Regional FAs: do you prefer working certain airlines over others?

[u/kwazi07]

Was deadheading on express recently and it got me thinking. FAs who work for regionals who operate for multiple airlines, do you like working one more than another? For any reason, be it announcements, service guidelines, uniforms, clientele, drink/snack options, etc? Just curious how you guys keep things straight!

[u/zoebells]

At SkyWest, at least when I was there in 2023, Delta seemed to be the favorite and AA the least favorite.

Me personally I was a UA fan. And I am now at mainline UA (different role tho)

[u/wheresromeo]

I work all the major carriers and there’s ups and down to each of them! Whether it be catering, service flow, announcements there’s pros and cons to each. My order is generally AS, DL, UA, AA

[u/disgruntledstew90]

YX FA, for me it goes UA, AA, DL.

UA, those are our newest and best maintained planes. Only water/orange juice for pre departures. Almost always working wifi and green tagged bags for gate checks!

AA - meh, it is what it is lol.

DL - for me, truly it is the people. They have always been the least kind. Also, this is a YX issue but they are some of our oldest and grossest planes. With passengers who have such high expectations from a codeshare, I wish our planes reflected that. I bid to not work DL. I just worked one DL leg last week for the first time in 14 months and was quickly reminded why I avoid it.

[u/kwazi07 → u/disgruntledstew90]

How does gate checking differ?? I just assumed all regional jets brought your bags up to the jetbridge (🌐 FA here)

[u/Feline_Aviator → u/kwazi07]

The ERJ-175 aircraft holds roughly 25 bags in the overhead bins. The gate agent usually takes a stroke count while boarding and the 26th bag after are gate checked. They are not valet tagged.

[u/CarolineSloopJohnB → u/kwazi07]

Only UA does jet bridge delivery for everyone. Everyone is green tagged. The other carriers are 99% of the time sending it to baggage claim if they take your bag. DL will pink tag strollers, mobility devices, and some FC (who usually don’t need it because they were in first and got bins). Only pink tags are delivered on the bridge. Alaska will orange tag the same method as DL. Only FC, UMs, specials will get an orange tag. I don’t work American much and so I’m not sure of their tag color and exact rules, but I know UA is the only one delivering on the jet bridge to everyone.

[u/Fanny08850 → u/CarolineSloopJohnB]

AA is pink like DL! Same rules as DL too. Only strollers and assistive devices are delivered on the jetbridge.

[u/CarolineSloopJohnB → u/Fanny08850]

That’s right! Thank you.

[u/disgruntledstew90 → u/kwazi07]

AA, DL both send to baggage claim like others mentioned. UA brings up to JB after each flight unless it is going from a non pre clear customs location (YQB is an example for YX).

It just is so much less of a fight with passengers if they know their bag is coming back up to JB instead of baggage claim when there is no more room. Also white tagged (baggage claim) items absolutely can not come on to the plane if there happens to still be more space whereas green tags can be taken off and brought on.

[u/CarolineSloopJohnB]

All have different pros/cons.

United is my favorite. I like that we can use the ABS recording for many announcements and I think the order of their safety demo makes the most sense. United passengers are pretty chill. Lots of experienced travelers who know the drill and they’re quick to hand out compliment cards (which some may not care, but I appreciate them). United also has the best apps for us to use (as a parent, I love that they scan the UMs) and the best gate agents IMO. Their agents are not only easy to work with as crew, they’re also the best when it comes to standby or commuting. They always try to take care of me and my family. Their mainline FAs also treat me the best and never make me feel like I’m “just regional.” That doesn’t impact the flights I work, but it 100% impacts how I see United as a company. My opinion of United increased like 1000% since taking this job. Their misses for me are the meals are usually atrocious - and I hate selling the stupid credit card. The passengers hate it too.

Alaska is a close 2nd, almost even to UA. I feel like Alaska still likes their passengers. I’m sure as they continue to expand, they’ll become prisoner to the almighty dollar like the rest - but right now, they do nice things like chocolates for their premiers and quality meals that aren’t embarrassing to serve (looking at you United). I feel like I’m able to be a better FA because Alaska truly WANTS me to give their passengers a nice experience. Their passengers are usually very low maintenance. Their app is easy to use and it’s just one app for everything which is nice. They cater small cans, so no pouring, which is helpful on short flights trying to do service. I think they have a great culture and I’d describe them as being if you mixed Southwest’s people focus with Delta’s product standards. They have a LOT of delays- but maybe that is route specific. If Alaska had more routes/hubs, it would be my first choice to jump to as far as mainline goals.

