Hello – clueless Irishman here!
I need to arrange the following flights for August and would appreciate your thoughts as to whether I am contemplating the right options? Travelling with just a Carry on:
SEA-SNA: Leaning towards Alaskan. Delta also an option, but $50 more expensive.
SNA-PHX: Looking like Southwest due to cost. Frontier base fare was cheaper, but bag costs made it too expensive.
PHX-SEA: Can’t decide between Alaskan, American or Delta. All similar prices – avoiding Frontier and Spirit due to high Carry-on cost.
35 comments
For those flights, all three airlines are going to be a similar experience. I personally use Delta, but SLC being a Delta hub makes them the budget choice.
Southwest is fine, I fly them often and have never had problems. I like being able to check my bags. Avoid Spirit at all costs.
Frontier and Spirit have terrible bag polices.
Everybody else is generally fine.
Frontier and Spirit should be avoided.
Southwest is great, I use them often.
I’d rather be launched in the general direction of my destination by a giant slingshot than ever fly spirit again. Southwest is totally fine, Alaska is great.
Frontier and Spirit are budget, and you get what you pay for.
Personally I’m loyal to Delta.
I won’t fly frontier or spirit
Not Frontier. Not Spirit. Past that you should be good
I like Southwest, you get 2 free checked bags. That said be aware that they seat people differently from most other airlines.
24 hours in advance you will be able to check in to your flight. This determines the order in which people get on the plane. The sooner you check in, the earlier your place in line. Then you get to pick your seat as you board.
It’s really easiest to check your bag with southwest so you don’t have to worry about overhead bin space, since they have free checked bags anyway.
Spirit airlines. The rest are aight afaik. Not too familiar with frontier and Alaskan. The main ones are relatively the same, imo
When we took our vacation to Hawaii via California from Boston, we used a mix of Delta, Alaska, and Hawaiian, and liked all of them. Delta is probably the best of the US full-fare airlines. We had heard some negative reports about Alaska but had no problems. (Hawaiian was quite enjoyable, but not relevant to you.)
I’d never fly the bargain basement airlines like Spirit and Frontier. I’ve flown Southwest in the past, but prefer the more predictable seatings of the other airlines.
SNA is John Wayne Airport. Is there a reason for picking that specifically, versus the other Los Angeles area airports? LAX was a zoo, so I avoid it but had no real choice on one of our legs. We flew in and out of Long Beach (LGB) a few years ago, and really liked it. It’s small but has a decent selection of flights, making it a pleasure compared to LAX. I don’t know what Burbank or Ontario are like, but I’d consider them if things worked out. Good search engines should let you choose Los Angeles as a single destination and pick the best of all the local airports according to your filters and sorts. (I think we used kayak but can’t be sure.) I don’t think there are drop-off charges for renting a car at one of the LA airports and returning to another. (We actually did a pick up at LAX and return to SAN, San Diego, and the cost difference was modest given our overall trip cost.)
Do whatever you want, as long as it isn’t United.
I fly around the West a lot.
The way Southwest does seating is a non-starter for me and I won’t fly with them. If that doesn’t bother you they’re decently cheap considering the bag policy.
I fly with no bags and Spirit and Frontier are fine as budget options… And upgrading seats (exit row etc) is still cheap.
Also fly Delta and Alaska a lot and although they’re “better” than the others… No fucking way I’d spend my own money flying with them. The seats still suck… They still cancel flights… Not worth it.
TLDR: Go with the cheapest option. They all suck.
If you’re tall like me (I’m 6’4″/193cm), you might want to avoid Southwest too. While said airline is not as bad as Frontier and Spirit, it’s still a budget airline and the seats are pretty cramped for lanky fellows.
Also, I dunno if you have a travel CC but that’s an important factor to consider too.
Southwest occasionally shits the bed, but during summer you’ll probably be fine. Delta and Alaskan are the best domestic legacy carriers, American is eh, United is worse. Oh, JetBlue is nice but only really goes to Boston and NYC.
Alaska is the best.
There are the “Big 3” of US airlines:
American Airlines,
United, and
Delta.
They are all pretty terrible compared to their foreign counterparts. Delta is slightly better than the other two.
