Well, I beg to differ. Maybe you have been lucky with BA, but the 747s I've been have pretty much been terribly dirty. Much better is to fly Continental (often 777s), or with Lufthansa (4 engined airbuses), who are both great from the flights I have been on. I am a Brit living and working in Houston so I've been on a fair few flights from IAH to Gatwick and Heathrow. Another benefit of Continental is the plane is usually packed with Americans, so you can get that great "Back in the States" feeling before actually being there. Excellent, after being in the drearyness of the Southern England.

Well, Phil's left out other airlines (not his fault though since he wouldn't have had the chance to travel them) that are great in terms of service (compared to the Lynns of AA) and comfort, even in cheap economy. Gluf Air, Emirates and SriLankan are three of these airlines. They fly comfortable Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft where noise is something you don't bother about and seat spacing is great compared to the Lufti's and the Singapore Airlines. Check them out (by the way, I'm not a travel agent or work for one of them! just the occasional travel between Asia and Europe).

Transatlantic travel is easy! Now try flying around Africa and even American starts to look efficient! But since most readers will be more concerned about America-Europe travel, here are my two cents:

Continental is the number one airline for photographers. Look at the overhead bins! Their planes are new and definitely cleaner than the average BA (exception, BA's 777s are as good as Continental's). Continental also has only two classes which simplifies things considerably into expensive and cheap.

Not all European airports are equal. Paris CDG is probably the worst of the majors even though it is a new build. One trip required me to deplane from the Houston flight, take the bus to the terminal, check in at the transfer desk, take a bus to the adjacent terminal, rush through the gate and take another bus to the plane for Abidjan as it was departing. Guess what! The plane from Houston was parked alongside. This would not happen at London Gatwick, there are usually people at the gate to take care of short time connections.

Say you want to fly to a smaller airport in Europe. The nearby major airport may not be a best solution. For example, to get to Birmingham, England, you could fly to Amsterdam or Paris and connect to a puddle jumper. There is no flight from London to Birmingham even though the drive could take more than three hours in difficult traffic conditions (train travel could take as long so it's not really an option IMO).

If you have even a slight disability or a dietary need take advantage of the airlines' programs, whatever the cost of your ticket. My wife has a hip problem and airlines' services can be easily judged on the basis of how they handle special needs. Again, Continental scores high here, as does BA.

Note that airlines go through cycles. Five years ago I would agree with Phil about BA being a great airline but then Robert Ayling took over. One flight manager/purser told me that the airline was referred to internally as Ayling Airways as a result of his cost cutting measures. He's gone, the airline can soar again. What we say today may therefore be different tomorrow.

Just to update Phil's article. United Airline has gradually upgrade several of their transpacific flights with flat bed first class. Me and my wife got one of those seat on our 2000 Christmas Asia trip and the flatbed is nice. I know many people had bad experience with United and I had my share of lousy service, but to be all fairness, I think it depend on the attitude of both sides. Treat others as you like to be treated; those flight attendants are here to serve but they not servant.

Another international carrier that is great for photographer's gear is Cathy Pacific; they use large airbus airplane and the overhead is reasonably big.

Singapore Airlines happened to provide mw with the best flying experience I had. Kudos to those hostesses who never flinched once for any of the requests. Kudos also to the designer of their uniforms (if they can be called that) which won some international award.

Their food was superb (healthy too. Not much of oil or grease) and they have designed it to be "anti-jetlag".

All their economy class passengers have personal LCD screens and the choice is wide. Even if you hint to a slightest displeasure they mail you a nice leather Wallet !!..

Next Fav is South African which I flew to Jo'burg with. They also have personal screens that are computers.(but running a Windows real media player, which kept bluescreeing 5 times for one movie). I hope MS stays with just the entertainment part and not get in the cockpit.

Also on the dutyfree in-flight catalog shopping get Silhoutte Sunglasses if u can. They sell in New York for USD 300 and inflight is usually USD100-130. These glasses are 7 grammes in weight and is made of Titanium!! You can sell them at Ebay for a profit...

I've had great experiences with BA, Quantas and Singapore business. They are all pretty fantastic. Much less luck on two American carriers- UA business had dated cabins and served inedible food. I must also agree with Phillip's assessment of the appalling American Airlines- after being sexually harrassed by one of their stewards in Santiago, they presented the most appalling rude and unhelpful corporate fronts I have ever encountered.

Choose the seats wisely - if you go in a pair and taking on a 747, don't choose the window seats, choose the isle seats instead. Why? because there are 3 seats in a row at the window side, meaning either you or the stranger next to you alone would have to be excused should one wants to leave the seat for whatever purpose - the window seat being the most troublesome at all. Think just how inconvinent it would be. I hate this seat arrangement but hey that's economy seats what can you ask for?

