And which airlines have you been on, and if you can describe them in terms of quality service?
What is your favourite airline in regards to customer service, onboard service, aesthetics, etc.?
For me it would have to be Thai Airways. I just love their food and entertainment system! They got me into Tata Young (singer). I also like the colours.
Another good airline I've been on is Czech Airlines. Fantastic and free food service.
I've also been on Olympic Airways, AirBaltic, Virgin Blue, Qantas and Ansett (now extinct).
Reply to this We like Etihad and Qatar, because the entertainment systems are awesome!
Reply to this Hi,
Tricky...I would split it in two kind...one if you are a frequent flyer with the airline...and one if you are not!
If you are a higher-tier frequent flyer...Cathay is clearly on top...to compare with AA, Lufthansa, Thai, NWA, SQ, United...these are the programs I know well...
If you don't care about the miles and jumping the queue for an upgrade, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Cathay, Lan, Air New Zealand (international only).
I've heard a lot of great things of Virgin....but Richard Branson refuse to join an alliance, so not flying with them...
Did we speak of the worst??
Reply to this The worst - WizzAir - fantastically cheap flights to some great cities in Europe, but the low prices don't come for nothing: they always depart late, charge you (a lot, of course) for meals, don't give out immigration cards, and the last time I flew with them they changed the time of the flight without informing me, meaning I missed the flight and had to leave 2 days later.
J.
Reply to this I'm a big fan of Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Malaysian and Eva Air (Taiwan). I'm flying Singapore Airlines for the first time in August, so am looking forward to that.
I was also impressed with the standard on Ethiopian Airlines and Bangkok Airways. The other surprise was Rwandair - they flew a very nice chartered plane from Canada.
No real horror airlines, though the standard of planes on Gulf Air was a bit disappointing.
Reply to this I haven't been on many different ones, but British Airways and Air Canada treated me well.
Hated Air India, stopped the plane in Birmingham(threw flight) and had us stuck in a small room for 6hrs. No food (not even water), kids crying, everyone edgy... they didn't even try too accommodate people that needed to leave.
On the way back, they canceled the flight because it wasn't full enough (don't know this for sure, but there was only 70 people at the gate, waiting for a B777). They said the plane didn't leave JFK the night before, but of course you could see it outside the window.
Reply to this I haven't been on too many different ones, but Quantas and Delta stick out.
The only time I was on Quantas was back in 2002, but I remember good food, friendly flight staff and newer, clean planes...both for domestic & the long-haul flights.
I've had nothing but terrific service on Delta on countless flights...international flights being a bit nicer. A few domestic US flights are in older MD-88s & 737s and are a little cramped, but all the int'l flights I've had with them have been comfortable with good food and a great selection of entertainment. A particularly good experience was in 2007 (the year almost every flight was late), when I went to Paris and back with them. My first leg (Orlando-Atlanta) was nearly 2 hours late, but the staff at the gate reassured me that my next flight was also about 2 hours late (as I only had about an hour and a half layover). Needless to say, I arrived in Atlanta, looked at the departures and had just 15 minutes to get to the other side of the airport. I got to the departure gate in 10 minutes, but the loading was done. Much to my surprise, the people at the gate asked my name and had already printed me a boarding pass for the next flight to Paris (4 hours later), rerouted my luggage, and gave me a $5 voucher good at a few restaurants to get a 'snack'. But that wasn't the end, my return flight was overbooked! The staff at the gate in Paris asked for 'volunteers' to take the next flight to the US and said that compensation was involved and I would be booked on new flights free-of-charge (since the next flight was to NYC, not Atlanta). I volunteered and was told that since the next flight was 7 hours later, I was entitled to 600 (due to some EU rules)!!! Unfortunately after loading was finished and I was about to go off to get a newspaper, all the 'volunteers' were summoned to the gate and we were handed boarding passes as several people failed to show up for the flight. My heart sank thinking of the 600 I would have gotten, but...I was put in first class!!! That's just one particular case, most flights are mundane and uneventful, but overall I highly recommend Delta!
Reply to this Hi Andrew, funny you should rate Qantas as one of you best, as I would rate them as my worst! Well, worst 'big' airline, I had the worst flight experiene on Ryanair. I found the Qantas flight staff unhelpful, lazy and just plain rude.
The best experience I have had is with Air New Zealand (international). The crew were amazingly friendly and helpful, polite, chatty and professional. The plane was so clean and the inflight entertainment was great. I am a very nervous flyer, but there were some very funny speaches given from the flight deck over the PA throughout the flight which made me relax no end, and they even expalined what was happening etc when we hit turbulance.
I also flew Virgin from London to NY and they were fantastic. Cathay were also good, but I flew London-HK on an old 747 that was absolutley filthy, ripped seats and everything. Staff were nice though.
Reply to this Hmm...I only was on 4 Quantas flights (LA-Sydney, Sydney-Cairns, Sydney-Melbourne, & Melbourne-LA). The planes were clean & seemed new (the final flight was something like the 3rd or 4th flight on that new plane). The food was great, the in-flight entertainment system was nice (I never saw a similar seat-back system until about 2005-6 in the US), and check-in was a breeze in Sydney. I don't remember too much about the staff, but I have had many cases of bad staff (AA, Southwest, AirTran) and don't remember Quantas to be bad.
Reply to this I take about 40 flights a year and for the most consistent reliable service I would go for British Airways every time. I have been fortunate in being able to use their Club and First service a lot and find that it is very rare tht anything goes wrong. We all have nightmare expeiences occasionally but these seem to happen with me less often with BA - perhaps I have been lucky. I do not go near Ryanair if there is any possible alternative (including walking!)
Reply to this My favourite airline is always whichever one is currently offering the best prices.
Qatar and Turkish airlines served the best food the last few times I flew with them. I consider that a bonus. But they did have their down sides too. A couple of flights were too full to let us on, even though we had tickets. But, I think all the inexpensive flights have these types of down sides. Dont know if the expensive ones do or not, because I never tried them.
Reply to this best: JAL and ANA
Japanese airlines tend to have amazing service and food...but they are slightly pricier than other airlines. But I assure you, it is worth it.
Moderately good is American Airlines, but it still has some troubles.
I've also flown on Northwest, United, Delta, WestJet,, JetBlue, American Eagle and all the other North American Carriers. Absolute worst is Northwest I found-it has ads painted on the fold down table so you have to stare at some random ad for however many hours you're on the flight...
Reply to this I love the British Airways and Thai Airways....Both are the best as well as my favorite...
Reply to this Singapore Airlines is my favourite - food, entertainment systems and the service is excellent. Closely followed by Emirates & Virgin.
I'm always disappointed by British Airways but about to fly with them to Rio so hopefully they will be better this time.
My worst is Air New Zealand - very uncomfotable seats and poor in-flight entertainment considering the long flights I was on.
Reply to this I'm always disappointed by British Airways but about to fly with them to Rio so hopefully they will be better this time
I have always been dissapointed with BA as well, but I flew long haul with them a couple of weeks ago, and I was ill and they were so nice to me so they redeemed themselves in my eyes! Saying that, I have only ever flown BA short haul previously, so maybe theres the difference. The crew were great, but guess we were really lucky as other people have said how brash they find BA crews.
I flew to NZ with Air New Zealand a couple of months ago, they have overhauled their fleet now (long haul) so inside was brand spanking new and the entertianment system was fantastic.
Reply to this Yeah, short hauls the crews are pretty cranky because the turn around on the flights is short. Unless you get them on the first flight out... then everything is chipper, usually.
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