If the option is between delta and american, use delta.
Spirit.
Frontier can be ok, but better to avoid.
I’m with everybody about spirit and frontier. I think southwest has been the best so far.
Business travelers have more seat time than I do, but I’ve flown at least a couple hundred segments in the US, and I can appreciate how it is flying around a foreign country.
**Overall recommendation:** Anything on American, United, or Delta. These are the “big three” in the US with the most expansive route networks and the most options to get you from A to B in the event something goes wrong. The overall experience between the three (planes, crew, service) will be pretty similar.
*In the event of travel disruptions, if you don’t want to be stuck in a random town in a foreign country with “Sry m8 the next flight we have to XYZ is in two days” then go with a major, proper airline.*
**Avoid:** Spirit and Frontier. They’re cheap for a reason. Idk to me it’s like an even more dodgy version of Ryanair. If nothing else, depending on the routing their flight schedules can be sparse and in the event of something going awry they may not have any way of getting you from A to B on the given day, or even the next day.
**Other Choices:** I haven’t flown them in a long time but I know a lot of folks who have had great times with Southwest. With that said, they have also had multiple complete meltdowns in recent years with passengers – and even their own flight crews – stranded.
I’ve heard great things about Alaskan, but I haven’t personally flown them.
I would just go for the cheapest total price. Good luck!
Spirit
Adding to the list-United (if possible) and Allegiant. Jetblue and Alaska have really been slipping lately too
Southwest is fine, just remember that they don’t do seat assignments. I always sign up for the automatic check in service so that I’m not hustling to check in exactly 24 hours before. The later you check in, the later you get on the plane and you’re probably going to be stuck with a middle seat.
Alaska is great!
Fly delta if possible
Delta loyalist here although I’ll happily go on United, Southwest or Alaska in that order.
Steer clear of the “low-cost” ones as they’ll nickel and dime you to the point you could’ve just gone on another one.
Delta and Alaska are the best
As others are saying, avoid Spirit and Frontier. You’ll probably have an uneventful flight, but if your flight gets canceled, you’re screwed because they only fly 1-2 flights per day out of certain airports.
Delta is my favorite out of the Big 3 domestic carriers. They usually cost more, but you’re paying for a bump in quality. Their planes are generally pretty comfortable and the service is typically good. I would check what kind of plane you’d be flying on for American. If it’s a CRJ, bail. Those planes are miserable and you have to gate-check any carry-on luggage.
Alaska is solid and you’ll get 2 free checked bags with Southwest.
If you want a better chance at seamless travel – delta or American.
For your routes, take Alaska/Horizon. They’re really friendly and decent and sometimes you get one of the themed birds. The craft beer/wine offerings are legit. I don’t know if they still do the baggage exemption if you have a whole fish you want to bring from Seattle.
When possible, it is worth taking Delta, spending the extra $50, and being treated like a human being.
You are wise to avoid Sprint. Frontier can be convenient because it has some routes other airlines won’t but if you have options, take the options instead.
People love Southwest but I don’t. I have a procedure when I travel and Southwest messes it up because they don’t assign seats. You board in sequence and seats are first come first serve. On other airlines, I always get an aisle seat and try to be the last mofo on the plane.
I don’t understand why people stand at the gate. I just sit and relax in the terminal until the long line is gone. It’s awesome when I just walk to my seat and never get caught in that throng of people trying to board fast.
Of the other airlines you mentioned, I would rank them Alaska > Delta >>>> American.
I guess that means my recommendations are Alaska, Southwest, and Alaska again.
Jet Blue is always my go to but they’re kind of limited out of the Northeast. After that, I prefer Delta then United then Southwest.
Twenty years ago, Frontier was fine. Now they’re a cheap, budget carrier and suck.
Spirit has always sucked.
Southwest is good. They’re not popular with the very frequent flier as no first class, no lounges, etc. There also are no seat assignments on Southwest – meaning your boarding group matters if you don’t want to risk a middle seat, getting separated from a companion (rare), etc.
There’s a few other **very** small carriers like Avelo. They’re like Spirit but generally the flights are so short, who cares.
JetBlue and Alaska are nice. The majors (American, Delta, United) are nice as well.