Airlines

Airline on the Rise: Swiss International Air Lines
I flew Swiss International Air Lines and it was a great experience. The staff was very nice and they did not skimp on anything. Most airlines have dropped the "frills", but not them. Big meals and big snacks, along with allowing you to take the head phones when you leave the flight are part of their gig. Plus these head phone had an adapter so that you could plug it into a 1 pronged socket as opposed to the typical airline 2 pronged one. Most flights don't even give you head sets or food anymore. Also, you know how the person furthest from the server usually gets served first. Well, Swiss has class and ladies are always served first. Even though this was not in my favor, it shows that this little things have been thought out.

Conclusion: 2 thumbs up for Swiss airlines.

Airline on the Decline: US Airways
I use US airways very infrequently. I purchased a round trip ticket from them for my Paris semester. I saved a few bucks using them, but I didn't realize this lower cost meant that I would be sacrificing quality customer service. Let's just say that they are quite different from Swiss Airlines. I called about a month ago to inquire about changing my return ticket day because I had found out that my flight time had changed. At that time, a customer service representative informed me that because of the flight time change, that they would change my ticket free of charge. I told her thank you and that I would call back after I had time to make new arrangements. Well, when I called back this week, it seems as though the story had changed. I was informed that because I did not have a connecting flight on US airways, that to change my flight would cost $200. They had no sympathy for a train or person picking me up with a schedule. What could that $200 possibly cover? Technology has made these airline systems so seamless, that I am sure the actual cost is no more than $0.05 to change a ticket. When I told them what I had been told a month prior, they showed no sympathy, and said that the problem was mine and not theirs. So much for taking responsibility for the customer service team! Apparently the supervisor I spoke with thought that a client with future business potential is worth less than $200. Anyway, this experience has put US airways low on my list of preferred airlines, as customer service is every bit important as the flight itself.

Conclusion: 2 thumbs down.