Are you satisfied with the service the airline industry generally delivers on planes and at airports?

Coming from New Zealand, I have visited Japan 9 times. I have never had any problems.

A pleasure in every way.

Thank You

I honestly don't care. Seeing as how you can now fly from the east coast of the US round trip to Tokyo for a few days' pay, I'll take the crappy food and cheap tickets.

Depends on the airline, I find any US career the staff all to not care about anyone but themselves. I've been in Japan too long perhaps :)

Japanese airlines are very good, Air Canada is so-so, United airlines is the worst I've been on. The CA on Japanese airlines are waaay better than on North American airlines. The CA on North American airlines for international flights are especially bad because they are the veterans with union backed job security and they generally couldn't care less about the passengers.

I once asked a CA on Air Canada for a beer and she fixed me with a dirty look before saying in an overly (sarcastically) sweet voice "You know you can get it yourself, right?". Sorry for asking you to do your job!

The ones in Asia are fine but the U.S. airline industry needs a lot of work.

Will pay extra to fly a Japanese airline if I can. Flew to Canada last New Years on A/C and got on early only to see workers duct taping an overhead bin closed. Then when they started the safety video, the system shut down, so for the remainder of the flight, all 12 hours, we had no entertainment. On the way back, the tray in my armrest was so bent that anything I put on it would slide right off. Informed the flight attendant, who said there was nothing she could do, and told me to hold it up with one hand while trying to eat. Worked fine until she put a glass of wine on the table and it slid right off onto the poor passenger beside me! Will avoid A/C if possible.

A/C is Air Canada? Wow that is bad

No problem with Japanese airlines, as yet.

Haven't flown many airlines. Two worst experiences have been with Qantas and Singapore airlines. Usually Singapore airlines is pretty good. Other airlines... Southern China... Well I know they don't have a good reputation but my experience was not so bad. 46kg luggage limit in economy is great! JAL was awesome the only time I've ever flown with them. For consistently good flights and service I'm going to have to say my national airline... AirNZ.

As for airports... Narita is fine... Auckland is OK... Singapore kind of awesome... Sydney meh... Guangzhou I will try not to see again. Customs and immigration in Japan has always been super smooth. Only time I've ever had issues with airport staff was going into transit in Sydney. Staff were rude and obnoxious... understandable with some people they must deal with though.

In 25 years of exiting Narita from international flights at least twice a year, the customs officers have never checked my bags, but once in the US, they unwrapped the beautifully department store bought gifts, then blurted "ok" leaving you to fold and put away all the mess created.

I find ANA attendants and their in flight service to be the best. They are literally waitresses walking up and down the aisle waiting on you and asking if you need anything.

 Flew to Canada last New Years on A/C 

Whew! I was flying the opposite direction that day, so I got "the good plane". :-)

SQ is excellent, as is Changi.  ANA also good.  the Gulf carriers next.  Old favourites like BA and JAL have deteriorated of late.

ANA always good. JAL robotic and snooty in the old days but warmed up more recently. QANTAS OK, Jetstar sucks. Cathay best in a long time. Turkish & Finnish good but could do with a few more movies; Emirates have millions of movies, OK food endless beer which is fine as long as you're in an aisle seat. But Dubai Airport is too vast (there are trains within, but our 30 minute bus ride up multiple runways to our plane literally 6 to 10 km from the terminal involved 3 impatient hand luggage searches). And Heathrow with 5 Terminals now is a reason to fly to Manchester or Gatwick. Helsinki as gateway to Europe was about as big an airport as Cairns, the only non-capital city in Australia with a regular international terminal. All Australian baggage-handlers have college degrees in brutality while the Japanese ones are certified care-givers. United and Continental - just what are they thinking beyond believing misguided slogans in their own advertising? They could start by letting the seats go back more than 5 cm (about 2.25 inches).

The golden age of relatively unhassled air travel went with the two buildings in New York one September morning in 2001. The only revenge passengers have on the security searchers is to make them do their jobs, which is easy with all the crap people these days have to take in pockets and bags and so on (my favourite is to make them force me to drink the contents of my empty PET bottle (!) which I usually bring to fill with water if possible on the inside to save myself from airport extortionate drink pricing and dehydration).

And: @Captdingleheimer

I'll take the crappy food and cheap tickets.

Sure, if there is any food. But sorry, I prefer to pay to sit on an a passenger seat rather than semi-lie crowded slantwise like a printout in a laserjet knowing that I was never going to get out of the plane alive if anything happened.

I have a catalogue of horror stories about UA going back a few decades and covering three continents in both economy and business class. Things have changed dramatically since the incident with the doctor in Chicago. Suddenly, it has been like flying Cathy Pacific, may all time favorite airlines. JAL and ANA have been great internationally. Domestic is another story.

I do not like flying internationaly or domestic. High prices with shoody service. Can not even get a scotch in coach. Yea the flight attendants are pretty young girls but what is that to a woman? I flew SAS about a week ago and the service was slow even in business class. I like UAL because the service is actually better than ANA. Remember the young women flock around young men. As a obasan it is diffucult to get their attention. I can get a decent drink! The food is not great but scotch is more important to this sailor than ANA food. I must have a talnet for getting more than my fair share. Oh flying on Delta is painfully bad. I miss Northwest Airlines!

It depends on the airline. Korean Air has been by far my favorite service of any airlines. On Delta, it has been kind of a crap shoot. Each staff member obviously contributes to it.

I should of mention it is ANA with the lousy service and no scotch in coach. I have found the food to be the same amoung the airlines. Remember I fly not for the food but to get places. Really if what the flight attendant looks like is not important, United is better than ANA or JAL.

I've flown with quite a few different airlines over the years and found all of them to be 'acceptable'. I've also had upgrades to business class twice coz I was travelling alone. Business class is better, but it's still only 'acceptable' considering how much more it costs. The facts are, airplane food is always terrible, the seats are cramped and not really designed for some to spend 8-12 hours sitting in, if you are at the back of the plane it smells like kerosine and you have all the engine noise as well. You'll always get a bunch of rowdy drunks and screaming kids. Then, you can consider all the hassles of getting through customs and check in. I've never experienced losing luggage, but I know a few people who have. It's just airplane travel. There's not much any airline can do to change that. If you keep your expectations low, you'll always enjoy it. If you want 5 star service on a 2 star budget you are always gonna be disappointed.

I would always avoid the US airlines, naturally. I like Korean Air. The food can get repetitive but the service is good and they have decent keg room. If you are headed to any of Japan's smaller cities from abroad, it can be worth flying to Seoul and changing there rather than heading to Narita.