A big one I forgot on my Black List: Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 is IMHO probably the worst way to go in a plane crash. Being strapped in a tin can as it flys up-side-down and out of control for quite some time before finally coming to its fate... No thanks... That crash is completely unacceptable and unforgivable IMHO. I have no doubt that safety has improved at Alaska a lot since then, but flight 261 was one nasty crash and you will never find me on any Alaska Airlines metal.

Quoting TheFlyingDisk (Reply 94): Quoting 777Jet (Reply 93): BTW apart from having the worst record with 777s, MH was the first AIRLINE (Airbus crashed a test frame) to write off an A330. Through no fault of their own.

What about MH17? Does MH share some of the blame for that for knowingly flying over a war zone? Or are MH's hands totally clean with MH17? MH must just have had a lot of bad luck that out of all the aircraft that could have been it it was another of their 777s, not too long after the loss of MH370...

Quoting TheFlyingDisk (Reply 94): As I've pointed out repeatedly in the past they sent a search party around the Straits of Malacca as soon as the second day.

Whilst still allowing the majority of the search, which was funded by the tax payers of the nations that the various search ships involved came from, to continue in the SCS for much longer...

Quoting TheFlyingDisk (Reply 94): But they did not get confirmation that MH370 officially turned around days after,

But Hishammuddin himself said it was tracked by military primary radar in real time! Real time... Things must happen very, very slowly there...

Quoting TheFlyingDisk (Reply 94): All it proves is that Hishammuddin is bad at dealing with the press and that I don't disagree. But so far, nobody from the investigation party has officially gone on the record stating the fact that they've been lied to or mislead on MH370. Why is that?

Tea money?

Quoting An767 (Reply 99): Anything with Virgin Australia . I have had the unfortunate experience of 3 VA flights so far this year (company travel) and on each occasion I left disappointed. Cabin crew may walk the walk, but definitely cannot talk the talk. A flight from TVL to BNE with an advertised meal ., consisted of tea/ coffee and a packet of plain biscuits. another from BNE to ROK a bottle of water and a single chocolate biscuit, no tea no coffee no juice, flight time in the later was 55 mins. Cabin crew on all flights I have done on VA just want to look "pretty" and have no idea about service. The people that book my flights now know if there is a choice book me on QF , FA's may be more m

Would you prefer to fly Tiger over Virgin Australia?

There's no airline that I would refuse to fly based on safety reasons, because I don't believe that it puts my life in any more danger than any other routine, daily task.

I used to avoid Air Canada whenever possible due to several bad experiences service-wise, but I decided to give them another chance last year and was pleasantly surprised.

Quoting 777Jet (Reply 100): What about MH17? Does MH share some of the blame for that for knowingly flying over a war zone? Or are MH's hands totally clean with MH17? MH must just have had a lot of bad luck that out of all the aircraft that could have been it it was another of their 777s, not too long after the loss of MH370...

Just a few minutes earlier and it could have been SQ335 (A380) or SQ352 (772) that got hit, so I don't think it's entirely fair to single out MH in this case...

Ironically, KE (an airline that a few here claim they would never fly despite the airline not having a passenger fatality in almost twenty years) was the first airline to stop overflying Ukranian airspace, three months before MH17 was shot down.

Quoting 777Jet (Reply 100): Would you prefer to fly Tiger over Virgin Australia?

No QF JQ no Tiger
An767

Quoting ytraveller (Reply 81): What about Air Koryo's human rights policies?

The difference is everyone knows about North Koreas policies becasue they are up front about it, while Qatar is trying to pose as a modern state with all kind of fancy western stuff, with a backwards medieval human rights policy. It's a facade.

Quoting 777Jet (Reply 85): Excellent point! Those who boycott QR for Qatar's human rights violations but would love to fly on Air Koryo have double standards given North Korea's record on human rights.

Yeah, and Air Koryo has all of those cool Soviet aircraft.

With countries like the US, UK, Australia, Cuba, former Soviet Union, North Korea, you know where they stand. Shifty countries like KSA, Qatar, Venzeuela, autonomous regions in Russia, and others are the ones you should watch out for.

I would also fly on IR any day before flying on QR.

Alot of airlines already mentioned would be on my list, but I generally avoid ULCC's like Allegiant, Spirit, Ryanair, etc. I just don't like being nickel and dimed for everything, I'd end up paying about the same in the end.

