Travel + Leisure: Virgin America Tops in U.S.

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "It's not revolutionary, but a small Moleskine notebook is my one travel must-have. It's great for noting things you want to remember and it takes up hardly any space in your bag."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Japan. I'd love to take a month off and visit the cities, temples, and countryside. I'm fascinated by the country's juxtaposition of ancient traditions and modern ambitions."

Travel Motto: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” –Terry Pratchett

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window."

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It’s poll time! Travel + Leisure is out with its annual rankings of the best destinations, hotels, and airlines in the world. The airline rankings are of notable interest to me, as you might expect. Virgin America is tops in the domestic airline category, besting second place JetBlue by a considerable margin. While this is surprising, given Virgin America’s somewhat limited reach, more intriguing is the fact that the top 10 consists entirely of low-cost carriers, and includes one airline based in Canada (WestJet) with minimal U.S. service.

Put simply: Seems the legacy lines are being outclassed. Polls always have to be taken with a grain of salt, but the unanimity of these results is hard to ignore. From the perspective of T+L readers, bigger legacy carriers simply can’t match the value and comfort smaller, leaner carriers can provide. The characteristics on which readers based their rankings were cabin comfort, in-flight service, customer service, value, food (optional).

Readers, what do you think about these results? Have low-cost carriers risen to the top of the heap? Or are legacy carriers simply the scapegoat for our airline gripes? Leave a comment below with your opinion. Thanks!

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