One more thing - when you get seated, you will feel more comfortable if you take your shoes off, since at high attitude the air pressure is low and your body will "blow up" a bit. Oh yes and the most important thing is to bring a bottle of water with you. After a 10-hour flight, I have consmed almost one liter of water.

I've always been very happy with Air New Zealand - like BA, their economy seating is just plain bigger than many other airlines; in fact, a recent trip from London to New Zealand saw me swapping between United Business and Air New Zealand economy, and the latter was far more comfortable (food was better, too).

Mentioning that brings me to the unpleasant topic of United, who are the worst airline I have ever had the displeasure of flying with, out of a half dozen or so I've used. Their counter staff are rude, stupid, and incompetant; their over-tight schedules have once seen me miss a trans-Pacific flight; their planes are poorly outfitted; the food is sub-par; and they've managed to detsory more luggage than I care to think about.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I use United for anything again, ever.

Dan, a couple of posts above, mentions the inconvenience of having to fly back to Europe when using a European carrier. Believe, me, this can have its advantages! A recent trip in West Africa called for a flight from Abidjan to Malabo. The first flight, from Abidjan to Cotoneau was cancelled by the carrier, Air Afrique (usually referred to as Air en retard by those in the know). The journey ultimately took two days, with transits in Lagos (ugh), Douala (ugh) and Libreville (so so). It would have been easier to fly back to Europe, believe me! We try very hard not to use local carriers in West Africa, not because they are unsafe, but when you have a timetable to meet you want the planes to fly on schedule with no bumping, etc. Also, and this is rule not to be forgotten, ALWAYS reconfirm your onward or return flight well in advance when in Africa (and other continents for that matter). As Benny Hill, the comedian, once said, to ASSUME only makes an ASS out of U and ME!

Well, I've decided. Paris Charles de Gaulle is an airport to be avoided at all costs! Unfortunately, a lot of my business takes me to francophone Africa, so I will still be going through there, despite not wanting to. Two experiences in the last week (Houston-Paris-Madrid-Malabo-Zurich-Paris-Houston) beg the question "why is Europe's most recent new airport so non-functional?"

As far as the airlines, Continental continues to please, Air France (within Europe only this time) is tolerable, Iberia very poor (757 from Madrid to Malabo, European style business class for overnight flight - expensive non-luxury) and Swissair great (MD-11 overnight Malabo-Zurich). Best overhead bins were Continental, also the only airline to serve Bluebell Ice Cream! And if you don't like having your film X-rayed, Malabo airport should please, it doesn't have one! But the hand search procedure out on the apron before boarding the plane, well that's another story.

I have good experience with Austrian Airlines. I never lost my luggage so far. Trans-Atlantic flight on Airbus 330 economy class was not bad at all. I ordered row #27, this is first row in a section, and I had about 150cm free space and no annoying passenger in front. Everyone has own LCD TV monitor installed in back of front seat (or, as in my case, I had to pull it out from arm-rest) you can select between two movies, map (to know where will you be if plane crashes) or views from 3 cameras installed in front and bottom of plane (AWESOME!). Full time drink serve and good looking flight attendants. Comfortable seats with two point spine adjustable backs. Just one problem - after 4 hours, lavatory became hard to reach. I always fly AA My longest flight was Tbilisi-Vienna-NY-Phoenix and back. NY-PHX was operated by Delta (code sharing with AA), Boeing 757(?) was uncomfortable, 2 rows - 3 seats in each, TV hanging on a ceiling, lousy headphones. Plane felt old.

BA can be really nice. I wish they realized it and put in some extra effort to treat us well.

In the winter of 2000/2001, I visited my parents in Madras, India after four long years, and I was emotionally exhausted and tired on my way back. Already, thanks to the ridiculous traffic to India in the winter, the flights were seriously over-booked, and the plane(both Madras-Heathrow and Heathrow-EWR) was as crowded as a street in Mambalam neighborhood in Madras... dirty, stinky, hot-as-hell, and filled with loud, real, real, real loud people.

In such a situation, you expect some solace from the hostesses, who are supposed to be nice and cordial and all that.

Negative

Not only were they not even executing the barest minimum of their job requirements adequately, they were probably among the rudest people I have ever met in my life. After having spent $2000 on a shitty coach class ticket, you can imagine my feeling.

When my meal arrived, it wasn't what I had asked for. Water arrived 2 hours after I had asked for it. I NEVER got a pillow for any of my flights from PHL-Heathrow, Heathrow-Madras or the return flights. On top of all this, my polite requests(most of my friends find me adequately polite) were met with rather impolite smirks and gestures. When you are on a 11-hour flight that potentially streches to 12 1/2 hours, you dont want to deal with this kind of crap.