LH was on my list after dealing with them and their constant strikes, but I've got miles I need to use up by next year so a flight on them might be imminent given UA won't show them award availability.

I'd have to avoid MH, probably AF, and I'm just not crazy about the business model of the ME3 airlines. I doubt I'll fly most middle eastern airlines at all in my lifetime, given the fact that I have no real desire to go there for safety reasons (not the airlines specifically but being an american).

Quoting An767 (Reply 99):

I'm totally with you on that, but my employer has a buy Virgin policy. Twice last year QF were cheaper than VA and I was able to fly them but even then I had to convince my sceptical manager to let me fly Qantas.

Quoting hoons90 (Reply 101): Just a few minutes earlier and it could have been SQ335 (A380) or SQ352 (772) that got hit, so I don't think it's entirely fair to single out MH in this case...

I acknowledged that in the following part of my post:

Quoting 777Jet (Reply 100): that out of all the aircraft that could have been it it was another of their 777s

However, I just wanted to see if that user's attitude to MH17 was entirely 'no fault of their own', like the MH A330 written off by the chemical spill, or if they put some of the blame for MH17 on MH's choice to knowingly fly over a war zone. Many airlines rolled that dice and it was MH17 that was the victim. The airlines changing their route almost immediately after MH17 was pretty much admitting that perhaps they should not have been flying over that area just to save a few $$$ on fuel and time. Tombstone mentality at work as usual in aviation.

Quoting TheFlyingDisk (Reply 94): Through no fault of their own.

So MH has clean hands on the A330 written off by spilled chemicals, okay, what about MH17? Do you give any blame at all to MH for their aircraft being over a war zone and getting shot down? Just any blame, any at all, or was that also 100% no fault of theirs?

Quoting TWA772LR (Reply 103): Yeah, and Air Koryo has all of those cool Soviet aircraft.

Does having cool Soviet aircraft make it okay to ignore the same human rights issue that the same person has used to boycott other carriers? Would you fly QR if QR had lots of rare cool Soviet aircraft?

Quoting TWA772LR (Reply 72): I'll fly on Air Koryo before I fly on QR. I don't agree with Qatars human rights policies, and AA is a jackass. Plus Air Koryo would be an experience of a life time.

filler

Quoting ams747757 (Reply 104): I'd have to avoid MH, probably AF,

Can I ask your reasons for boycotting MH and AF? I'm just curious if their similar to mine or for different reasons...

Quoting 777Jet (Reply 106): Does having cool Soviet aircraft make it okay to ignore the same human rights issue that the same person has used to boycott other carriers? Would you fly QR if QR had lots of rare cool Soviet aircraft?

Like I said earlier, with NK, you know where they stand. Qatar, you dont.

ams747757 wrote:

Alot of airlines already mentioned would be on my list, but I generally avoid ULCC's like Allegiant, Spirit, Ryanair, etc. I just don't like being nickel and dimed for everything, I'd end up paying about the same in the end.

LH was on my list after dealing with them and their constant strikes, but I've got miles I need to use up by next year so a flight on them might be imminent given UA won't show them award availability.

I'd have to avoid MH, probably AF, and I'm just not crazy about the business model of the ME3 airlines. I doubt I'll fly most middle eastern airlines at all in my lifetime, given the fact that I have no real desire to go there for safety reasons (not the airlines specifically but being an american).

It's not so bad if you know how to avoid those extra costs, know what you don't need so you don't end up paying for it. I've flown on quite a number of ULCC's an never had any bad experience. Of course I didn't check any suitcase (hand luggage only), didn't forget to print my boarding pass at home, didn't show up late, didn't buy a € 30,- meal on board which other airlines offer for free and charge € 30,- more for the ticket, etc.

If there's any airline I'd avoid at the moment it's Air France with their constant strikes.

Refuse to fly KE or OZ. Have seen both organizations operationally up-close and personal and they simply have nil safety culture. Still.

Not for me. If was independently wealthy, I would travel to the four corners of the world to fly some of the unique one-off airlines/planes. Especially some of the Russian planes/airlines that fly, for example, IL-76, TU-162, TU-154, IL-18, IL-20, etc.; some of the airlines that fly older B727-100s. Unique planes/airlines.

Had an awful experience with Ryanair. Have opted not to bother with them anymore.

