Why US Airlines Suck 

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Spirit, Froniter, and Allegiant: "Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet"

As a flight attendant for a US based airline, this video is is on point. And he’s only scratching the surface. It’s a lot deeper. Good video. You could do well over a hour on this subject. I would give you my view points to help.

Great American airline quality collapsed when Pan Am and TWA went bust

Out of all of the U.S carriers, I would say delta would be the best.

So making a story short, US airlines enjoy a “captive” market and don’t have competition in domestic markets. Without competition, there’s no reason to make things better for the passengers

Yep, I had some bad experiences with AA, and I realize that they are terrible after I started to fly to middle east and Asia with EK, Qatar, ANA and others.

My late uncle worked for Delta from '69 until his retirement around thirty years later, much of his tenure there was in customer relations. He told me that it was their customer service that separated the "men from the boys".

This Is why people love airlines Like Jetblue And Alaska!

The hardest jobs are not the CEO, accountants, pilots, ground crew but they are the jobs that deal directly with the public/customers in any industry.

People who live in JetBlue hubs: “we are so lucky”

Ever since Covid and AA furloughed all the younger flight attendants I had some awful service by senior flight attendants. The only way to avoid this is to fly first class in order to be treated like a human. You can forget it if you’re in the back of the plane. Thanks for explaining why this happens in the US. I never knew why but it makes perfect sense. Great video as always Dan!❤️👍✈️

I think that even when I become a pilot I'll still have a million times more respect for the flight attendants than pilots. They gotta deal with so much shit that's not their fault. I've flown around the world and I've observed that American passengers are the worst to deal with, it's no wonder why the cabin crew is so miserable

Dan, i am so proud of your new work. I really learned a lot from your last videos. Keep going!

Great vlog and will presented. Having been a flight attendant for one of the 3 majors, what you say is true. I loved my job and it was a pleasure to give the best service I possibly could. Thanks for your time and effort in keeping us all informed.

Dude I would be first in line for the long haul flight on a 1950's 707 with original seats.

4:00 “their covid policies are among the best in the world” *shows clip of people cleaning plane without masks*

you make some good points but how is this different from the airlines within Europe? I've seen British airways or air France have similar products that aren't anything special. I would argue that flying is viewed as more of a means of transportation in America and Europe rather than an experience.

I flew from Auckland to Heathrow once and even though there was a 2 hour stop over in LAX, We still ran to get back on the to continue onto Heathrow. Would not recomend transit through US. Our original flight via Shanghai (from Auckland) we missed because there was a cyclone at the time and the aircraft that was supposed to fly us domestically got hit by lighting. Obviously couldn't fly then. We contacted ANZ service (they are very good) and we got the last seats on the US flight. My parents ended up getting harldy any sleep so that we could get visas. It took 4 hours and we arrived home at 10pm so up until 2am getting visas. Thankfully we made it to the UK, just a day later and on hardly any sleep.

Three words: Airline Deregulation Act

Part of the reason why the US makes all arrivals go through customs is that US airports don't segregate international departures and domestic departures: there is no way to separate international pax from domestic ones. US airports were designed for a domestic market first and foremost. Also airlines like Pan Am, Delta, Northwest, and United used to have international connecting networks well into the 1990s and 2000s but they started paring back on those, such as Delta ending the Narita hub it got from Northwest.

As an Asian Canadian I feel like US infrastructure are pretty outdated and inefficient to begin with, compared to Asia and even Canada

Really great and accurate. You touched on it, however, management at these airlines simply don't care. If you're at or near the top and don't care, what should one expect as the employee chain trickles on-board. U.S. carriers used 9/11 to deliberately dumb-down the operations, while necessary for a few years, the industry recovered with lighting speed in terms of demand, yet, they left the cost-cutting in tact where the accountants run the show (counting lettuce leaves for example). You didn't touch upon how all North American airlines, and the Unions, in rare unanimity fought hard to prevent the G-3 landing and gate rights. They lost of course like a little kid screaming for territorial rights to a sandbox. A Story - friend of mine worked for United. She was new, young, enthusiastic, great attitude and worked her tail-off. After a couple of years she happened to be working the front of the bus, and taking care of a very wealthy individual who was flying commercial because his own jet had a last minute mechanical and he needed to be somewhere. To make a long story shorter, wealthy dude noticed how hard she worked and how pleasant an individual she was, she's now going on 9-years private. Getting paid 30% more on a fixed salary (no waiting for the door to be shut), plus living expenses. I doubt she will ever fly commercial again and proof, in my opinion, how the unions foster and promote the division between crew and pax. My friend told me that she always wanted to treat a pax they way she would want to be treated if sitting in 32-B herself. Wealthy dude overheard her explaining this to another pax and gave her his pilot's phone number. Now she takes care of 'guests'.