It didn't end with terrible treatment there. When the flight was ready to descend they handed out immigration cards(those white cards you are supposed to fill out for immigration/customs folks), and they handed me the wrong number of cards and of the wrong type.

I was already landing about 150 miles north of where my home is, and on top of that, i was troubling a friend (from north jersey) to drop me all the way, which is mid-DE (thats what you end up doing for being an underpaid grad. student) and so my brilliant dash to the immigration counters at Newark, NJ was of no use. When I got in there, I was the first from the flight, and the immigration counters were empty. But I had to leave the line multiple times to get the right forms : "You have the wrong form sir, get back in the line and get the right form", "You have not filled that in, sir, get back in the line"... Of course, the immigration official was doing his job, but he didn't allow me to ask him what is actually expected from that procedure. Of course, when I finally got everything right, I really wished I had said VERY bad things to the hostesses on board that wretched flight

I wish I had sent BA an note explaining that they had done a execrable job and I wish I would never, ever, ever fly their flight again - horrible, horrible, horrible service. They could really spend on better, more courteous staff. Given their great facilities in-plane, I will probably (despite my very bad feelings about my last) fly BA again(sigh!). But, I certainly dont want this kind of treatment especially on such a long flight. Next time this happens, I will definitely sue.

If you are a Canadian traveller your choices are likely not the same as those of an American. The options for my most recent trans-Atlantic flight were Canada 3000, Air Canada and BA. We flew Canada 3000 from Toronto to Vienna return and it was a hell ride.

There was a screaming infant in the seat across the aisle and the flight attendents offered no assistance to the poor mother who had no idea what to do. This was literally 7 hours of intense screaming. The legroom left a little to be desired as well. I'm 6'4" and don't expect a ton of leg room, but I should at least be able to cram myself into the seats after some effort. Canada 3000 has a habit of removing seats in coach to make room for more passengers while other airlines are making room in coach by taking seats out. Whatever, we made it to Vienna and had a fabulous time there and in Prague but still had to make it back.

There was a surprise touchdown in Berlin after waiting three hours in the Vienna airport. Before boarding in Vienna, the Canada 3000 people let us know that there would be no assigned seats for the trip to Berlin and that people would just have to make do with whatever was available. This they announce with 150 people waiting to board the plane. Needless to say, I have never seen such a human stampede. Then, to top it off, guess who gets on the plane in Berlin? The screaming infant and his mother were waiting in the Berlin airport when we deplaned. Thankfully, this time the attendents actually offered assistance to the mother and the infant was sedated or something. He was happy and so were we, relatively speaking. The headphones do not work on any Canada 3000 plane, so bring your own entertainment.

Without making this too long, it's worth mentioning that a friend made the same trip a week earlier flying BA from Montreal direct to Prague. He had loads of legroom and a personal video screen with clear music and movies on demand. He paid an extra $300. Even being a starving student, I will spring for the BA seats next time.

In my experience, Air Transat and Royal Airlines (owned by Canada 3000) have similar service to Canada 3000. Air Canada offers a mixed bag. You don't know what you're going to get with them. For travel inside Canada, WestJet offers dirt cheap fares and reasonable service. I'd say you get what you pay for and the flights are typically short.

I'm sorry to say this, but I totally Dissagree. As I fly from the middle east to nz every 2nd year, and in the opposite direction every other year, I have a totally different view. I would rate singapore and emirates at the top. both have personal inflight systems. leg room is fine, in both, but wat would u prefer, leg room or enjoyment? even so, go a bit earlier and get a bulk head or emergancy exit seat. better than first class.

these i would rate the two top best. they fly almost everywhere, exept emirates who code share with american, so, unfortunatly u got to fly with them.

i won't blame the author because i'm guessing he's american in which case singapore has only just really started flying there, and emirates still doesn't but will soon with the A380.

i opt for inflight entertainment and cabin luxory, u?

nice artical though. but the worse experiance i had was in america last summer when u americans had all them problems with u're airlines.

The thing to do before setting of on any airline flight, and especially a long one, is to check the seating arrangement on the aircraft. Find out which airline that provides reasonable service provides the largest amount of legroom and the widest seat. Always try to get an aisle seat next to an emergency exit, those give the most room in economy class. The first few rows in economy may well have business class seating, make use of that if you can (sometimes these are reserved for people in the frequent flyer program in lue of free upgrades). Check in early to get the best seats, if the airline allows it and you have only carry-on luggage you might try remote checkin by phone or online a day or so before the flight. For long range flights (crosscontinental US, intercontinental etc) avoid narrow-bodied airliners like the Boeing 757. They are usually far more cramped, having narrower seats and/or less room between seats. If you travel with more than carry-on luggage, see if you can get an aircraft that uses containerised luggage handling. The handlers on the platform are less gentle than the ones in the baggage area of the terminal. They are more prone to loose or damage pieces.