I agree with earlier respondents about Qatar. Yes, they fly the latest Airbus and Boeing aircraft and have a good safety record. But they have a terrible reputation for how they treat their staff.

http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/the-tru ... r-airways/
Or enter "qatar airways treatment of staff" into Google.

This criterion applies to other companies I boycott. I prefer to reward the good guys.

Mejjo wrote:

Had an awful experience with Ryanair. Have opted not to bother with them anymore.

Most likely that awful experience was your own fault. I've flown FR quite a number of times and if you know what to expect you'll never have an awful experience. However, some people got too high expectations that don't meet the Ryanair service level. That's not Ryanair's fault, they give sufficient information on what to do and what to expect. But there's always people that don't read that info, that expect the full service provided by high class airlines. That's just not Ryanair. It's an excellent airline if you adapt to their system, but if you fail to do so it's your own fault you got a bad experience.

PatrickZ80 wrote:

Mejjo wrote:

Had an awful experience with Ryanair. Have opted not to bother with them anymore.

Most likely that awful experience was your own fault.

From the limited information provided by Mejjo it is hard to arrive at that conclusion. Do you not recall the incident when Ryanair simply abandoned passengers at a different airport and made no effort to get them to the ticketed one? The aircraft landed at Fuerteventura instead of Lanzarote due to weather but made no effort to assist passengers reach their destination.

http://www.news.com.au/national/ryanair ... 5832742735

Then there was the instance of passengers left stranded in Morocco when Ryanair changed the departure time less than 22 hours before departure and claimed to have notified the passengers by email.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/ ... on-refusal

Then there was the instance of passengers being told their flight from Rijeka to Stockholm Skavsta had been cancelled due to strong winds, only to find the aircraft took off for Stockholm a couple of hours later empty. The airline refused to compensate the passengers.

http://www.exyuaviation.com/2012/09/rya ... ijeka.html

While it is true that Ryanair offers affordable transport to millions of passengers without incident, experiences like the above can leave a bitter taste.

Spirit
Allegiant Air
AF (b/c of two horrible experiences with them - FAs and ground service on both legs of the 2 RTs).
Egypt Air

reffado wrote:

Saying I won't fly them ever is a bit of a stretch. But I avoid NK, FR, G4... and pretty much any of these "ULCC" carriers like the plague.

My family members, for example, flew FLL-LGA on NK. Round trip was $140. DL or AA was $175. I would have just paid the extra $35 and not dealt with being in a sardine can that's usually 45 or more minutes late.

I'm young, but call me old school. Flying is already miserable enough because of the airports themselves. No need to make the actual flight miserable too just to save a few bucks. If the difference is sizeable, maybe, but then again it seldom is.

Besides that, Conviasa. And I can't think of any other airline I'd avoid...[Edited 2016-05-19 16:14:31]

I agree. NK, FR, G4 I would never fly with. Somewhat because of fear of safety but also because I'm done with being nickel and dimed.

Abroad, any airline with a dicey safety record I would never, ever, consider under any circumstances.

Then there's the inflight "preference" side of things. For instance I won't fly with United domestically because I don't do the "streaming" thing & operationally they aren't as good as DL. Living in a hub city (DEN) I've just been taking Delta and connecting a fair amount for work & pleasure. Not that UA isn't safe, it's just I don't like their domestic hard product.

I'm open to trying American again after getting burned by them in 2009. Never flown Virgin America or Southwest but people seem to really love them so I'd be open to trying them out as well.

777JET :

Regarding your (almost) refusal to fly Korean Air; The incidents you list happened a long time ago, the last known fatality occurred in 1999 (Flight 8509) - from what I've understood, Korean Air has gone through a substantial process of "brushing up" and should not be anymore unsafe, than any other legacy carrier.

How many years of no incidents must pass, and this goes out to everyone, before you are willing to grant your banished carriers a second chance?

I have to agree with the majority of the people on this thread and say that while there are airlines I avoid, in all honesty, I'll fly if the price is right. That being said, I do tend to avoid certain airlines for various reasons.

G4 - Safety reasons
AF - Poor history with the airline, and to avoid connecting at CDG when flights were all over the place
QR - Previously to avoid flying through DOH until the new airport opened in 2014, and now simply for humanitarian reasons
EY (until recently) - Connecting at AUH used be nightmarish

Other than that, I have a simple policy. If they're banned from flying in the EU, I will refuse to book a flight with them or step on one of their aircraft.

