Q – My wife and I have just spent several hours on the phone trying to actually book seats using miles, miles we’ve earned by being loyal customers. I used to fly for my work so I am in a position to see how the damn airlines have cut and cut the seats they allocate to mileage customers. I’ve about had it. I want to find one or two airlines that still have some portion, some molecule of customer service in their DNA. Is there any way to know which airlines we should fly because they still have some integrity in their frequent flyer program.
A – Airlines have integrity. What they don’t have, however, are policies that reflect a proper appreciation of their best customers. Consumer Reports, one of the organizations whose journalistic standards we greatly respect, tried using frequent flyer miles to book seats on the five most popular US routes. They tested nine major airlines over a period of several months. They found major differences between the carriers. 
Delta claims it offers more Frequent Flyer seats in its ads. In fact, the Consumer Reports testing indicates that claim is accurate. Southwest was in second place.
The airlines requiring the most miles with the highest fees were Spirit Airlines and US Airways.
Additional advice from Consumer Reports: Book your mileage seats as early as you can. If you can’t find what you want by going online or by speaking with an airlines reservations agent, contact the “Frequent-Flyer Service Desk”. Every major airline has one.
