Which inter US airlines do you recommend?

[Bob Dylan]

Hi Folks,

I am visiting the USA this September, and for the first time ever, I am thinking of incorporating some flights, rather than Amtrak rides only.

Is there anything to know, or to choose between the budget airlines? I am seeing options such as Spirit, Allegiance, Alaska, etc.

One tends to go for just lowest price at my end of the market, but is one carrier much less reliable, etc etc?

Thanks!

Ed.

Lots of good info here Eddie.

I don't fly nearly as much as I did back in the day, but considering where I live, and the current poor state of the Texas Eaglette, I mostly use Southwest Airlines to reach where I want to go, and if going to the NW, I have found Alaska to be the Best Choice!

One thing to keep in mind is that booking as far in advance as possible, ( 21+ days is usually the window for the Best Fares) will save you money and get you better Seats.

I totally agree that avoiding Spirit and the other " Budget" Airlines is a wise choice, but the bottom line is that a Flite, if not across the Pond or Country, is just a means of getting somewhere Quickly, so I generally go by Price, Times and Airport ( when's there's more than 1 in the Area) when booking Flights!

Be great to see you in Philly, it's been too Long!! Jim

 

[Gary Moline]

I usually fly American, if travelling cross-country, and Alaska, if travelling north, as I live in Palm Springs, CA and my choices are somewhat limited. I agree with many statements above, especially the one from tgstubbs1, any flight with problems sucks. My worst was with American; 26 hours from Palm Springs to Chicago. Two hours late leaving Palm Springs, because of incorrect maintenance records; missed connection in Dallas and rebooked on next flight; couldn't land at O'Hare due to thunderstorms; diverted to Indianapolis to wait for storms to clear; at 1 am crew timed out; spent the night at Indianapolis airport, as no hotels available at that time; after considerable time trying to get another flight a kind American ticket agent found a flight to Chicago (where our luggage was). We arrived at O'Hare, found our luggage, took an uber to Chicago Union Station and had an hour to spare before our excursion on two private rail cars attached the the California Zephyr was to depart. Oh, and no compensation from American, as they did get us to our destination.

 

[PerRock]

I usually fly American; although haven't had any issues with Delta. People go on about how "amazing" Delta is over other two big carriers, something I've not witnessed. The only airline I've really had any issues with is United; and it wasn't any one big thing... just little stuff the piled up to make me not want to fly with them (that and they're usually the most expensive of the three).

As for budget airlines, I've heard good things about JetBlue, but never flown them. Spirit is pretty miserable, but on par with a low cost carrier. I did get pretty annoyed with them last time I flew, as I had booked a checked-bag when I bought my tickets, but they kept sending me (on a more-than-daily basis) ads to add checked bags to my booking. Spirit is also in the process of trying to get bought. They were almost bought by Frontier last year (2022), but pulled the plug when JetBlue offered them a better deal; often companies trying to be bought end up cutting a lot of low hanging fruit to make them look more valuable.

I used to fly Southwest a lot, but have moved away from doing so due to political reasons. In general the service with Southwest is good, the only big thing that most people who are used to flying other airlines dislike about Southwest is the seating/boarding method. You cannot choose a seat, when you check in, you will be assigned a boarding group & number (the earlier you book in the earlier you can board) they then call you up based on group where you get in line based on the number; then board. You can pick any open seat on board.

 

[pi314]

Hey all, not sure how an airline discussion ended up on an Amtrak forum, but if you'll indulge me it's the only thing I'm knowledgable about (retired AA).

As a broad statement, I think the big 3 are all about the same. Anecdotally I've heard more positive statements about Delta, however no personal experiences myself. The only time I flew non-AA was years ago with Alaska and that was a pleasant one-off experience.

As another broad statement, on any given day any airline can absolutely suck given the wrong set of circumstances, many of which are beyond their control. For every passenger getting off an AA flight saying they'll never fly on AA again, there's another one getting on swearing they'll never fly on United again. The one airline I would avoid like the plague is Spirit simply because I've heard nothing but negative comments and no one has ever said they liked the experience. For years Southwest was the darling of friendly outliers, but with Herb Kelleher gone the culture there sucks the same as all the other unimpressive lines and they sure didn't win any friends last Christmas.