Great video Dan! I'm in the US and worked as a flight attendant for 4 years. The airline I flew for is no longer around, but we actually had a purser on every flight. we called them Seniors. They had special training and received a higher pay scale and that position was a promotion from the regular flight attendant level.. You are correct, AA, DL and UA don't have that position, at least on domestic flights.

happened to me once: booked a flight from chicago to frankfurt on lufhansa, the flight was operated by united... there really was a difference there...

JetBlue is pretty good though

Very informative Dan... I remember talking to a flight crew on JAL when I used to fly them regularly... they told me that you could end up working international first class on your first day of work. Everyone gets to do a bit of everything.

I really appreciate the work you put into choosing the video content to go along with what you are saying. makes it worthwhile watching instead of it being a podcast

US Airlines do have pursers tho. Its just not as perstige or noticable as international carriers.

Caption should be: Roasting US Airlines

I flew with Delta once to New York (from Brussels) and it was actually very nice and the staff was very friendly

This is so true. I'm currently mid trip with American Airlines due to an emergency. I had the misfortune of experiencing the intransit process in JFK;they were terrible during the snow in . It took FOUR days to reach my destination. They didn't understand that Antigen and lateral flow were the same and despit me having it and presenting it to them still insisted I didn't have one and that they told me ,,; something I've demonstrably shown was false. I've tried getting a partial refund of my outbound leg which is proving really hard. This is so true. When I return with them Ill do all I can to avoid using American; they really treat visitors to their country worse than than the behaviour they ascribe to for countries. The only rare Tay of light was a non American airlines information service worker seeing me in dire straits sleeping on the floor in s country I know no one to help and when I got to Miami someone form American then trying to help me. This is such s true videos, but also such a shame that airlines like American can treat pax so disdainfully 😢

Great video Dan, me and my wife are going to the Seychelles in december. Flying with QR and for the first time with A 350 (Q Suites). We have on numerous occations travelled with Emirates, Qatar and Singapore Airlines in businessclass. They all have similar standards and provide impeccaple service. It makes the whole experience something to remember.

Rather then give us your opinion, why not get on the US big 3 and show us the “bad” service. I signed up for actual flight reviews. By the way, if it was not for American Airlines, the first airline to offer a frequent flyer program, you would not be flying free with miles!

Actually some US Airlines do have pursers that are actually over the other flight attendants.

1. So happy to see you collaborating with Coby!! I've followed both of you for a while and it feels great that you two now have a working relationship! 2. I'd love to travel to Auckland, NZ. My home is Boston, US.

Lack of competition is a massive problem in most US industries.

Nonstop Dan: This video is made in collaboration with Coby explanes Me and other Coby fans : Finally our boy is getting recognition I mean, there is something about him that makes him such a charming person, and his narration is one of my favorite Thanks Dan for helping him out and collaborating with him.

Always love your analysis Dan! That was really fascinating, especially the point about the pursers. I didn’t realize that wasn’t a true supervisory position.

14:14 my grandma worked for delta from 1973 to 2020.

I'd like to add three points and a half to your 3 points. First big point: in the US, there is little "service" culture in the first place. You can see that everywhere there are customer facing positions. Any industry, doesn't matter. That is a cultural trait in the US. "Service" is often equated with a sense of "servitude" (which of course it isn't). Also, many service jobs are often not considered "professional life-time careers" (although they should and sometimes are) but, instead, are seen as entry level jobs for the young from which one is supposed to "move on to a real job" later in life. As US unemployment has also fallen, there's just less decent human capital around to fill these "service" jobs with people that would actually give good service. Ever notice how much better customer service gets in times of high unemployment? Second big point: In the "golden age", hiring practices were completely different than they are today in the US. The respective managements back then hired very specific people for very specific jobs. A good example is/was stewardesses. They had to fit a certain mold physically, educationally, and service wise; if they fell out of the mold, they got fired or moved to ground crew. Outside the US, some of these practices can still be exercised. I'm not saying this is necessarily better - it's just a fact. Third big point: the massification of flying also brought with it the masses (duh). It also means that the flying public that once wore suit and ties for a flight are now boarding in shorts, flip-flops, and a hoodie. Why would one give good service to someone dressed like that? It's just a working fact that, when you are in a customer service position, you adjust your service to the person in front of you. All get the minimum (which is what we see in the US airlines now) but better dressed and behaved customers generally get better service. It's human nature really. And the half point: People forget that today's American Airlines is nothing but a reskinned US Airways. US Airways was always bad but they bought AA out of bankruptcy. So we all had higher expectations (not that AA ever was anything even remotely close to Pan Am) but forget that today's AA is just a dressed up US Airways... Changing a corporate culture for the better takes a very, very, long time while going to the lowest common denominator is actually quite easy...