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

Interesting question. I'm loyal primarily to KLM, so the majority of my flying is done with KLM and other Skyteam airlines, particularly Delta. Beyond that, I fly fairly regularly with Icelandair, because its a quirky little airline that keeps the cost of crossing the Atlantic low. So I split my flying between KLM and Partners and Icelandair. That means I don't actively avoid other airlines, I just don't tend to fly with them.

That being said, there are a few airlines I probably would be reticent to fly on:
Qatar - I object to various aspects of the airline, and the country itself
Ryanair - Nothing wrong with the airline per se, and there's certainly a market for it, but it isn't really my cup of tea
Allegiant - Safety concerns, as other posters have noted
Norwegian - Objections to unfair competition

I would also probably be hesitant to book a flight with Air France right around now, but that's purely because of the ongoing labor uncertainty, rather than safety concerns or dislike of the onboard product.

flyer1225 wrote:

I have to agree with the majority of the people on this thread and say that while there are airlines I avoid, in all honesty, I'll fly if the price is right. That being said, I do tend to avoid certain airlines for various reasons.

G4 - Safety reasons
AF - Poor history with the airline, and to avoid connecting at CDG when flights were all over the place
QR - Previously to avoid flying through DOH, and now simply for humanitarian reasons
EY (until recently) - Connecting at AUH used be nightmarish

Other than that, I have a simple policy. If they're banned from flying in the EU, I will refuse to book a flight with them or step on one of their aircraft.'

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

DOH is a wonderful airport, super fast WIFI, clean, spacious, efficient, a hotel inside the airport (although it's not worth the inflated price) plus, they've got a frigging Godiva shop! :O

fallap wrote:

flyer1225 wrote:

I have to agree with the majority of the people on this thread and say that while there are airlines I avoid, in all honesty, I'll fly if the price is right. That being said, I do tend to avoid certain airlines for various reasons.

G4 - Safety reasons
AF - Poor history with the airline, and to avoid connecting at CDG when flights were all over the place
QR - Previously to avoid flying through DOH, and now simply for humanitarian reasons
EY (until recently) - Connecting at AUH used be nightmarish

Other than that, I have a simple policy. If they're banned from flying in the EU, I will refuse to book a flight with them or step on one of their aircraft.'

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

DOH is a wonderful airport, super fast WIFI, clean, spacious, efficient, a hotel inside the airport (although it's not worth the inflated price) plus, they've got a frigging Godiva shop! :O

This is before the opening of the new DOH in 2014.

flyer1225 wrote:

fallap wrote:

flyer1225 wrote:

I have to agree with the majority of the people on this thread and say that while there are airlines I avoid, in all honesty, I'll fly if the price is right. That being said, I do tend to avoid certain airlines for various reasons.

G4 - Safety reasons
AF - Poor history with the airline, and to avoid connecting at CDG when flights were all over the place
QR - Previously to avoid flying through DOH, and now simply for humanitarian reasons
EY (until recently) - Connecting at AUH used be nightmarish

Other than that, I have a simple policy. If they're banned from flying in the EU, I will refuse to book a flight with them or step on one of their aircraft.'

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

DOH is a wonderful airport, super fast WIFI, clean, spacious, efficient, a hotel inside the airport (although it's not worth the inflated price) plus, they've got a frigging Godiva shop! :O

This is before the opening of the new DOH in 2014.

Oh, my bad. I remember the old DOH, nothing to write home about.

fallap wrote:

777JET :

Regarding your (almost) refusal to fly Korean Air; The incidents you list happened a long time ago, the last known fatality occurred in 1999 (Flight 8509) - from what I've understood, Korean Air has gone through a substantial process of "brushing up" and should not be anymore unsafe, than any other legacy carrier.

How many years of no incidents must pass, and this goes out to everyone, before you are willing to grant your banished carriers a second chance?

You are right! KE has indeed gone for a while without a crash, but the Heather Cho 'nut rage' incident just goes to show that that similar culture / mentality is still alive at KE. Is she still in prison?

The airlines on my list are there to stay. There are so so many others to choose from by blacklisting a dozen or so that I want to avoid it won't affect me one bit.

