One comment from travelers that constantly defeats my imagination is the comment about an experience on an airline that was terrible and that they therefore will never travel that airline again.  I inevitably ask when this experience occurred and I inevitably find out it was 10 or more years ago.  In one case, a woman I met admitted she stopped flying Continental as a result of such a bad experience back in 1993.  She said so in 2010.

Airlines change.  In the case of the Continental Woman, had she tried Continental just 3 years later, she would have been pleasantly surprised.  Furthermore, stories of bad experiences become anecdotal folklore out there and particularly so over the past 10 years.  The world wide web and social media have not only spread anecdotal stories but have encouraged them to flower and provided them with staying power that would have been unimaginable in the 1990s.

You can’t judge an airline based on a single experience.  In fact, I would argue that you have to try the airline at least 3 times to start making a judgement.  Things happen on every airline.

You also can’t judge an airline entirely on experiences based in one hub.  I find American Airlines flight attendants to be old, surly and unpleasant out of DFW but I also know that they’re much better out of New York City bases.  The hub has an effect.  One can expect a higher number of problems from hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago or New York City than one can from hubs in Denver, DFW or Salt Lake City.

But even if you have had a few bad experiences on an airline, if its been 10 years, you’re experiences are likely out of date and you’re hurting yourself.  I myself expended a lot of effort to not fly US Airways (America West) as recently as 2008.  It’s 4 years later and I would heartily recommend them to travelers at this point.  In fact, I would strongly recommend them over airlines such as American Airlines and Delta.  Your chances of a good experience would be higher on US Airways.

Airlines change over time and its worth looking around for current comments before ruling them out as a choice.  You may not only save money but experience less impact to your schedule and arrive in a happier state of mind.

Filed under: Airline Service by ajax