passengers.
My “profile,” and travel tips, can be found at:
http://groups.google.com/groups/prof...o7PylW0wCVGllQ