BTW I will also blacklist Rayani Air: Malaysia's first sharia-compliant airline, because I am not Sharia-compliant... They just got barred from flying so that doesn't matter anyway... So, Malaysia has three carriers on my blacklist: MH, Air Asia & Ryani

fallap wrote:

DOH is a wonderful airport, super fast WIFI, clean, spacious, efficient, a hotel inside the airport (although it's not worth the inflated price) plus, they've got a frigging Godiva shop! :O

DOH should be very clean given all the slave labor there...

I'm always happy to fly any airline that I have never been on before, however I do hold grudges for decades. I have a never again list due to personal experience. Top of my list is Turkish, whom I flew as THY way back in the 70's and without a doubt was the single worst airline experience of my life. I believe the carrier in its present state is pretty good but like I said my grudges last for decades so No never again on Turkish. Others on my list are no longer operating by being shut down or merging into other carriers like Valuejet in the US. I do tend to avoid low cost carriers but I would not say no to any of them at this point.

flyer1225 wrote:

I have to agree with the majority of the people on this thread and say that while there are airlines I avoid, in all honesty, I'll fly if the price is right. That being said, I do tend to avoid certain airlines for various reasons.

G4 - Safety reasons
AF - Poor history with the airline, and to avoid connecting at CDG when flights were all over the place
QR - Previously to avoid flying through DOH until the new airport opened in 2014, and now simply for humanitarian reasons
EY (until recently) - Connecting at AUH used be nightmarish

Other than that, I have a simple policy. If they're banned from flying in the EU, I will refuse to book a flight with them or step on one of their aircraft.'

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

Well, now that I've done it, refuse to fly through CDG. What a horrible place that was! It's beautiful, but utterly nonfunctional. It's the main reason I wont fly AF. AF themselves were fine but their airport was a disaster.

For a while UA was on my "never" list, but that's really hard when you're in SF. Admittedly, we often have other choices here. But my last few experiences with them have been acceptable.

flyer1225 wrote:

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

For connections, I would never fly through
IAD, JFK, LAX, MIA: Now I understand that in some instances it might be hard to avoid connecting thru these gateways - in that case I would book seperate tickets with an overnight at a hotel in the city. Given that my flights into these airports will invariably be long-haul, booking a six hour connection is too much. Also, I don't want to deal with the hassle after such a long flight. ORD was ok the one time I connected thru there.
CDG: So far I have never had to & based on what I hear, I don't intend on changing that fact. I would only have to go thru here if I really tried hard to. If I need Skyteam, I'll just go via AMS and not deal with the cluster here.
SVO, KBP, PVG, AMM, RUH, CAI: I can't imagine what will happen if I misconnect - I don't trust the airlines or the ground staff to deal with missed connections with much efficiency. I fly to RUH many, many times and you really don't want to be stuck there not knowing what the situation is.


When I have the option to connect on QR via DOH, KE via ICN, CX via HKG and KL via AMS, there is little need to subject myself to shi**y airports.

RohanDXB wrote:

flyer1225 wrote:

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

For connections, I would never fly through
IAD, JFK, LAX, MIA: Now I understand that in some instances it might be hard to avoid connecting thru these gateways - in that case I would book seperate tickets with an overnight at a hotel in the city. Given that my flights into these airports will invariably be long-haul, booking a six hour connection is too much. Also, I don't want to deal with the hassle after such a long flight. ORD was ok the one time I connected thru there.
CDG: So far I have never had to & based on what I hear, I don't intend on changing that fact. I would only have to go thru here if I really tried hard to. If I need Skyteam, I'll just go via AMS and not deal with the cluster here.
SVO, KBP, PVG, AMM, RUH, CAI: I can't imagine what will happen if I misconnect - I don't trust the airlines or the ground staff to deal with missed connections with much efficiency. I fly to RUH many, many times and you really don't want to be stuck there not knowing what the situation is.


When I have the option to connect on QR via DOH, KE via ICN, CX via HKG and KL via AMS, there is little need to subject myself to shi**y airports.

Connecting via any US airport is not for the faint of heart, and most (like me) tend to avoid it. Connecting between domestic flights is fine, but connecting from an international flight to a domestic flight at a US airport or vice versa is a mess that thankfully I would very rarely encounter, being based in JFK. The only airports I consider remotely tolerable for this sort of domestic/international connections are ATL, SFO, and EWR (but EWR has a whole host of other problems that I can't even get into right now).