This Video is in Wendover Productions analysis style! Amazing! enjoy your flight out of NY. Triopoly: This is why JetBlue getting the A321XLR is going to be amazing for competition. Karen said hi 😂🙄 Really really bad service... like forgetting your meal so they give you leftover salad for breakfast in business class

Vietnam will be my first choice when I travel again

I flew AA premium economy in 2021 International to Europe. The pilot introduced himself to us. He was older. He was old school. Like a Grandpa. Honestly that was the first time and I flew since 1981. We were shocked. The plane was a 787, I believe from 2016. We had access to a larger restroom. We had a surprising good meal and the seats were comfortable. One flight attendant told me before COVID, they had snacks and drinks sitting out in a galley to pick from. She was willing to get me whatever. She was the best. Everyone was wearing a mask but no one was being a jerk. It was non-stop. It came with a comfy seat and legroom was sufficient for a 6’ person. I want to fly premium economy with an airline outside of the star alliance or one world to compare.

Dan, I when I fly within the US, it is often on the regional planes. This means I am not flying United or Delta or American but Air Wisconsin doing business as United Express, as an example. I wonder how much this has to do with the service experience if you fly mid-market to mid-market via a hub.

AA, DL, UA: we’ll provide poor service for lots of money. Spirit Airline: Hold my beer!!

I feel lucky as an Australian, our domestic airlines are all reasonably good, Qantas and Virgin are great compared to AA or Delta. Once we are allowed to travel as normal, I want to go back to New York.

I'm loving this new series, more informational. Great context, content... very nice work! :)

The three legacy carriers not serving as ambassadors for their nations, and instead for their shareholders is one reason I would argue they infact perfectly represent all that is the USA. Offering the worst product they can possibly get away with and scooping up all the profits for themselves only to serve their shareholders.

Hey Dan! Great video ;)

After saving up for an entire year... I finally got a first class ticket on Emirates to Dubai. One of the GREATEST flights I've ever been on. And the new refreshed first class cabins on the 777 (on my back) were BEAUTIFUL and this might just be the only time I've taken a shower at approximately 40,000ft.

I’ve flown 15hr 30min from Singapore to scan Francisco in economy on United also know as hell

Your last video about Middle Eastern hub systems was beautifully done. I love how you approached this one too. I am a top tier elite on one of these US carriers and the disappointment is palpable. Keep up the good work.

A good point to make is how the two existing union airlines of today ( American & United ) create an “us vs. them” culture with their cabin crew members. I was a high ranking frequent flier at Continental Airlines that was also union but the culture of their cabin crew was not antagonistic with management at the time. In fact they really loved their former CEO, Gordon Bethune, who made them industry leaders in customer service. Fast forward to what became of them; they are now United. United has had a toxic cabin crew culture since at least the 80s and their cabin union has focused on growth with other carriers ....not quality among their personal. It shows glaringly. Those great customer service crew members from Continental were ground down to their least common denominator when combined with United crews and the result is what we endure today.

I like United! I flew that airline for 5 years! Their are some problems with the cabin crew! But so far I loved it.

I’ve had mostly good experiences on domestic flights in the U.S. The one situation that was bad was when the airline my assigned seat to someone else, with no warning! I booked my flight and chose my seat online, 6 weeks before travel. I took a hard copy of my itinerary, which showed my chosen and approved seat assignment. I checked in 2 + hours for my flight at the ticket counter where my info was verified and so on. I checked in at the boarding gate with no problem, and NO MENTION of a seat assignment change. I go to my seat and settle in, only to have someone tell me I’m in THEIR seat, and they demand I move. After making sure I was indeed in the right seat, things got worse. A FA was called over to help. I showed her my itinerary hard copy with my approved seat assignment dated 6 weeks previously. I was told that I had to move because my seat had been GIVEN to an older couple so they could sit together! I chose my seat to accommodate my being physically challenged (last aisle seat at the rear, next to restroom). I didn’t want to split up the cute old pair, but I had needs too and I felt that I was being displaced unfairly. I got moved to another aisle seat in the middle of the plane, but I was not happy. How can they get away with making such last minute changes at travelers’ expenses?

That footage on the right at 0:50 is from my home airport (KRSW - SWFL Int’l in Ft Myers, FL).