Don't let Phil's comments about Virgin put you off. If you're not a time-constrained business traveller, and you have a chance to shop around, you'll be paying an order of magnitude less than $7300 to cross the Atlantic. In that case, paying 20% more for relatively luxo Virgin is a screaming deal compared to cattle car class on Delta.

I have flown several long haul flights. These are some of my experiences.

It is simply not so that from the east coast, you can only go transatlantic. All three of my flights to asia were trans-Pacific.

UAL to HKG. I was flying as a courier. Seats are Ok, but my knees are on the seat back in coach. (I'm 6'-2" and more than 250 lbs.) Carry-on was adequate for a small porter (I was flying as a courier, and carry on was all I was allowed to carry, remember). UAL flies direct from JFK to Tokyo-Narita. Food was adequate, and coffee was Starbucks. (this is before I knew that coffee contributes to jet-lag.)

NWA to Bangkok. Talk about long haul. not including my layover at narita, this is a 22 hour flight. In the case of Northwest, I have to say, never again. Like UAL my knees were on the seat back in coach, and the food was in a word, lousy. The only bright spot was that I had adequate upper bin space for my carry-on. This was also non-stop JFK to narita.

CPX to Kuala Lumpur. Deciding that I'd had it with US based airlines, I went to KL on Cathay Pacific. I have to say that It made a world of difference. Although, once again in coach the legroom is poor, they at least had the silly video thingies on the seat backs. (I can't sleep on planes). This flight was JFK-Vancouver-HKG with a change of planes in HKG to KUL. Food was decent, and if it wasn't enough they always had enough ramen noodles around. For some reason, on the change of planes, they upgraded me to business class. Even in business class they had flat seats, and almost wait-staff attention to detail.

Re: Noise Cancelling Headphones

I spend too much time in the air, and the idea of noise cancelling headphones was extremely attractive. However, most of the time a decent pair of soft foam ear plugs work better and are much more cost-effective.

I first purchased the Sony MDRNC5 Noise Cancelling Headphones. These fold up nicely for packing into my carry on bag, but are not that effective. When I turn them on the noise cancelling audio feels like it's pressing on my ears. Not ideal...

However my last trip to Fry's turned up the Sony MDRNC10 Noise Cancelling Headphones. These work as advertised. The in-the-ear design is a better fit, and the noise reduction is improved. As a bonus, it packs into a smaller space than the MDRNC5 headphones. I'm very happy with these...

I fly between South Africa & UK every year or so on whatever is cheapest.

Air Egypt, Air Ethiopia, Air Sudan, TAP, Air Alliance, Air Namibia etc

The quality of service on these flights isn't great. Most are smoking. Usually include too long in an airport somewhere.

BUT

They are great for seeing unusual places. 8 hours in Addis Ababa is long enough to get a short trip in. I had 24 hours in Cairo to sightsee this January.

And if you're paying where else can you basically get paid £200 for 6 hours more sitting around?

My elderly mother-in-law flew from London (Gatwick) to Houston yesterday, on her own. We chose Continental as the previous time she flew across the Atlantic the carrier had been British Airways and I strongly disagree with Philip about BA being the best airline despite the fact that my wife and her mother are "very British". Upon arrival I asked my mother-in-law what she thought of Continental. This was her reply. "Well, I was surprised that you did not book me on BA but I am very pleased now that you didn't. Those British Airways staff were so haughty with me whereas the Continental staff, even the men, were most friendly and helpful. And the plane was on time too!"

We organized special assistance for her on both trips and the Continental one worked well (BA never helped her at all in Houston and she pushed her own luggage through a strange INS/customs hall).

As we are all getting older, this post may not be relevant now, but wait a few years!

I would like to say that I truly enjoyed Emirates Airlines. I use them whenever I'm traveling from Europe to the Middle East and vice versa.

The flight is always on time (departing) and and usually Early arriving. Don't even get me started on the seats, I'm 6'4 and I found that on most flights, (I flew with British Airways, United Airlines, KLM, Luftansa, Canadian, Air Canada [I'm from there], and Gulf Airlines), the seats were very uncomfortable, (especially on long flights), and sometimes it got So bad I've had to bring a pair of sandals with me because my feet and ankles swelled up So much. NOT with Emirates, they have the MOST room out of any ailine I EVER flew with.