- Etihad - They kicked me out because I was the last person to check-in and the plane was full.
- Turkish Airlines - bad experience
- All Indonesian airlines (except Guarda) - poor safety issues.
- All chinese airlines (except Cathay Pacific) - poor safety issues. My uncle who worked for airlines' clients and told me that they used fake (forgot one word which is for fake) bolt and nuts.
- ultra low cost airlines such as Jetstar, Tiger and Scoot - not comfortable.

zbot69 wrote:

Refuse to fly KE or OZ. Have seen both organizations operationally up-close and personal and they simply have nil safety culture. Still.

Care to elaborate? You can't just make that statement and not give some details.

On moral grounds, I will not fly any airline of any country that refuses to recognize Israel as a sovereign state; chief amongst them Saudia, Iran Air and Qatar Airlines. As someone with a very large portion of my extended family living in Israel as well as where my parents grew up, I will not compromise my religious and political beliefs to give any of these countries my business and money. The only likely exceptions I'd make if I really wanted to fly on them are Emirates and Etihad, as the UAE is not as hostile as the others. As a result of Malaysian Airlines' bad stretch of accidents/incidents, that's yet another reason why I won't fly on that specific airline.

777Jet wrote:

fallap wrote:

DOH is a wonderful airport, super fast WIFI, clean, spacious, efficient, a hotel inside the airport (although it's not worth the inflated price) plus, they've got a frigging Godiva shop! :O

DOH should be very clean given all the slave labor there...

Now you see what I'm getting at.

I'd never fly China Airlines probably because of bad safety records in the past.

FlyboyOz wrote:

- Etihad - They kicked me out because I was the last person to check-in and the plane was full.
- Turkish Airlines - bad experience
- All Indonesian airlines (except Guarda) - poor safety issues.
- All chinese airlines (except Cathay Pacific) - poor safety issues. My uncle who worked for airlines' clients and told me that they used fake (forgot one word which is for fake) bolt and nuts.
- ultra low cost airlines such as Jetstar, Tiger and Scoot - not comfortable.

Speaking of poor safety issues with Indonesian airlines, most of them were banned from flying into the EU. When I read the book "Cockpit Confidential" by Patrick Smith, those airlines on the EU blacklist are the "airlines that a typical traveler wouldn't ever fly on in the first place" (chapter 6, page 210).

flyer1225 wrote:

On the flip side, as many of my reasons are because of connection issues, I'd like to know: are there any airports that many of you would refuse to fly through?

LAX unless I am originating or terminating there. I dislike going through Security Theater twice, and much of their TSA staff is downright rude. One I encountered was barking orders and then said "Stop. I didn't say 'Simon says'"! I don't suffer such nonsense gladly.

ATL is generally fine unless you are an international arrival transferring to another flight. Their transit TSA personnel make up rules on the fly, and play hassle-games. Six occasions out of six flights tells me what I need to know.

JFK Every stereotype had at least some truth to it. Rudeness everywhere, especially TSA.

LHR The people in the shops and at the ticket desks and the like are all fine. Their flavor of TSA on the other hand is rude, and think that shouting helps. (It doesn't.)

An767 wrote:

A flight from TVL to BNE...

Lake Tahoe to Brisbane? This is not directed at you, but at the AI web people. You wrecked our site with this "upgrade" and we STILL do not have current airport and airline codes?!? Grr...

personally I don't want to fly with Lion Air in Indonesia... if I travel alone, Lion Air is not in the option... but if I travel with my big family, and they choose Lion Air since it offers cheapest prices (in most of Indonesian domestic routes), I don't have any choice...

other than that, actually I haven't flown with Philippine Airlines but I think it is not interesting... personally for me PR's livery is worst, and seeing the cabin interior pics I don't see anything special... sorry for my Pinoy friends... even I think Cebu Pacific is better...

F9, NK, and G4. I have been on both G4 and F9 but not NK. I saw how unprofessional G4 was at ELP a couple of months ago. First thing I noticed was no gate was listed for their flight to SAN on the monitors in the terminal while every other airline WN,UA,AA, and DL had complete info including gate numbers on the FIDS. Considering how G4's clientele is of the infrequent "amateur traveler" variety I was thinking how many folks are going to miss their flight? Well after walking to my UA gate I found G4's gate next door. The real fun was watching the back and forth between the gate agents and the flight crew disputing on whether to let on the late showing passengers who probably has trouble finding their gate. It made me feel a lot better about getting on the UAX CRJ-700 to DEN.