Great video Dan! Still loving this ‘new’ series. 👍🏻

Awesome video, Dan. Hoping a future video covers the impact of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, as that certainly plays a big role even now in how US airlines compete across the globe.

It's because American passengers despite all of their grievances care about one thing above all else when it comes to flying: price. It makes no difference what little perks airlines have here and there, the vast majority of American flyers will pick the airline that offers the cheapest fare for a given route.

Dan. Very topical videos and your style is very good. You can go a long way to bringing sides together rectifying the situations. Just needs open, positive minds. Well done!

you are almost an aussie with your comment on "Karens" love it

As great as always Dan, at those strange days your videos are a glimpse of what used to be my routine.

I cannot believe I'm here since like 50k... At some point along the line YT ceased to recomend your content on this account. And all the sudden we are here. Nothing more than ♥️♥️ to you Dan.

I am literally moving back to the West Coast specifically so I can go back to flying Alaska Airlines where both the staff and the customer base make me feel like I actually belong. Between indifferent customer service, loyalty programs explicitly designed to only cater to travelers who game the carrier at the expense of their other travel loyalties, and an inability to deliver me on-time to the most basic of destinations in easy weather, the only reason I’d fly a big 3 carrier is to get points I can redeem on Alaska (sole reason I’m posting this from an AA plane right now) or because I have no other option.

The answer? It's because the United States is a corporatist country (mostly in terms of its religion of work, productivity, and profit) and it does not care about anything else at all. Money is the only thing American companies care about. Whatever they sell is nothing more than a vehicle for earning money. Only a select few actually care about their product or service offerings. The quality of their product is only important to them insofar as it provides them with a profit. We no longer have a culture of relationships and of a spirit to improve lives. It's just transactive and nothing more. We will never have good airlines as long as our idiocracy of no talent, no determination, and no heart continues. U.S. businesses are operated within an extreme scarcity mindset - cost-focused and benefit/investment blind. Only rare visionaries who start companies are the people who actually love their jobs and care about their products. There are maybe 10 major companies like that in the U.S. and the only others are small businesses that have almost no support at all for their stability and growth. America will never had good world class airlines again - unless the decarbonization of the aviation sector via electrification removes energy cost burdens sufficiently.

This is true, I had flown Qatar Airways , it was like flying in a dream, the service, WiFi, and movies were on point, then I got to the US and flew United and wowww, it was like flying in a shack, couldn’t, cold, hardly served, bad WiFi, movie selection wasn’t impressive, the turbulence was hectic, dunno if that is cos of the weather or just that the plane sucks itself but I couldn’t wait to get off

Most flights in the USA are flown by small cabin crews of 4 or less, so the hierarchy and accountability comparisons to foreign carriers doesn’t really apply

Same thing with pharmacies. Legislation puts all the power in the hands of big pharmacies. People need their prescriptions and have no viable alternatives. There’s no pressure on pharmacies to improve their service when customers have to with them regardless.

I love these documentaries Dan. Please continue them. Can I ask you to make a video about PIA please 😊

Can't wait to travel to the south pacific! I love your new content these industry analysis videos are amazing. As a Texan, I would have liked to have heard how you feel about Southwest Airlines, a US based carrier that seems to have a much better customer experience.

Aside from the content of this video, I'm super impressed and happy to know that you've been to South Korea and you are eager to visit again! I truly hope you can visit Seoul really soon and make a V-long after visiting. Love from Seoul :)

I was fortunate enough to fly Pam Am to Asia several times before their financial problems began ! They were wonderful ... When United purchased the routing to Asia, many of the Pam Am "ladies" went over to United. You could watch them in the cabins and instantly pick out the previous PA ladies ..They were kind and bent over backwards to take care of you ! PA sent me a free Business class ticket anywhere in the Caribbean to thank me of my business !

Southwest and Delta are cool, I accept them Also JetBlue and Sun Country are acceptable

COVID Dan = Wendover Productions haha. Love them both

The comparison has to be apples to apples. In other words: do not compare a domestic US flight to a foreign carrier's internationa flight. Instead, compare a domestic flight in the US with an intra-Europe flight on a similar plane and compare the product. And I would say that Delta's product is actually pretty good. I have flown ,Singapore, Air France, Korean, EVA, Emirates, JAL, China Airlines, KLM, Iberia, British Airways, Philippine Airlines, Aegean, Cathay Pacific...and I have experienced different cabins (First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy), and Delta's product is pretty good in each of those categories.

Hi, I work at Air NZ and just wanted to say we flew to london via L.A for 36 years not "a while". cheers.

