# Best Airlines/Hotels in U.S.



## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

According to ACSI 2021 survey

Delta Airlines is tied with Southwest Airlines for best customer satisfaction (we generally use Alaska Airlines which is tied for third place)

Hilton Hotel chain leads in customer satisfaction (we generally use the IHG chain, second on list, which we have found to be dog friendly)

What are your experiences?


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

We’ve had good experiences flying with Charlie on JetBlue, Alaska, and Southwest. Be sure to check the airline’s pet policy before booking— some of them have significantly more requirements (I can’t remember which now, but one of them requires you to upload a vet check form a few days before your flight). 

We had a stressful experience flying Delta from Atlanta with Charlie when he was 9 months old. He was only 12lb at the time, so well within the size limit, and the check in person gave us a hard time that he was too big, and made us prove that he could turn around in the bag. I couldn’t figure out how to do that through the bag so I took him out, put him in backwards, and sure enough he turned around. They begrudgingly let us go. It’s likely that it was just an overzealous agent responding to a fluffy dog who looks bigger than he is, but it has made us avoid Delta (especially since C is now at the top end of the weight limit) since it was a very stressful few minutes!


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

LWalks said:


> It’s likely that it was just an overzealous agent responding to a fluffy dog who looks bigger than he is,


When things like this happen, politely and calmly ask to speak with the gate superintendent. There is always one on duty (perhaps not visible), 24/7. Gate agents will usually act in the most restrictive way in order to avoid making a wrong decision. Gate Superintendents have much more leeway.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

We don't fly much within the US, but since we're star alliance members, that usually means United. We've done so few flights with them that I don't have a strong opinion either way - never had any problems with taking Perry on a United flight though.

For hotels, they're not high end, but Red Roofs are consistently dog friendly and don't charge you for them, unlike some other chains where it will depend on the location if it's dog friendly and many charge for the pet. Otherwise, Comfort Inns are usually decent as well (though often charge for pets.) I use the hotels.com app for booking hotels around the world.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Melissa Brill said:


> For hotels, they're not high end,


Luxury and amenities are not high on our list for hotels having lived in a 10 x 20 thatched hut with no running water or electricity for two years a long time ago. But comfort, cleanliness, and convenience with regards to Ricky is what matters to us.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

We have always used a couple of chains and check the ratings before we book, but we don’t travel often. Right before we got Sundance we booked a hotel without any ratings that was listed as “new” but it was a chain we use regularly and never had a problem with. When we arrived at the hotel it was horrifying, the kind of thing people describe when traveling but I’ve never seen anything like it. It was after 1am, we had already overpaid, and we would have to drive another hour to hotels in the city, so we decided to tough it out to let DH sleep for a couple of hours and then he wanted to drive through the night anyway. We didn’t take anything inside except for blankets to lay on top of the beds. About two hours later I woke up to go to the bathroom and there were cockroaches on the floor. I was out! Apparently the chain had just purchased the location and there had been a history of shootings there, including the month before. When we found the previous name of the hotel, the reviews were straIght out of a horror movie. A few days after the trip a salesman came to the door with deals on routine pest control. Our neighborhood is “no soliciting” and I usually decline but I kept having dreams about insects. Anyway, ever since then I’m anxious about booking hotels, even before Sundance. The next trip we took after that was to pick him up, and we stayed in the nicest hotel we’ve ever stayed in since we had kids. I told DH I was traumatized and it was part of my treatment 

We tend to travel even less, pay more for hotels, and now I consider a pet deposit part of the budget. Park City has a few nice pet friendly hotels that aren’t too expensive and usually there is a nominal cleaning fee but the deposit is refundable. They aren’t chains, but it’s a resort town so don’t know if that makes a difference. If I’m able to plan ahead I’ve had two really good experiences with Airbnb’s in other “vacation towns.” The highly rated, pet friendly listings are usually booked, and depending on the city, same is true of highly rated dog sitters in the same destination, unless it’s planned well in advance.


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