On the other hand, many things that disrupt a schedule can be avoided and it often comes down to who is working the problem for that flight or at that airport. As a crew member I was always aggressively proactive trying to find creative solutions but not everyone is. One last broad statement - the larger an airline is the more resources at their disposal to address an issue, and if it's an operational hub where the problem occurs, the higher the likelihood of filling in service gaps.

The biggest problem I've seen Domestically is people using travel websites to book their own travel and tripping over dollars to pick up dimes. The cheapest fare is not always going to serve you well. With these tedious disclaimers out of the way, I'd suggest the following guidelines:

- If given the option, always always always always always always choose a direct flight over a connecting flight regardless of cost. Did I mention always?

- If you absolutely must connect to another flight, if possible allow at least a two hour connection time. Travel apps will often suggest minimal connection times of less than an hour and it's just begging for trouble.

- Never never never never never book a connection from one airline to a different airline unless there is absolutely no other choice. Even then don't do it. Did I mention never?

- Even if you're traveling round-trip, I personally would make a different reservation for each direction. It will probably be the same price and it keeps things cleaner and more nimble if one of the trips needs to be adjusted.

- With multiple departure times for a given city pair, I'd suggest taking the earliest flight for the obvious and very real potential for problems that snowball into the remaining day's schedule. Also if the schedule does go South, more options are available the earlier you've started.

- When things go well, which realistically is most of the time, it's relatively painless. It's when there's delays and cancellations that things get sketchy real fast. I am pretty unhappy with the way AA has chosen to handle that - I don't think they are quick enough to allocate manpower to address schedule meltdowns, however every airline has their time on the hot seat so maybe they all suck at it.

- Sometimes the airlines and employees are as frustrated as the customers trying to make a broken industry work. E.g. at O'Hare (and I believe most airports) the wheelchairs are contracted out by the airport and at ORD they are spotty at best. Similar situations exist with the catering services.

Also, if for example you're flying in or out of New York airspace, ARTCC there is NOTORIOUS for throwing schedules into total disarray by starting and stopping ground delay programs on a whim for a single drop of rain and this often makes it impossible to decide when to board a flight during a ground delay, what is the likelihood of a crew going illegal, the list goes on and on about the frustration of trying to game a totally unreliable information source from New York airspace controllers.

BTW, when gate agents make PA's about the reason for a delay, they often don't know what they're talking about. They're not trying to mislead people (usually) but they often don't understand the mechanisms driving the delays or are simply flat out misinformed themselves. And those revised departure times posted on the status screens? Uggg... if the delay is due to an issued ATC "wheels-up" time then there's probably some actual math involved, but often times it's just some random departure time someone made up because they have no clue when the delay will actually be resolved, so they keep rolling it over and over and over (suspiciously in convenient 1/2 hour or 1 hour increments) just to put up a time that is IN THE FUTURE.

I could go on and on I guess, but the last piece of advice is pretty obvious - with some nuances. If you can avoid checking luggage, bring everything in a carry-on. But of course be smart about it - if you're on a long trip with a lot of stuff just check the bags at the ticket counter. Make sure all carry-ons are a reasonable size and know that it limits the toiletries you can pack (9-1-1 TSA liquid policy).

However, if you're not in an early boarding group, most flights are full so plan on having to gate-check your bags anyway. It might be worth it to just pay a few bucks to be in an earlier boarding group to snag some overhead bin space.

Here's the gotcha on connecting flights (at least this is how it works on AA): for a mainline flight, unless it has a pink tag like they use for strollers or critical personal items, that gate checked bag will go to baggage claim ... somewhere...

On a connecting mainline flight it SHOULD be gate checked all the way to your final destination, but wow, I wouldn't count on it. In that case better off checking it before going through TSA screening.

On the other hand, if it's a regional affiliate flight (i.e. not mainline AA but using American Connection or American Eagle livery) they should bring a gate checked bag to the jet bridge assuming the destination isn't using a hardstand parking spot. In that case, if it were me I'd ask the agent to only gate check it to the connection city rather than the final destination.

Good luck. Hope this separated some of the fact from fiction about why sometimes airlines seem to suck vs when they actually do suck. As a former airline employee, I'd rather take the train any day!

 

[Ziv]

Hi Folks,

I am visiting the USA this September, and for the first time ever, I am thinking of incorporating some flights, rather than Amtrak rides only.

