Airlines. What's Your Favorite?

How do you choose a favorite airline? We flew Continental for quite a few years mainly because Cleveland was a hub and it was convenient. Once in a while we deviated to US Airways (now American Air) to fly to Grand Cayman because the flights were convenient and cheaper. Southwest was an adventure a time or two but mostly we stuck with Continental which became United--and left Cleveland behind, no longer a hub.

We found ourselves floundering a bit but enter Frontier Airlines to the rescue. Our most recent trip to Florida was by Frontier not only because we wanted to try them out but also because they offered a non-stop at a great price even though we had to pay for all the extras: luggage, food and drinks. Bob bought the classic ticket which got us a great seat in the exit row with lots of leg room and the extra cost included a checked bag.

Check-in was done by computer at home and boarding passes printed out. When we arrived at the airport, all we needed to do was show our passes and our baggage tags were handed to us by an attendant who had them all printed out before hand. Slick! We were checked in and baggage checked in less than five minutes.

What impressed me most both going and coming was the friendliness of all those connected with Frontier. We were served up smiles, polite conversation, and lots of humor (especially from a Denver native hostessing our flight home). Soft drinks were $1.99 each but refills of coffee and tea were free. Other than that they had the usual fare for snacks that other lines do. Our classic ticket however included our drinks and as always when we need to eat in flight, we brought food on board.

Our return trip was delayed two hours due to mechanical problems but lo and behold, a few days after our return, Bob got an email and a $30 voucher for a future flight with the airlines apology. Frontier will definitely be a number one consideration in the future.

Oh, and luggage arrived with us as well. Always a plus!

Recently there was a newsletter from Smart Travel.com that talked about several other new airlines starting up. Frontier wasn't one. I guess Frontier is considered old already. I wonder, would you consider a brand new airline to travel with? How would you choose? Do you have a favorite?