And don't get me started on the FOOD! (oh my god!). They have the best selection (yes you heard right SELECTION) of food, they usually have 3-5 main entrees and upto 7 desserts to choose from . The in-flight entertainment was fantastic, here they AGAIN have a selection of the most up to date movies at your pleasure, (I watched a movie that was JUST coming out in theatres back home in Canada while flying from Dubai to London), to watch on your very own mini screen (the screen is about the same size as that of a laptop).

If that does'nt tickle your fancy then there are some radio stations that offer everything from the easy listening of classical music to the head banging guitar smashing tunes of rock & roll. OH!, I almost forgot about the games, they've got TONS of games (to keep the young'uns busy no doubt).

The service was so imacculate I thought I was dreaming (we've all gotten that "oh man!, not you again!" look when we are trying to get the flight attentdants attention for some service) not with them. Overall my flying experience with them is ALWAYS enjoyable. And will someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe they have won "the best airline"?? award for three years running now.

The reason why I'm raving about them so much is because I'm suffering at the hand of a monopoly here in Canada. We've only got ONE national carrier and the city I live in (Ottawa-Nations Capital) is served ONLY by them (with a FEW exceptions here and there [depending on the season]). So if I ever want to travel anywhere I HAVE to pay their price OR ELSE (gone are the days of chartered flights [R.I.P Canada 3000] where at least I can catch a plane from right here to the U.K and then from there the choices are limitless) and since I don't have the choices afforded to the lucky ones living in Toronto and Montreal, who have a "buffet" of airlines to choose from,I have been "grounded" because of them. :-C

Just a tip for those that are going to travel with photographic equipment in American airports.

If you want your equipment hand inspected, instead of getting the standard "If its 800 speed or less it won't be affected." Print out a copy of the TSA reg 1544.211(e)(4) it says:

"(4) If requested by individuals, their photographic equipment and film packages must be inspected without exposure to an X-ray system."

There are regulations that state that there must be signs that advise you of this right, but most don't have it at this point(Apirl 22nd 2002). So its best to carry a copy of the nessary pages for the airports that have yet to put the new signs up.

sorry Phil. beg to differ. Have never had a decent experience with BA. Their 747 seats are extremely uncomfortable and reallly do suck. United does a better job with their B777 and B767 aircraft on long haul. BA's cabin crew were close to hostile on one occasion and these days one can't argue lest one should get arrested or something.

My best experiences for international travel have been on Thai, Singapore and United...in that order. Oh, there is another international airline which sucketh - Royal Nepal!!

Addendum about HKG
Recently flew through Hong Kong. This is a pretencious, and stupid (though flashy) airport. The luggage hold charges are criminally high. Getting anywhere to the gates from the check in area is a major pain in the posterior - a long long distance - the airport planners, did not think much about the fast movement required by passengers. You have to go up and down multiple levels and have to drop off your luggage cart and pick a different one many times. Rather inefficient, I thought.

To beat all this HKG airport allows only one piece of cabin baggage per passenger. I was travelling from the US, where I carried on board two pieces. Arrived in HKG, stayed there for a few days and then I checked in again, where I was not allowed to take two pieces of baggage in anymore. Rather stupid, I think.

BA on Mumbai-London sector
Surprisingly the flight to London must have been the best BA flight, I have ever had. The crew was pleasant, the food was good and the flight was half empty too. While coming back from London, the flight was 100% full and had the usual associated problems (also because as company policy everyone flies cattle-class). The crew was again courteous and nice.

Jet Airways
here is this small airlines (at least by international standards) operating domestic in India - nine years old now. really gives a run for the money to the govt Indian Airlines. pretty much good quality international standard airline with mostly ontime service, polite and nice creaw, new aircraft etc. if you are in India, you gotta fly them.

I'll have to disagree with your ratings! The Best United: You simply can't get much better. The food has deteriorated, but customer service is still as good as always. When you begin to rack up the miles, United gets better and better. SAS: Absolute luxury! And the nicest is that if the business class is not full, they upgrade people from coach! Lufthansa: Best of the best. Great food, great service, and the legroom isn't bad. I'm 6', with extremely long legs, so the legroom really matters to me. The Worst AirKenya: Cattle car. Enough said. AirChina: The international carrier is not bad--particularly when it's not crowded. But the domestic carriers are AWFUL. MIAT (Mongolia): I was convinced I would die every other minute. Aeroflot: Read above comment.