Is there anything to know, or to choose between the budget airlines? I am seeing options such as Spirit, Allegiance, Alaska, etc.

One tends to go for just lowest price at my end of the market, but is one carrier much less reliable, etc etc?

Thanks!

Ed.

If you are coming to the USA in early September you are still in a "thunderstorm possible" month so try to time your take off before 1pm local time to avoid the crazy delays. You may get shaken, not stirred, en route but you will probably get there on time. If your 3pm or later flight gets delayed, all bets are off.
I lived in the Washington DC area and my family was in Montana so a lot of my flights were cheapest and most convenient time wise with United. I have been very lucky with United, they are not a great airline but they have been good to me in times of trouble and I am a Platinum member now so take all my good experiences with a large grain of salt. But when I had a loss in my family and when I got covid and had to shelter in place for a week in Denmark/SAS Airline strike, United stepped up and helped me either get there or get home comfortably.
But the big thing for me is price and timing. And that is where Kayak dot com works well for me. For a one way flight I put in a departure date and put in the plus or minus 3 days so I get 7 days worth of prices. Return is a bit more work.
If you are over 6' (not sure what that is in meters) seat pitch is important, but it is hard to find for specific flights. But here is a comparison of the smallest seat pitch and the longest seat pitch for most of the airlines here.
Short answer after the long one. They are all fairly mediocre but the big three are not terrible, United, Delta, American, are all decent.

 

[caravanman]

Thanks again to all for taking the time to respond to my questions. I appreciate all your help and advice.

I have booked my flight to Chicago on Aer Lingus, flying from Dublin, last two weeks in September.

Still trying to finalise plans once I arrive. I will be sure to incorporate a Zephyr ride back to Chicago to end the visit!

Ed.

 

[City of Miami]

Nice to see your queries, Ed. I was thinking about you last week, sitting on a train, that I had not seen a post from you in a while.

 

[PerRock]

If you are coming to the USA in early September you are still in a "thunderstorm possible" month so try to time your take off before 1pm local time to avoid the crazy delays. You may get shaken, not stirred, en route but you will probably get there on time. If your 3pm or later flight gets delayed, all bets are off.

Another consideration I forgot about since you're coming from overseas; is partner airlines. British Airways for example is partnered with American Airlines; so flights you take on AA will count on your BA rewards (One World). Virgin is with Delta (Skyteam), etc. (I couldn't find a UK member airline for Star Alliance).

Most of the budget airlines aren't affiliated with the three alliances. Jet Blue & AA have some sort of partnership, but I don't know how it works with BAEC.

 

[PVD]

Another consideration I forgot about since you're coming from overseas; is partner airlines. British Airways for example is partnered with American Airlines; so flights you take on AA will count on your BA rewards (One World). Virgin is with Delta (Skyteam), etc. (I couldn't find a UK member airline for Star Alliance).

Most of the budget airlines aren't affiliated with the three alliances. Jet Blue & AA have some sort of partnership, but I don't know how it works with BAEC.

The JetBlue AA alliance is going away.

 

[allanorn]

The JetBlue AA alliance is going away.

Correct, as of July 21st. I think they'll honor any ticket booked before then but that's the extent of it.

In terms of carriers - Delta, American, Alaska, Southwest, and United are the ones I'd favor. They're all roughly the same experience most days. I might give a nod to Delta for being slightly better with customer experience even in Basic Economy. I might say Southwest and United are the worst of the five, though I've had some rather mediocre experiences on American as of late. Just note Southwest is a single-class seat airline that operates quite differently than the other airlines.

If you are looking to get frequent flier status check with your favored airline to see which alliance they are with and what partner carriers can earn you credit. These are also the carriers that have the most resiliency (generally*) when something goes wrong and you need to be rebooked.

Allegiant, Spirit, and Frontier are ultra-low-cost carriers similar to Ryanair. They can be good, but often you get nickel-and-dimed on features and their seating is lower-pitch than the other carriers. Also note that their irregular operations can be non-existent, especially if they rely on a hub-and-spoke model where their hub goes down (like Denver for Frontier).

JetBlue tends to act like a ULCC these days, but they may not be as bad as people say they are. They tend to get paralyzed if JFK and Boston Logan get inclement weather though. Other carriers like JetX or Sun Country are probably best avoided because they either don't fly enough planes to be reliable or their irregular operations are known to be bad.

