Checking out the Competition: The Scoop on Foreign Carriers

Locations in this article:  Atlanta, GA Berlin, Germany London, England Louisville, KY Madrid, Spain San Francisco, CA

Plane purple skyWe all know what’s going on with domestic airlines – prices are going up, scheduled services are being cut, and fees are being imposed on everything that isn’t nailed to the floor.

But what about foreign airlines?

It’s a mixed bag.

The closure of Zoom, Futura, XL Airways and other European carriers proved that U.S. airlines are not the only ones that are struggling in a dismal global economy.

The biggest failure so far is Alitalia, the national airline of Italy, which seems set to become the former national airline of Italy. After years of losing money, a group of investors was poised to rescue the struggling airline, which filed for bankruptcy on August 29. However, the deal fell apart Thursday over union issues, and now the carrier faces liquidation as soon as next week.

August 29 was also a bad day for Spanair. On that day, one of its jets crashed in Madrid, killing 154 passengers. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, but preliminary reports show that wing flaps failed to deploy on takeoff, which may have contributed to the accident.

The Spanair crash has apparently put travelers on their guard: On September 14 anxious passengers on an Air Berlin flight headed from Nuremberg, Germany to Faro, Portugal demanded their plane be grounded and a new one brought in after two takeoff attempts were aborted.

But all is not bad for foreign carriers: Air Canada announced Thursday that it would drop its $25 fee to check a second bag, since fuel prices are edging downward. It also said that going forward it will incorporate fuel costs into base fares instead of tacking them on as surcharges.

Air Canada’s rivals WestJet airlines and Porter Airlines followed suit by removing their surcharges as well — a development that could bode well for American travelers if the trend moves south of the border. (OK, that’s unlikely, but three cheers for our neighbors up north.)

Foreign airline stewardessIf you’re planning a trip abroad, don’t overlook the international carriers. In many cases, they offer an attractive option to overstuffed, understaffed U.S. planes, and often offer superior comfort, service and amenities.

And that’s not just based on anecdotal evidence: Real travelers and industry insiders consistently award top honors to foreign carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand. (Don’t worry if you’re not planning to fly all the way to New Zealand — click here to learn how to take advantage of foreign airlines’ “secret flights.”)

This fall, international travel is set to be a much better experience than domestic travel. As carriers cut U.S. routes and raise domestic fares, overseas routes will be largely unaffected because of the long-standing bi-lateral agreements between countries, which make airlines reluctant to give them up. Prices may even go down from previously steep levels, as airlines cut prices in an attempt to stimulate demand in this sluggish economy.

In fact, this Thanksgiving you may want to consider going to London instead of to Grandma’s house in Louisville for dinner — because overseas airfares are almost the same as domestic fares.

Don’t believe us? A quick check on Expedia.com reveals that it costs $563 to fly from JFK to LAX over the Thanksgiving holiday, and only $641 for a roundtrip from New York to London. Atlanta to San Francisco costs $472, but for only $57 more you could go to Montego Bay, Jamaica instead.

Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, Irish Times

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.

Check out our Airlines & Airports section for more air travel information.

You know what else tends to be better on foreign airlines? Check out Food and Foreign Airlines.

Or learn more about Cheap, “Secret” Intercontinental Flights for Asia, Europe and America.