I have been flying from East Cost US (DC area) to Taiwan, Korea, HK for last three yrs. (5 -8 trips /yr all business class - I don't pay Thank goodness or I'd be in jail after some of the flights!)UAL has the best routing & timing for me. That said I find them awful in terms of service. One small thing, but a true annoyance, is that about 60% of the time my food choice is no longer available by the time they get to me (I prefer upstairs in the front). The penny pinchers will only allow just so much of any one item & I seem to always want that. I have taken to using Korean Air direct to Dulles from Seoul. They are friendly & courteous & they do try to please. Their aircraft are not exactly fresh though. I agree w/all comments about water - bring extra there is never enough offered & I get tired of being made to feel I impose (UAL) when I repeatedly ask. I got a guilty conscience after 9/11 & went back to UAL for a flight from Chi to Narita & then on to Seoul . The segment to Narita was absolutely the worst experience that I've ever had. The upstairs crew consisted of three women of Sr. citizen vintage who had LONG lost their desire to help, and service was an imposition. Interestingly, after a plane change the last leg from Narita to Seoul was served (same seat location) by both an early 20's Japanese & Korean Steward - Could not have been nicer!! Almost eradicated the unpleasant taste of CHI to Narita - Almost! After my most recent flight, (UAL purely due to schedule) I notice that no longer are they leaving the snack carts out for you to pick from as you want during the between meals portion of the flights but they offer you one chance to choose & then presto it's gone! Don't be sleeping! Another victory for the bean counters! I have flown Cathay Pacific between Taipei & HK numerous times in economy and once in Business. For me, they make UAL & NW look silly to even try to call themselves service providers. Cathay has been superb every time I've used them - their labor problems with their pilots not withstanding they are courteous efficient & on time. I wish I could easliy use them to get back to the states! I would prefer to spend those dollars that I can control w/US Carriers but they simply refuse to care - Union rules etc. Anybody remember Pan Am, Eastern, Branif or TWA? Jerry Kelley

Having a good flight seems a hit and mis affair. Companies go bankrupt, big well known carriers are budgeting and low-key operators are expanding. Getting good food has more to do with the airport catering than with the carrier. Same thing about delays and lost luggage.<br> However, things can differ when problems arise - thats the moment when a good carrier seems to do more effort than a bad one. I had some really nasty experiences with KLM in that respect.<br> I always buy the cheapest available economy ticket. Timing is the second most important factor - arriving in the middle of the night isn't very pleasant.<br>

My (subjective) list:<br> The very good ones:<br> Thai airways, Malaysian Airlines<br>

The good ones: <br> Philippine Airlines, Pakistan International, Gulf Air, Jet Air(India)<br>

The average ones: <br> Tame (Ecuador), Royal Nepal, Olympic<br>

The bad ones: <br> Biman Bangladesh, British Airways, Turkish airlines, Lufthansa, Virgin<br>

The really bad ones: <br> KLM, CSA<br>

Sorry, but I have to disgree with one airline mentioned in the previous post. TAME airline in Ecuador is without a doubt the worst airline I've ever flown. The planes are old and rickety and flights are always accompanied by strange noises and hard landings. If you are an uneasy flyer like me, paranoia would set in at boarding time when you get a look at the plane. Interiors of the planes are designed with the bare necessecities. If you think I'm exagerrating, then explain to me why after every landing the locals break out into applause. I might also ad that I've witnessed quite a few locals nervously praying during the flight. TAME has one of the worst safety records of any airline. There is also no assigned seating so be prepared to elbow your way to the front of the herd and make a mad dash for the aircraft.

I travel frequently throughout Asia and the Pacific. Typically I fly business class and have always had nice experiences with Singapore, Cathay Pacific and Continental (Micronesia) in that part of the world. Generally I wrap up these month long trips in Guam and the Continental flight to Honolulu on the new 767-400ER is always nice. Perhaps I'm happy just to be headed home. I'm not crazy about either BA or Quantas. Very similiar in the way they operate. Marginal food, great safety records however. If I set foot on an aircraft that looked dirty or poorly maintained; I would grab my carry on and get off. I've done this before. I do these trips 3 times per year and never have encountered any issues with my carry on of both brief case and photo backpack with tripod attached. During my last trip in August, I managed to cover the entire itenarary of 12 flights without having to pass my film through an X-Ray machine. Just smile and politley ask for hand inspection. Merry Christmas!

It appears that having a good flight is really a trial and error procedure. I have been travelling for over six years. My typical travel schedule contains usually a single roundtrip to India and numerous trips within the US both long haul and short haul. I would say that for the really long trips (to India), all the airlines I have flown (BA, KLM, NW, AF) have been a mixed bag. Service wise and itinerary wise, I would probably rate BA to be up there. AF has decent planes but lousy service and the more I think about CDG the more I get ticked off. IMHO, LHR is probably the best airport to be transiting if you have to go to the Asian Continent. AMS is also very well designed.

KLM offers decent service but has lousy planes (ymmv, especially on flights to INDIA). The lesser I speak about NWA the better it is.