Adding: There are no EU 261 or similar regulations for airlines. Only issues truly attributable to the airline will get you some compensation like food or a hotel room. Weather cancelations will generally not get you anything except a seat on the next available flight, or the opportunity for a full refund. Airlines have plans if you get stuck on the tarmac and can't deplane - but that only means they'll provide snacks after two hours, and you can sit on a closed plane for up to three hours (four for international flights) before takeoff and/or after landing before penalties start kicking in.

* When it comes to irregular operations it depends on what the situation is. Most US airlines operate hub-and-spoke, so if a hub goes down it can be chaos for a day or two if you're in a small airport or trying to get to/from that hub. Southwest operates direct routes, so they're often not as affected - but they went down hard for two weeks last Christmas when 50% of the country didn't move because of bad winter weather (and their IT systems dumpstered the flight crews with the stranded passengers).

 

[caravanman]

What type of holiday Ed? Beach, mountains, city culture or?

Be very interested in your take on Amtrak post Covid too.

Certainly not a beach holiday, but not anything strenuous like mountains, either. I expect it will be mostly city visits and train rides, as usual, but just less rushing around, and maybe "upgrade" to Motel 6 instead of hostels.

Be great to see you in Philly, it's been too Long!! Jim

Cheers Jim! Sadly I will be in America for the last two weeks only of September, so can't make the Philly gathering. Shame, as it is one city I have never visited. Fond memories of the St.Louis and San Francisco meet ups!

Nice to see your queries, Ed. I was thinking about you last week, sitting on a train, that I had not seen a post from you in a while.

I got a bit fed up with Amtrak for a while, so had a break from here too. I have still travelled though, visiting India last autumn, and Turkey and Rhodes earlier this year. Hmmm, did I switch off that cooker in my Rhodes hotel room when I left?

 

[user 6862]

Certainly not a beach holiday, but not anything strenuous like mountains, either. I expect it will be mostly city visits and train rides, as usual, but just less rushing around, and maybe "upgrade" to Motel 6 instead of hostels.

Cheers Jim! Sadly I will be in America for the last two weeks only of September, so can't make the Philly gathering. Shame, as it is one city I have never visited. Fond memories of the St.Louis and San Francisco meet ups!

I got a bit fed up with Amtrak for a while, so had a break from here too. I have still travelled though, visiting India last autumn, and Turkey and Rhodes earlier this year. Hmmm, did I switch off that cooker in my Rhodes hotel room when I left?

Motel 6! That's a bit upmarket for you isn't it.

Great time of year to travel in the US isn't it, best time of year for many US regions IMV.

 

[trainman74]

When I lived in Wyoming, I took a number of flights out of the airport in Riverton, a small town in west-central Wyoming. It was back in the late 60's and early 70's. Frontier Airlines was the only flight in and out of Riverton. Frontier was a good airline, at least back then, and one of the best airlines as far as safety is concerned, even though they often flew through inclement weather. One flight I remember was from Riverton to Billings, MT through terrible, snowy weather. I turned out to be a very smooth flight. I don't know what Fontier is like these days.

My understanding is that the current Frontier is only related to the original Frontier by name (that is, the original Frontier entirely went out of business, and then a new airline with the same name was founded years later -- somewhat more successful than attempts that have been made to start a new "Pan Am" and a new "Eastern").

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Would be a poor airline on any other continent: Delta.

I'd be okay with Delta in South America or Africa. I'd also take them over any Indonesian or Philippine airline.

If given the option, always always always always always always choose a direct flight over a connecting flight regardless of cost. Did I mention always?

Good advice (although nonstop flights can be rare outside of gateways, hubs, and focus cities).

If you absolutely must connect to another flight, if possible allow at least a two hour connection time. Travel apps will often suggest minimal connection times of less than an hour and it's just begging for trouble.

I would say two or more hours for those who can run and three or more hours for those who can walk.

Never never never never never book a connection from one airline to a different airline unless there is absolutely no other choice. Even then don't do it. Did I mention never?

I've had pretty good luck booking across airlines and alliances but I would double the normal connection time or do it as an overnight.

Even if you're traveling round-trip, I personally would make a different reservation for each direction. It will probably be the same price and it keeps things cleaner and more nimble if one of the trips needs to be adjusted.

