Ray Swank

Before I retired, I flew domestic for 16 years all over the U.S. United has always been at the bottom of my list. They once held up a flight for almost an hour so a United employee (non-pilot) could deadhead from EWR to IAH, causing lots of people to miss their connection. They also fucked up a Mexican vacation many years ago due to repeated "mechanical issues". Their staff are often rude and entitled and I'll never darken their door again. Delta used to be great around 2008-2012 but has since fallen into the "woke" pit with United. Good luck if you need help in ATL, they are usually understaffed and you'll have to wait forever. They also seem to love putting the flight attendants with the most giant asses on small commuter routes so they bump into you every time they pass. Since retirement, I've been flying AA for the last 3 years as it offers me the best and least expensive flight to both BKK and Mexico. I've never had a problem with DFW apart from their love of changing gates 2-3 times before departure. Plus, AA partners with JAL which is my current favorite airline. Their A350 Biz Class is a cut above and the flight attendants are all slim, beautiful and attentive. I fly AA to Narita and the rest to BKK and back is all JAL.

First of all, Finnair is an excellent airline. When it's not on strike that is, which seems to happen quite often and on very short notice. I flew Business Class in January of 2024 from DFW to BKK since they were offering a nice intro fare through American Airlines. Their A350 Biz Class is top-notch IMO. Seats are big and comfy, boarding was quick and efficient, and the food service was a cut above. Connection in Helsinki was on time, the Biz Lounge was easily one of the better I've seen and arrival in BKK was 45 mins early. You can even change USD to Baht in Helsinki using an ATM-like machine if the regular exchange booths are closed. But three days before I was to depart BKK, I get an email telling me the airline is having an "Industrial Action", which means a general strike. I was given instructions and told to reschedule my flight. Easier said than done. The website was obviously getting slammed and could barely function. Before the site became completely unusable, I was offered a flight 5 days beyond my current departure date for $500 more. But I had to get back on time and 5 days wasn't going to cut it. And the extra $500 was a slap in the face. I did try calling but couldn't even get on the phone waiting list. For the next two days the website was useless and the phone was always busy. Total Clusterfuck. So I had to book a quick one-way with AA through Narita at great expense so I could get home on time. I also had to apply for a refund, which ended up taking 5 weeks. The amount? $530. FU Finnair! This morning I was scanning airfares for my trip this winter and came across Finnair again. Thinking my prior experience was a glitch, I went to their website to check fares and behold! Another "Industrial Action" is happening right now - May 2 to May 5. I started going through Google News and found there was another last March, and yet another last December! Long story short: Finnair is a great airline when they actually fly, but I'll never trust them again.