Regarding travel within the US, I would rate Continental with both decent planes and good service. I have flown out of IAH several times and would rate the service excellent. On long haul flights they have decent meal service and my requests for special meals (vegetarian meals) have been honoured. The less I say about UAL the better it is. I flew them out of IAD and what a pain in the posterior end it was!!

I have also carried photographic equipment and would say that put a couple of rolls of high speed film like 1600 or even 3200 in the ziploc bag and you should insist on hand inspection. I did this recently on a trip and was accomodated. Previously my requests fell on deaf ears (though I did not have the high speed films in the ziploc bag). Another suggestion would be to also print out the TSA regulations, the one concerning photo equipment (TSA regulation 1544.211(e)(4)), though I haven't tried that out as yet, next time I am flying you bet I will have all this plus some to make sure that I get hand inspection.

In India, I have travelled with Jet Airways and also with Air Sahara and would say that both the airlines run circles around the government run Indian Airlines, especially when it comes to service. Jet Airways is highly recommended and it has a frequent flier arrangement with NWA/KLM. This makes it an attractive airline for tourists flying in from other countries. Has a shuttle service running from the Central Business Districts in some of the metropolitan areas in India like DEL and BOM.

Much of my travel has been in and through the Third World, where air travel works differently. Often, choices such as BA (or a US-based carrier) are more hassle, since they return you to their base of operations. Imagine flying BA from Istanbul to London, then to Dubai! That's 8 hours of travel, when a direct flight would be a mere 3 hours.

Often, non-European/non-North American provide the ONLY flight to a destination, or they provide a cheaper alternative. Some are excellent while others are awful, and it pays to do your homework before you buy your ticket. Do NOT just ask a travel agent! Search the internet, read business magazines (business travelers usually have excellent feedback about airlines), and if your friends travel a lot, ask them.

That said, here are a few thoughts about specific intertnational air carriers, and how to prep for them:

1. When flying a non-European, Non-North American carrier, ask about luggage allowances first. Don't get caught with 40 kilos of camera gear and a 20 kilo luggage allowance without being ready to pay the difference. Also, see if you can find out how strict they are ... I once had Lufthansa take 28 kilos of extra luggage for free, but I got grilled for being 3 kilos overweight by Air Malta!

An addition to that thought: recently, many carriers have faced problems from Baggage Handlers' Unions, and now are highly intolerant of extra weight--I was charged 63 Euro by KLM for being a mere 3 kilos overweight.

2. Many non-European/non-North American carriers think that extra x-ray machines mean extra security. Film can be a hassle, but it is worth the hassle to carry your film on and politely refuse to have it x-rayed. Allow security to inspect individual rolls (keep them in a ziplock or other clear plastic bag) but explain that it's professional quality film and that x-rays WILL damage it. Sometimes, a pre-printed DO NOT X-RAY note with a red circle and slash helps ... these might be avaiable at a photo shop, or you can get them made for little money.

3. When flying a non-European/non-North American airline, remember that their experience with customer service and comfort levels may be zero, so pack bottled water, snacks, and a good book. Case in point: EgyptAir frequently serves dry little cakes to their passengers, then brings the water around an hour later. The follow-up to this is strong tea or NesCafe. Not an appetizing snack, but when they're the only airline going to Aswan, you have to put up with the service.

4. If you fly from North America through Europe to a destination in Asia or Africa Or the Middle East, the airline will give you a free layover in their European Airport. Think of it as a chance to take a break for a few days in Paris, or London, or Frankfurt. The great part: EU regulations say the airline can't raise your ticket price for a single stop, and you can have a few days to work on jet lag and take some great early-morning/dusk pics. The downside: hotels in those cities aren't cheap and the airline will not give you a free room.

In my experience, quality non-European/non-North American carriers are:

Emirates: Legendary service, great food, and coach service which is as almost as good as business class on US-domestic flights. If you ever fly Emirates First or Business Class, their lounge in Dubai is truly amazing.

Singapore: Ditto. Their overnight flights rate very high with customers; so high that many people would rather fly with Singapore than spend money on a hotel.

Sri Lanka: Also an excellent reputation for customer service during the flight. Clean and comfortable aircraft.

Gulf Air: This Bahrain-based airline goes to so few destinations that you'll probably never fly them. But, if you happen to be going their way, take them. Very good in every regard.

Other airlines you'll look at if you fly to the Middle East or Africa:

EgyptAir: Also legendary for their inability to get it right in any way whatsoever.

Middle East Air: Lebanon's National Carrier. They're comfortable, but they've never served food on any flight I've been on, althought they did serve alcohol. You cannot buy tickets on this airline from the US.

Ethiopian Air: Mixed reviews. If it's a newer plane on a major route, you will find the service quite good, but if it's a short-range flight or an older flight, come prepared to squeeze past people, fight your way to a seat in a crowded plane, and feed yourself.

