Review: Rating the Airlines - IcelandAir Through US Airways

My travels over the last few years have allowed me to sample many different airlines, foreign and domestic. Last month, I rated American Airlines through Delta. This month, it's IcelandAir through US Airways.

IcelandAir (2 flights) - A-
I went straight from the flying cattle car that was Delta to an IcelandAir flight. From a new yet shabby airplane to Surtsey, a 20-year-old 757-200 that still looked factory-fresh. Each seat had an on-demand entertainment system. The crew quickly had cool bottles of glacier water in passenger's hands. The seats were padded and comfortable with a generous pitch. Even though our takeoff was delayed for more than an hour by JFK's chaotic runway situation, I didn't mind. The aircraft and crew were that pleasant. The return leg was even better, leaving on time and giving us a daylight view of Greenland. This is as enjoyable as flying should be. Then why the minus? Because they don't serve free meals in all classes.

Qantas (6 flights) - A
Each international Qantas flight is a flying piece of Australia. The cabin crews are friendly, bantering with each other and with passengers. The domestic flights are just as pleasant, even though the planes don't sparkle like those used for international travel. Qantas was on its way to an A+ until my Auckland to LAX leg. A problem with a door resulted in a three-hour delay, which was going to cause us to miss our connection. The Qantas staff in Auckland really didn't care - they essentially said we should've booked connecting flights through Qantas; since we didn't, we were on our own. The flight crews make up for it, as do the fairly tasty in-flight meals and on-demand entertainment at each seat. You know the flight crews are super when they can overcome the surly, uncaring ground staff to grab an A.

Southwest (6 flights) - C
No surprises on either side of the ledger here. Southwest promises to get you where you're going, to not be jerks and not be sneaky with charging you for stuff. Mission accomplished, consistently. But I do not like flying them for any flight longer than two hours. The updated boarding system with A, B and C sections works well. Unfortunately, Southwest is also nowhere near as dominant on low prices as it used to be.

United (2 flights) - B
Well, what a nice surprise. Sparkly new aircraft, crews with great attitudes and on-time departures and arrivals. I'd like to try United on a longer flight ... maybe even an international flight. I've seen a lot of people online slamming United's international service - but considering these flights, I think the tales may be the exaggerated work of whiners.

US Airways (Too many to count) - C+
This is perhaps the most unfairly maligned airlines in existence. It's not quite as nice as Continental. But it's more comfortable as Southwest, and just as friendly without being as cheesy. I also prefer its more traditional frequent flier program to Southwest's - I can collect miles that I can use on international travel. That's a way better payoff than a free domestic flight on a budget carrier. I haven't had a single problem with US Airways since before the merger with America West (they lost my baggage, but recovered from the fumble quickly).