What is the best airlines to use to fly from Phoenix to Iowa?

Question

I am mainly looking at:

US Airways

Alaska Airlines

Continental or...

American Airlines

Thanks!

Answer 1

It depends on your definition of "best."

From that list I would likely choose Continental first because of their in-flight service, followed by Alaska, American and then US Air last.  That being said...

US Air is likely going to be the only airline with a non-stop from Phoenix since Phoenix is a principal hub.  If you value a non-stop over a connection and all other things are equal I would probably pick US Air.  The in-flight differences aren't THAT significant.  Also keep in mind that US Air will be charging for the first checked bag (and depending on when you are going for beverages and snacks on the plane) so you will want to work that in to your calculations as to ticket cost.

Safe travels!

Answer 2

I see a lot of questions on this website that ask about flying between two states or two countries, but fail to mention the cities. The cities are the frequently the most important information needed to answer questions. No one can give a truly accurate answer about fares and airlines without it (although that doesn't stop a lot of people from posting guesses anyway). If you're flying to a larger city, most airlines will serve it. If you're going to a small town, you may find that some of the airlines that you're considering don't even fly there.

Alaska Airlines does not serve any cities in Iowa, so you can scratch them off your list. If you somehow found a flight, it is probably a "code-share". A code-share is a flight where the airlines lie to you about who operates the flight. You book a ticket on one airline and you actually fly on a different one. They're very common.

If the schedules and fares are comparable, I would choose Continental, American, and US Airways in that order. Continental is a little better and still allows you to check one bag without extra charges. They also still have meals on a few flights. Other than that, there is very little difference between major US airlines. The seats are the same size, there are no meals on domestic flights in economy class (unless you buy them at extra charge), and customer service is awful. They're pretty much interchangeable.