More good advice (although I often forget to do this).

With multiple departure times for a given city pair, I'd suggest taking the earliest flight for the obvious and very real potential for problems that snowball into the remaining day's schedule. Also if the schedule does go South, more options are available the earlier you've started.

Even more good advice (although I personally avoid early morning flights like the plague).

If you can avoid checking luggage, bring everything in a carry-on.

I honestly wish more people would check bags instead. If you cannot easily lift it over your own head it needs to be checked IMO.

If you are over 6' (not sure what that is in meters) seat pitch is important, but it is hard to find for specific flights. But here is a comparison of the smallest seat pitch and the longest seat pitch for most of the airlines here.

Six feet is 183cm and like you I strongly recommend taller people research seat pitch before booking, especially transoceanic trips.

My understanding is that the current Frontier is only related to the original Frontier by name (that is, the original Frontier entirely went out of business, and then a new airline with the same name was founded years later -- somewhat more successful than attempts that have been made to start a new "Pan Am" and a new "Eastern").

Frontier is the same company that transitioned to ULCC, much like Spirit had done before them, but not like Pan Am or Eastern.

 

[BarbW]

I fly in and out of Portland, Oregon from the east coast at least annually. If the schedule considerations are equal, I will pick Alaska Airlines every time over United. Excellent customer service and reliability, in my experience. Alaska is not a budget airline, and thankfully, they don't act like one. United has gotten their service back from abysmal to OK - probably average for the big three.
Allegiant is "cheap" and can get you short hops if your needs fit their hub-and-spoke model. But, as said by others, they will nickel and dime you for everything. The other thing is they only fly to most destinations 2 or 3 days per week. So, if your flight gets cancelled, you are stuck where you are for several days until the next flight.

 

[Geordie405]

There's some sound advice in the comments above. A lot depends on where you're flying into and where you intend visiting during your stay.

• My airlines of choice tend to be AA and AS because of my oneworld allegiance.
• Delta is good and would be my next choice. I don't fly United at all. Ever.
• Spirit is definitely equivalent to Ryanair and I wouldn't fly them either.
• Southwest would probably be equivalent to easyJet. I fly them as a last resort. I don't find them to be particularly cheap. They often offer a lot of indirect routings rather than the non-stop services offered by the mainline carriers.
• Allegiant have their hub in Las Vegas. They are better than they used to be. We stopped flying our daughter on them for a while because of safety concerns.

I would probably strike a balance between price and frequency. If you're flying with an airline who only has one flight a day or three flights a week to your destination then you may experience a long delay if that one flight is cancelled. With a carrier with multiple flights you're less likely to have a prolonged delay.

The other thing to bear in mind is that there's no equivalent to EU261 / UK261 here in the US. Airlines will vary substantially as to how they will support you in the event of IRROPs. In some cases you may well be on your own! Either have good travel insurance or be prepared to self-insure.

 

[Joe from PA]

I'm willing to pay extra for DIRECT flights, period.

 

[west point]

For international flights research your choices carefully. Maintenance and safety most important. For destinations in non busy airports that is most important. 'IMO if all possible avoid any Indonesian airline.
Domestically it all about weather, Yesterday LGA airport had at one time 61 airplanes in the departure conga line due to weather. It is hurricane season now so pay very close attention to National Hurrican center forecasts.

National Hurricane Center Looks good today but in a few days??? The surface water temp around Florida to Texas is hot over 100F in places. That is hurricane fuel +++ as 84 is the magic number.

Buy refundable tickets as you might get there and be left to survive in a dilapidated shelter.

Not well understood is how you pay for a ticket. Example only: You buy a ticket for $1000.00 on your Credit card to pay off when getting to aunt Sally's house one year later. The VIG (CR CD interest) is anywhere from 18 - 24 %. You cancel at last minute and get refund. You still have to pay CR CD $ 190 - 240. Last minute ticket only cost $1075. Did you save money? What if it takes months to get refund approved due to financial difficulties? Major CR CD companies much better.

 

[caravanman]

I'm willing to pay extra for DIRECT flights, period.

I used to prefer direct flights, but recently, I prefer two shorter flights to one longer. For example, I mostly try for a change of planes in Dubai to break up the flight when I go from UK to India. Domestic, USA flights are mostly not too long, so it makes sense to fly direct.

