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Site Scramble: The Envelope, Please

Thus ends the first stage of our airline website reviews (aka the site scramble). We worked our way through the domestic legacy carriers; international and low-cost airlines are headed your way next. For now, let's take a look at what we learned, shall we?

Best Overall: Delta

While we didn't have high expectations for any of these sites at the outset, Delta's was the one that we enjoyed using the most. The cheapest fares are clearly marked, and the site manages to be attractive and informative without feeling too cluttered. Fare searches give a lot of information, including the specific class of the ticket, but if you're just searching by price or any other one detail, it's easily done without squinting.

Worst Overall: US Airways

Ugh. This one was painful. Using the US Airways site is like traveling back in time to an era before user-friendliness existed. The fare searches are clunky, the design is ugly, and the only innovative feature is the ability to buy tickets on layaway. We'd rather listen to Paris Hilton's new single on repeat for the rest of the week than use this site again.

So Close, and Yet So Far: Continental and Northwest

Continental would have tied for the best with Delta if their OnePass accounts weren't so hard to get working. Northwest's site is like Bill Gates: Powerful but ugly. A little nip and tuck on these two, and we could forgive their sins.

Coolest Feature: Prominently displayed Q-Up fares on Northwest

Worst Feature: United's backwards seating chart

Still Makes Us Laugh: Northwest's name switch to NWA. The World's Most Dangerous Airline, perhaps?

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