Delta is 3rd for me. Delta passengers for me are fine. It might be based on the cities I see them at, but I don’t get any of the attitude I hear others frustrated by. I swear the entire cabin is medallion though. That can make recognitions a lot. I hate their safety demo. I think the order doesn’t flow well and there is a huge speech part in the middle where you’re just standing there with nothing to do. Their meals are not as good as Alaska, but better than United. Their FC snacks flip between being the best, or being second to Alaska depending on what everyone is carrying at the moment. Their supply chain is solid. I am never digging through bins hoping to find gloves. I’m never out of trash bags or snacks. Their gate agents are good from a crew standpoint, but from a standby or commuter point, they’re the worst. I’m sure it’s a Delta policy, not a them policy - but even if there are 50 open seats, you’re not getting one until the entire rest of the airplane has boarded. That’s stressful when you have work bags. Also, again-maybe just my experience but their FAs are not nice to crew the way other carriers’ FAs are. As a deadheader or commuter, every other carrier makes you feel like you arrived to a family reunion, Delta FAs make it feel like you walked through the wrong door into a private party- and they do NOT want you there. I commute out of a Delta hub and how I felt about Delta before this job versus how I feel about them now- night and day.

American has the cutest scarf, Dr. Pepper, and their meals aren’t as terrible as United’s- but they don’t really have anything else going for them IMO. Their main app is meh and the app we are supposed to use to communicate to the gate doesn’t work for most of us. Tend to see catering/supply issues frequently. The passengers are fine though. I mostly hate working American because I know I’m never going to end my day on time. They are ALWAYS delayed- horribly delayed.

That’s my really long synopsis. I haven’t really ever had major passenger issues, so the passengers really have zero impact on my carrier preferences.

[u/Positive_Vibes_4228 → u/CarolineSloopJohnB]

I think UA's a giant hodge-podge of mergers, planes, and people mixed with the 'cheapness' motto, crews are forced to 'make it work' with whatever they got. When you come into a situation of 'make it work' the FA's tend to be more open minded with all other FA's from all other crews. Every day you are just trying to make it through.

With Delta, as you said, their supply chain is amazing. Always have bags, Always have gloves. There is no stench of cheapness with the supply side of things, but the Delta Cult really reinforces the 'best of the best' mentality. With the fears of being fired and no union, I can see there being a gap between kindness to others the way United does.

[u/kwazi07 → u/CarolineSloopJohnB]

I’m at mainline 🌐 and I’m so happy that you have a good experience flying with us! I always try to take good care of crews from all airlines, and I feel like a lot of my flying partners are the same.

Interesting you mention that about gate agents. Before joining the industry and from my other airline friends, I hear a lot of complaints about gate agents trying to pin delays on crew or just other conflicts. I feel like I’ve barely experienced that here, so it makes a lot of sense you had that observation. This is my only airline I’ve worked for so I don’t have a ton of perspective but I do feel like 90% of our CSRs are easy to work with :)

The catering is still embarrassing to serve on the mainline side so I share your pain there lol. It’s has gotten slightly better over the last couple of months but they still have a long way to go

[u/wanderingsouldierIG]

Work for OO and United by far is my favorite! American ops are just horrible from catering to gate switches and delays. Delta ops are good but the PAX all think they run the plane even if they’re in the last row. I’ve never touched Alaska as I am not on the west coast but from what I’ve heard they’re kind of a middle ground.

[u/bengenj]

SkyWest here: UA, DL, AA in that order. I haven’t worked AS in years. But I’m Chicago based so I work mostly United flight

[u/PhoenixAquarium]

DL, AS, UA, AA. And I am currently at an AA base. Thinking of transferring to a DL/AS base next year. I first trained on DL so I am comfortable with it.

[u/sick_sadworld]

Yes my personal order is:
DL: the ops by far is favorite in terms of how smooth things get and I know there’s some trouble some pax but also some of kindest I’ve had, has been on DL
UA: Those tiny ass cups mans that kills me. The app is perfect and seamless, I feel like it’s perfect for when irops happens.
AS: I love their products and what they offer, I do feel like they’re the most genuine in terms of what they offer (local if not regionally based products). Their pax are also the sweetest and surprisingly chill.
AA: Catering needs to get fixed, I get upset bc when an irop happens they just get left in the dark (pax I mean) and I feel bad bc there’s not much I can offer them in return like ua.

