What is your favourite airline?

eurobillsandcoins · Post by **eurobillsandcoins** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:11 pm

Vote for best airline here. Please say why and talk about service, meals and so on. If airline isn't listed, say which one and explain why. Also, include the WORST airline.

eurobillsandcoins · Post by **eurobillsandcoins** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:16 pm

I choose Cathay Pacific as I have flown with them for years, business, economy, and first class I've all been on. The lounges in Hong Kong are absolutely exquisite. The seats are a little cramped in economy, however you get your own TV on all flights, and select your own entertainment. The meals are way better than normal other airline meals in economy, business class is wonderful, champagne, caviar, smoked salmon, cheeses are served non-stop, whenever you want. And their business class, you can recline up to 173 degrees and get some sleep.

Viperazzi · Post by **Viperazzi** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:30 pm

I've only flown with Finnair from the above list, and I don't like their services, prices, company image and partial monopoly. Besides, I can't understand how they fly from Helsinki to Rovaniemi or even to Tampere with an almost empty Boeing MD-80 and then on the other hand fly with a Boeing 757 to Thailand and the US (with a stop in Jaipur or Bangalore and Bangor)!

I guess I'm not the one who is supposed to answer this poll, but I kinda liked USAir when I travelled from Norfolk, Virginia to JFK. The plane was great (a DeHavilland Dash

, service was great and I was treated very well. The other way around, when I flew TWA Regional or something like that, was completely different. The plane looked like a business jet without the jet engine and had three seats in a row. I felt really crammed there, but at least I had good company.

I would love to fly somewhere outside Europe, but I hate to sit in a crammy widebody plane for more than four hours. New York to Helsinki and the other way around was something I haven't forgotten. You can't feel your legs and you can't get any sleep. The noise from the engines is horrible and other people keep talking and laughing. I would hate to have to fly a long non-stop route.

Airplanes aren't made for enjoyment. (And business class is made only for rich people or company employees

)

I guess my favorite airline would then be USAir, followed by Austrian. I remember getting excellent service from a stewardess when I was very young. With all due respect, Finnair...

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:44 pm

Osku-82 wrote:I've only flown with Finnair from the above list, and I don't like their services, prices, company image and partial monopoly.

Exactly! I don't like Finnair. Especially because the staff is impolite and annoying.

I flew last summer by Spanair from Frankfurt to Madrid and back. I have to say the flights were my most enjoyable flights ever! The staff was kind and the planes were comfortable and modern.

What was funny, the planes left both times 15 - 30 min late but arrived well on time. They had counted in some kind of a delay to their schedules.

Ernst · Post by **Ernst** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 10:44 am

My favorite airline is Germanwings, it is not a big one, and belongs to the low cost sector (owned by Lufthansa). What I like about it is the very uncomplicated way they operate (in contrast to Ryanair e.g.) and they have clean airplanes with comfortable seats....

Worst airline: clearly Delta!

!Pretfles! · Post by **!Pretfles!** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 10:58 am

I never used one of the above airlines,

I've only flew with Wizz Air regularly, which is a Hungarian low cost airline,
works very good for going to Budapest,
the fly from a liitlle airport in Belgium (Charleroi aka Brussels South)
I'm happy with their service.

Dakkus · Post by **Dakkus** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 11:21 am

Aaron wrote: I flew last summer by Spanair from Frankfurt to Madrid and back. I have to say the flights were my most enjoyable flights ever! The staff was kind and the planes were comfortable and modern.

This is about a complete opposite to what I think of SpanAir.
It was my first flight ever. The plane was quite a small one. We were taken to it by a bus from the terminal and when we climbed the stairs in the back of the plane, one schoolboy was enough to make the whole plane go whoo-whaa by jumping just a little bit.
When we got inside, I saw one inside wall having a hole apparently rusted through. The hole had a diameter of a bit over 10cm and went through the wall.
The wings went up-and-down-we-go all the time as if the plane thought it was some kind of a bird having to move its wings all the time to keep up. The wings were like some liquorice candy bars.
In one part of the trip the captain came out of the cockpit. His shirt was open and he had a lot of long, black chest hair. He looked like a walrus.
The food was what the plane food always is and the flight was bumpy (although that of course wasn't because of the company).

I also flew back to Finland from Malaga with the exactly same plane.. The positive side: When I ended up being alive after all that, I'm no way going to be afraid of anything that has something to do with flying :))

And then my favourite company: it surely is one of the cheap ones, because I don't see any reason for being too expensive. From those cheapies, I've only taken V Bird, which was very pleasant. The planes were all good and the crew was very nice. The only problem was the way they pronounced letters k and g making their German and English almost ununderstandable.. Krrghgrgr and so on :D

Olivier · Post by **Olivier** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 4:55 pm

!Pretfles! wrote:I never used one of the above airlines,

I've only flew with Wizz Air regularly, which is a Hungarian low cost airline,
works very good for going to Budapest,

Is the service in the low cost companies as good as in the others?
I always fly on Air Canada. The price is OK, but the service is getting worse and worse. I can't afford Air France.

!Pretfles! · Post by **!Pretfles!** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 5:20 pm

I've flown to Budapest with Malev (national Hungarian company)
and the service I had with them or whith Wizzair was the same

The only thing is that you don't have lunch with Wizzair, bur I don't mind for a 2 hour flight.
It saves me 250€ and airline food isn't worth that much

Fundamental · Post by **Fundamental** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:02 pm

I just loved the South African airlines! Wonderful service and nice plains! Nothing to complain about Ryanair either..

Fireball · Post by **Fireball** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:30 pm

Ryanair! cheap

Van Geel · Post by **Van Geel** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:41 pm

Icelandair: a friendly crew, the food was OK and we arrived on time.

Check it out: www.icelandair.com

micro · Post by **micro** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:34 am

British Airways: On a long-distance flight I asked for a seat with more leg space after take-off and they gave me one in a higher class. Nice!

Pakistan airlines had fluffy red carpet on the walls.

Ryanair: Add 4 hours for bus rides to every flight because the airports they serve are ridiculously far away from everything.

With Easyjet I had the bumpiest landing of my life.

Worst airlines: The ones whose passengers applaude when the wheels touch the ground. Brrr!

micro · Post by **micro** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:42 am

Someone should make a poll about favourite aircraft. I can't because I don't know many of them by name. I can only tell that I will vote for Boeing 747.

Viperazzi · Post by **Viperazzi** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:48 am

micro wrote:Ryanair: Add 4 hours for bus rides to every flight because the airports they serve are ridiculously far away from everything.

... and subtract at least 200 euros from the price. From some airports you have to take a bus ride (goddamnit, I hate to ride a long-haul bus!!!

.) but at least Stansted, their hub, is served just as well as other London airports. I wouldn't call the train "express", though, as it is as "fast" and noisy as a local train. But it's good there's usually enough room for luggage and all.

micro wrote:Worst airlines: The ones whose passengers applaude when the wheels touch the ground. Brrr!

= Finnair leisure flights from Mallorca, Canary Islands etc.

Gosh. That is a moment of deep embarrassment for the stupid applauding folk.