Which Airline ?

[sisemen]

Following on from another thread....why does one select a particular airline over another?

My experiences of late are:

Emirates: Very useful distances (Perth-Dubai-Gatwick) with no ultra-long sectors and convenience of UK terminal but cabin service could be a whole lot better.

Royal Brunei: The cheap end of the market - and it shows! Old aircraft and tucked away in the back blocks when refuelling in Dubai. The Mecca indication on the GPS and the prayers before every take off are a bit disconcerting - although I ain't crashed in one yet so it must work.

Easyjet: Nuff said. The scramble for seats with shell-suited Merseyside riff-raff was enough to put me off for life.

Virgin Blue: Very friendly and matey but I don't necessarily want to be treated in a "cool" manner. I also get a bit peeved at having to pay for all the 'extras'.

Qantas: Feel confident but some of the cabin staff need a good makeover - in looks and attitude.

Skywest: Very comfortable and they seem to achieve the right balance with cabin service and safety efficiency (ie the cabin staff whilst older than most don't look daggy and old :})

Singapore: Top of the bunch. Good service. Attractive cabin staff. Good in-flight entertainment. Pleasant en-route airport (Changi) and reasonable prices. Downside? Long SIN-LON sector and a policy of no upgrades in any way shape or form.

[Hobo]

Is this staff travel standby or full fare?

[sisemen]

Full fare. But comments on staff travel equally valid. :ok:

[Buster Hyman]

I have tried to avoid full fare travel since I left the industry. (Have you seen those prices???:eek:) But I must admit, QF were rather pleasant on my last trip to LAX. Nothing special, but okay.

SQ seem to have very forced smiles on their crew. The older ones are more relaxed & genuine, but the younger ones just turn it on and off as necessary...IMHO.

MH would have my favourite CC's. Very relaxed lah. :ok:

[Hobo]

Agree with you re Virgin Blue, the semi-comedy nature of the cabin crew's PA's just smacks of unprofessionalism. I don't want to be told in the safety briefing, as I was last month ADL-BNE, to 'stay inside the aircraft at all times during the flight'.

If they take this so flippantly, who's to know whether they take safety procedures seriously?

JL for a completely professional operation. NZ for comfy Y seats. BA excellent - only criticism is over use of the PA, particularly preflight. QF for unsmiling CC.

If you want an upgrade on SQ, you could always try paying for one, that's what most people do, it usually works.

[henry crun]

Leg room, leg room, and oh, did I mention leg room ?

[Bruce Wayne]

Same as henry for me, I am 6'3".

on short flights, up to 2 hrs, its route (city pairs) and schedule.

[ExSp33db1rd]

Usually price, but there is one Asian airline that I will NEVER board on safety / culture grounds.

[Bruce Wayne]

there is one Asian airline that I will NEVER board on safety / culture grounds.


An Indonesian one by any chance ? :E

[ExSp33db1rd]

An Indonesian one by any chance ?


No, but I might not blame you.

My lips are sealed ( I'm not that stupid ! )

[Storminnorm]

KLM, I just love the coffee they serve.
And I can practice my Cloggie sometimes.

[galaxy flyer]

It is all about the miles!
GF

[matkat]

I use EK business and I have to agree about the service my last trip in Jan GLA-DXB the service was very slow and did comment about it but of course never made any difference still like them though.

[DX Wombat]

BA and QF because they look after their passengers when things don't quite go to plan. They have both looked after me very well.

[Capetonian]

It is all about the miles!

Anyone who selects an airline purely on that basis, and I know a lot of people do, is deluding themselves and wasting money.

[Pontius Navigator]

It is all about the miles!

Anyone who selects an airline purely on that basis, and I know a lot of people do, is deluding themselves and wasting money.

Unless someone else is paying.

[Capetonian]

Yes, fair comment, but usually the entity which is paying exercises some power over the choice.

[Big Bad D]

BA, as their service is good; but, more importantly, on a couple of stressful occasions they have used their discretion and solved a few travel problems for me.

[Andy_S]

KLM, I just love the coffee they serve.

Shame about the meals, though!

[Jarvy]

Our regular trip is Bos-Lhr and back so the choice is AA, BA or VS. Don't like AA so that leaves 2. Mrs J is a regular user of BA with her work and they offer more flights than VS.
Price not an issue as all 3 seem to cost about the same.

[Two-Tone-Blue]

The whole subject depends on where you're flying. What are your personal requirements? What's the budget? And, as Jarvy said, on some sectors the choices are VERY limited.

It's "How long is a piece of string". :ugh:

Despite some of the comments that have got me banned from "a certain forum", I still back BA [just]. On our last trip inbound from the USA to catch a Domestic, we arrived [from LHR] at LGW to discover that there was an earlier flight home that had NOT been available when we booked. I spent less than 5 minutes at the BA Help Desk, and we were re-booked on the earlier flight. By the time I walked back to the OH standing at bag Drop, everything was on the computer and away we went with new boarding cards - saving at least 3 hours loitering at LGW.

There are up-sides and down-sides to the big outfits, but they do have benefits. Loads of staff and IT systems are part of that.