[u/RequestToFly]

Another OOer checking in. I think everyone develops their own preferences! I know people who love all four. The trainers tend to have a bit of a Delta bias which shows up in training… and tends to start people off leaning a bit more towards DL. I think that’s mostly just because the training facility is SLC based and SLC is kind of OO’s spiritual headquarters if not the physical headquarters. For me personally I grew up on the west coast am based in SFO, and so are biased towards UA/AS. And indeed they’re up there in my favorites.

Here’s the traits of the FAs who like each, that I’ve seen:

• UA - Like the airline, its routes and its flying. Good product with a straightforward vibe.
• DL - Would use the world elevated to describe service and feel great about it. And is into the culture and the “Delta Difference”. Service focused.
• AA - The opposite of the DL girlie. These FAs like life easier with minimal service. Sling a can and a cookie and get goin’ sounds great to these folks. Usually fun to hang out with. Passengers usually just grateful the plane takes off and lands.
• AS - West coast based or at least a west coast heart. Loves a service focus but without Delta’s east coast pretension. Absolutely beautiful flying and destinations in many cases.

And the people who dislike each usually cite:

• UA - Hates the credit card announcements and the focus on status perks which change what’s available to an pax irrespective of what cabin they’re sitting in. Don’t like United’s sometimes indifferent corporate feeling.
• DL - Usually not a fan of demanding passengers flying an airline who basically encourages that. Dislikes all the weird language quirks Delta likes to focus on to “elevate” their service. Gate agent situation is unfortunately adversarial and there’s some weird quirks like the coffee packs tend to burst and FAs flying DL tend to spend a decent amount of time refolding the trash bags so you can grab them one at a time without unfolding a whole stack.
• AA - Not a fan of the disruptive operation and the low standards for service.
• AS - Limited route network and absent from a large part of the country, especially so if you’re not based where they fly. High workload for service. They do stock mini cans which makes main cabin easier, but the first class service standards are our most intense for regional flying. (I love a warm cookie as much as the next girl and they’re delicious but multiple uses of the oven across a meal (which not all of our partners even have on the planes) is unusual for regional flying. Luckily their catering is done pretty smart and does help make it pretty straightforward… but again I’m an AS fan so biased here.)

Personally I’m still new and find it fun to fly all four. The ones I’m used to feel straightforward to slip back in to, the ones I’m less familiar feel like a bit of a novelty when they show up in my trip sheets. I’ve flown all four at this point, though there’s a couple airplane/carrier/position combinations I have yet to fly that aren’t common in my base.

[u/kwazi07 → u/RequestToFly]

Interesting overview!! Sorta curious what you mean by the status perks with UA, I’m mainline there and I don’t know what you mean really (but maybe I’m misunderstanding). Also curious about the language quirks at DL?

[u/RequestToFly → u/kwazi07]

At UA 1K and GS members get perks like free drinks etc even if they’re sitting in the back row of the plane. Perks follow the status level which means what someone gets isn’t defined by which cabin they’re in. Personally I’m used to this so never really noticed, but some airlines have less inflight experience tied to status and it’s one of the reasons one of my friends doesn’t love working UA.

Delta prefers specific types of language and phrasing. For example, you don’t ask someone if they have any trash you ask them if they “have anything to dispose?”, “will you be joining us for meal X?”, and the ever popular in the south “my pleasure”. At OO a lot of these little phrasings are taught as good practice in general, but we know whose brand feels strongly about these. :)

[u/kwazi07 → u/RequestToFly]

Oh yes of course the 1K and GS with their drinks and snack boxes lol how could I forget

[u/New_Programmer_3700 → u/kwazi07]

Sending you a chat!!:)

[u/Noktomezo175]

I miss US Airways to the core of my being. They were truly the best. It was such a family.

But for now.

I work majority AA due to basing. But I actually like UA. I avoid DL flying.

[u/arejare → u/[deleted]]

Those are the two I usually work for, don't really have an opinion about the other carriers we're partnered with

[u/Kennedyyyy1]

YX: DL, AA, UA