As usual, an outstanding video. Well researched, and very carefully put together. Still, , when I read vlogs from former Emirates, and Qatar employees, and what they have gone through, I sometimes want to cry, and I wonder how on earth people can be asked to work under such dreadful conditions.

Hey Dan,I really like these videos and your high quality of work.love from India 🇮🇳,can’t wait for you to try the Vistara 787 business!!!😍❤️

Love the Business class video from New York to Bogota with Delta and booked myself one but the other way around! And I prevented that seat that you warned me about, thank you for that!

On a near 5hr flight from Los Angeles to Orlando on Delta in June 2021, we only had cookies/nuts and a beverage, and you had to pay for headsets....not sure if it was because airlines are still struggling/recovering after Covid 19.

Only US Airline l fly is Southwest but l stopped flying in 2017 l prefer to drive to where l need to go.

Dan, Thank you for having the courage to "tell it like it is!" The US-based carriers are horrible and it is hard to tell one from the other because the major US carriers are not even attempting to stand out from the crowd. The only two US-based airlines that I could mention that are trying to separate themselves somewhat are Jet Bllue eand Hawaiian. Keep bringing great content man!

I can remember hearing US passengers who frequently fly out with the United States and Canada saying that given the choice between any of the big 3 US airlines and one of the major European airlines they would usually opt for the European because they provided in many passengers eyes better value for money than say American, Delta or United.

Meanwhile in 2017: *Divided Airlines: If we can't beat our competitors, we beat our customers*

I also wonder how much of an impact ULCC's like Spirit and Frontier contributed to some of this decline, at least domestically. I know that they do not have as big of an impact as they do in the EU, but in the US many ULCCs still operate out of the largest airports, competing directly with UA, AA, and DL. We've especially seen AA and UA worsen their economy class experience simply because people in the US were shifting more towards airlines like Spirit for their transcontinental flights. After all, AA's 737-800s/Max8s with business class, extra legroom, and economy now seat 172, but Southwest's all economy 737-8s hold 175, just 3 more seats. It's clear that AA is really trying to squeeze in as much as they can simply because they can. I would say that the US airline experience sums up well US capitalism in a nutshell: you need them and you will pay for it no matter what. If you fly them or pay them enough or are rich, they will treat you better. But if not, they'll just take your money and seat you in the back because they know you often don't have another option. I'm saying this as someone with status from Delta. Before I had Medallion status or one of their credit cards, it wasn't that great to fly them. But once you hit even Silver status and get one of their Amex cards, it suddenly isn't so bad, but it takes a lot to get there.

As an Airline employee, this is very true

New subscriber. I worked for an airline as a flight planner and used to travel everywhere for work and wish I could've documented the way you have. I live vicariously through your videos (especially during COVID times). I appreciate that you are well versed about aviation. I am moving to Zurich with a PSD from SF. What is your recommendation? I discovered you through your review of the SwissAir First Class product.

Great analysis , very well documented and with an interesting narrative. Me, not being fluent in english, I appreciate that very good modulation you have. Thanks!!

I Don't Really Care About Service. I Care About How Modern the Aircraft is or Not, Or How Safe It Is When Flying.

8:37 DME ❤

Living in Brazil and having traveled extensively for over 40 years, I adopted for myself the following: if avoidable, I do not use any American airline, even in Business Class. Service is appalling in general, and the crew acts as though they wish not to be disturbed at any moment, not even for a glass of water. Secondly, if I have to go to the Far East or Africa, I go through Europe or the Middle East. I do ha e a visa waiver for the US. But going to China via the USA turns out to be a long flight in total (even not bothering for a connecting flight). The American flagships have a long time ago lost any "charm". It died with Pan American and is well buried with it.

These videos are pure escapism and feed my curiousity about air travel in general. To travel again one day.

I have never seen a better description of American passengers.

Since I'm 12 I've only flown to a few places but I would chose Boston

Very informative and interactive videos Dan! Keep up the good work! 👍 And stay safe everyone!

You left out the part where Asian and Middle East airlines can hire and relieve flight attendants based on appearance. That’s also why you don’t see any geriatric flight attendants, and why a lot of their FAs are very attractive, because, and I know this isn’t PC, attractive flight crews generate revenue, as it makes business class travelers (the primary money makers for airlines) want to travel again.

“Hi Karens.” Ha! Love it!

You really need to review JetBlue retrofitted economy

When you say that American, Delta, and United are "the only choice for millions of Americans", I was wondering where Southwest falls in all of this. Southwest is also a major player in the American aviation market, and while it is a regional airline, and operates only a few international flights, it also carries more passengers than other smaller US carriers, and is up there with the big three.