For international flights research your choices carefully. Maintenance and safety most important. For destinations in non busy airports that is most important. 'IMO if all possible avoid any Indonesian airline.
Domestically it all about weather, Yesterday LGA airport had at one time 61 airplanes in the departure conga line due to weather. It is hurricane season now so pay very close attention to National Hurrican center forecasts.

National Hurricane Center Looks good today but in a few days??? The surface water temp around Florida to Texas is hot over 100F in places. That is hurricane fuel +++ as 84 is the magic number.

Buy refundable tickets as you might get there and be left to survive in a dilapidated shelter.

Not well understood is how you pay for a ticket. Example only: You buy a ticket for $1000.00 on your Credit card to pay off when getting to aunt Sally's house one year later. The VIG (CR CD interest) is anywhere from 18 - 24 %. You cancel at last minute and get refund. You still have to pay CR CD $ 190 - 240. Last minute ticket only cost $1075. Did you save money? What if it takes months to get refund approved due to financial difficulties? Major CR CD companies much better.

Certainly, safety and maintenance is top of the agenda for passengers. I am on Aer Lingus from Dublin to Chicago my next visit. If you know any horror stories about them, please don't tell me!

Gosh, that was some conga line at LGA! Hurricanes are not on our radar at all, here in the UK. I am travelling the last two weeks in September, is that time still a concern for hurricanes?

I don't use credit cards much, and pay them off asap.

 

[west point]

Gosh, that was some conga line at LGA! Hurricanes are not on our radar at all, here in the UK. I am travelling the last two weeks in September, is that time still a concern for hurricanes?

Yes! For anywhere in the Carribean! Middle September the worse history. But with the present water temps this year who knows?

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41...edge..69i57j0l8.16269j0j1&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS

 

[jis]

Hurricanes just create huge number of cancellations rather than long Conga Lines. There is quite a bit of advanced warning with them, making it possible to localize the impact considerably in a planned way. It is long range unpredicted storm clusters that create Conga Lines more often than Hurricanes.

In Florida airports get closed down for days at a time when they are expected to be hit by Hurricanes. But they also have sporadic ground stops caused by Sea Breeze Thunderstorms, often every day for a period, causing unpredictable delays throwing planned schedules for a loop, creating huge waiting lines.

The presence of an active Thunderstorm within a couple of miles of an airport can bring all ground operations like baggage loading/unloading to a halt, causing delays in arrivals and departures in a cascade, also causing unavailability of gates for flights that have landed, but their gate has not been cleared by a previous departure awaiting loading of baggage.

And this is from someone who lives in Florida, an hour from Florida's busiest airport, Orlando International.

 

[bonzoesc]

Hurricanes just create huge number of cancellations rather than long Conga Lines. There is quite a bit of advanced warning with them, making it possible to localize the impact considerably in a planned way. It is long range unpredicted storm clusters that create Conga Lines more often than Hurricanes.

Yeah, it's not Henry Flagler times, hurricanes are a going concern days before they land. If there's one brewing, a lot of airlines will become extremely flexible inn letting you reschedule your flight without extra fees.

 

[flitcraft]

Yeah, it's not Henry Flagler times, hurricanes are a going concern days before they land. If there's one brewing, a lot of airlines will become extremely flexible inn letting you reschedule your flight without extra fees.

Two summers ago, our neighbors had a flight booked that was potentially impacted by a hurricane, and the airline proactively emailed them to ask if they wanted to re-schedule. I think it was American Airlines, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if airlines took that approach, rather than having hundreds of upset passengers at the airport they have to deal with.

 

[railiner]

Two summers ago, our neighbors had a flight booked that was potentially impacted by a hurricane, and the airline proactively emailed them to ask if they wanted to re-schedule. I think it was American Airlines, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if airlines took that approach, rather than having hundreds of upset passengers at the airport they have to deal with.

Airlines like to move their metal out of harm's way, if they can. Since AA has a large hub at MIA, they want to move their planes elsewhere until the storm passes.

 

[B757Guy]

Alaska is not a budget carrier, and the largest budget carrier is Southwest Airlines. They must be booked at their own website, not on sites like Orbitz. I worry about the quality of their pilots and maintenance.

I can assure you, the quality of their pilots and maintenance is just fine.