Well JJ now LATAM Brasil has a terrible safety record but had more than 30 flights with them, and still alive LOL.

But I would follow pretty much the European blacklist. Can't see myself flying SudanAir, LionAir Indonesia and the likes....

I also try to avoid European legacy carriers, I find them pricey, arrogant and Spice girl's "wanna be" kind of companies...

WesternDC6B wrote:

An767 wrote:

A flight from TVL to BNE...

Lake Tahoe to Brisbane? This is not directed at you, but at the AI web people. You wrecked our site with this "upgrade" and we STILL do not have current airport and airline codes?!? Grr...

It never would have come up right - I'm sure he meant Townsville (TSV).

Allegiant, most mainland Chinese carriers, and ME3.

Stop flying with SQ but after 10 years im flying with SQ again... lol

Aside from any airline on a blacklist of some sort, I fly all airlines.

If there's one airline I'm keen to avoid in future it's Vueling. I've had two cancelled flights with them this summer, a six hour delay, a missing refund and a customer service centre that offers ridiculous rebooking options (e.g. LTN to ZRH via a 12 hour stopover in BCN).

i guess Air Koryo
but i really try avoiding NK flights.

Simple Yemenia - only airline I've ever been totally petrified on

Most of the Nigerian Domestic carriers whose names my internal memory bank has deleted, only Nigerian airline I'll use is Arik

PMUA787 wrote:

F9, NK, and G4

NK actually has very happy crews and an excellent safety program. It's their customers who hate them...and somehow they capitalize on them.

I won't fly them because I don't like their business model, but I would not fear for my life on their planes.

Quite surprised and puzzled to see Southwest listed here. I'm flown them probably a hundred times since the 90's. For the most part, they've been very reliable and staff were courteous. Over the years, the one thing I disliked is their boarding process which has been smoothed out over the years. But I wouldn't not fly Southwest because of the boarding process.

FlyboyOz wrote:

- Etihad - They kicked me out because I was the last person to check-in and the plane was full.
- Turkish Airlines - bad experience
- All Indonesian airlines (except Guarda) - poor safety issues.
- All chinese airlines (except Cathay Pacific) - poor safety issues. My uncle who worked for airlines' clients and told me that they used fake (forgot one word which is for fake) bolt and nuts.
- ultra low cost airlines such as Jetstar, Tiger and Scoot - not comfortable.

Sorry but I think you don't have a clear understanding of "Chinese" airlines. Do you mean airlines based in China or all airlines of Chinese origin? I can understand not flying airlines based out of China but I would have no hesitation to fly EVA. 5 star airline with excellent service and an excellent maintenance workmanship. I also would not hesitate to fly on Hong Kong Airlines.

It's really interesting to read what people won't fly and why. It doesn't appear that there's any rhyme or reason for most of us. I'm also surprised at how many people here say they won't fly AF. I have no problem with them.

For me, when I book a flight, I choose it based on (in order) safety, airport, schedule, price, FF loyalty, and comfort.

In terms of safety, I'm fine with pretty much any airline from the mature western aviation world. The only exception to that might be G4. I don't trust their safety record, and I'm glad I didn't book them one time when I flew EUG-SEA-LAX-SEA-EUG on AA/AS instead. The Sunday G4 flight was cancelled, and I had work Sunday night. Had I taken G4, I would have missed work and been out of a lot of money, even though it was far cheaper and a nonstop.

As for the other ULCCs, airport, safety, and schedule usually rule them out. I used to fly F9 all the time, but since it's transitioned to an inferior product, I avoid them. I don't see why anyone would have a safety problem with them, though.

I would love to fly Ryanair or any other ULCC someday, but when I want to go to Paris, I want to go to Paris — not some field two hours away. Ultimately, using my rules of how I book flights, I typically end up most often on UA, DL, or AS in the US, and occasionally WN. Flying TATL, I prefer to book European airlines, but I'm fine with UA or DL if the price is right.

I would take a good, hard look at some African and Asian-based airlines, especially young LCCs or ones that aren't in any kind of alliance. I don't think I would want to fly Egyptair right now either.

But still — commercial air travel in 2016 is still safer than any other form of transportation!