Kenyan Air: The same. International flights in newer planes generally please the customers, but short flights have a terrible reputation.

South African Airways: Once a jewel in Africa's airlines, the post-apartheid airline has suffered much the same way the country has. A few years ago, the airline began to restructure itself, and the service has improved considerably. One note: when flying through Cape Town or johaneesburg, carry on all your gear. Both airports have had major theft problems from checked-in luggage.

To Eastern Europe: CSA/Czech Air Lines: Not bad. Clean, efficient, and often underbooked. For a short-hop flight they'll feed you a light meal and bring around drinks two or three times. Friendly service, but the seats are too close together.

Malev/Hungarian Air Lines: With small seats, overbooked flights, and rampant drunkenness on every Malev flight I've been on, why would I fly again? Because they offer a cheaper alternative to much of Eastern Europe, they feed you a light but tasty meal, and the staff on the airplane do their best to be helpful. That said, the airport in Budapest has a time-consuming and unusual passport control point for transfer passengers.

Finally, flying to and from Israel on any airline has become a huge hassle in the last two years, as Israeli security try to protect passengers from potential violence. The result is a uniformly unpleasant experience from every traveller I have talked to. While many travellers see the hassle as a necessary step to their visit, it is worth knowing in advance that you're going to face strenuous security checks.

I suggest Ukraine International, if you're going to/from Ukraine. In my experience, the best airline in the x-USSR, and there are some good ones there now. UIA also has some astoundingly gtood fares. Lots of late model 737s. -r

For Christmas 2001 my wife and I flew to Singapore. It was the 3rd time we had been and upto this point had always flowen with Singapore airlines. We have always had excelent service and its was apleasure to fly with them. However, 2001 we went with Lufthansa. What a mistake to make!

First, the flight was delayed and the excuse was "we didnt know we needed an aircraft". How did they expect to ger nearly 400 people from Frankfurt to Singapore, by bike??? Eventually we were bussed to the end of the airfield and had to walk through snow and black ice to a 747 and climb the stairs in the dark and -15C to the aircraft.

Naturally the aircraft was extremely cold. We waited for another hour before the pilot announced that there was a technical problem and they were waiting for a mechanic. After that, another 15 minutes because the control surfaces were iced up.

We then started the flight. There was no entertainment system, no radio. We were served a meal and it was fish or nothing. I dont like fish. At this point my wife complained at the bad service. They then managed to find something from 1st class, but it was half cold.

As if that wasnt bad enough, they then insisted all window blinds were down and switched of the lights. At some point I wanted to go to the toilets and was told in no uncertain terms to sit down and not to move around. We were not server drinks and when I asked for some water it was very begruggingly served.

The return trip was not much better an started with our flight being cancelled (new years eve). We were told to go to the airport 12 hours later than planned and get new tickets. When we got to the ticket desk, they said they knew nothing about new tickets and we should go to the Lufthansa office which we did. It was "closed for lunch" and with a note to come back about half hour later. This office never re-opened. We did eventually get on board with our existing tickets and on the return flight we were also kept in the dark.

I had the feeling it was a case of "keep them in the dark so we dont have to do anything" on the part of the staff.

If I had paid for a cheap flight I could accept some of these problems, but this flight cost EURO 1500 each and was the most expensive flight I have ever taken. I had accepted the cost as we were promised good service. I will never fly with Lufthansa by choice again. Remeber this is a 12 hour flight.

United Airlines is horrible. My wife took our family to Australia on United Business Class. ( I came two days later on Quantas.) They flew from San Francisco to Honolulu then on to Sydney. After we left Honolulu my son developed food poisoning (the only food he had eaten was served by United on the flight from SFO to Hawaii). He began to run to the lavatory to throw up with considerable frequency. Eventually the stewardess refused to allow him access to the first class lav insisting he wait on line in coach. when he tried to explain the urgency she still refused, at which point he sprayed half of first class with projectile vomit and was allowed to use the head. By the time they got to Sydney, Josh was unconscious and needed hospitalization. My wife requested a wheel chair and was told that she could not have one as none had been reserved, to which she replied that she would have do so had she know that United intended to poison us! A kind passenger eventually carried the comatose 11 year old while my wife struggled through immigration and customs with a 7 year old and luggage for 4.

When i arrived two days later, Josh was being discharged from the hospital having been treated for severe dehydration.

United did not even give us the courtesy of a reply to our complaint. needless to say, i don't fly United any more.

Steven,

I am sorry about your unpleasant encounter and I hope your son had a speedy recovery. One thing I am not sure from reading your story is that are you sure it is United Airline that you flew from Hawaii to Sydney? United does not fly its airplane from Hawaii to Sydney (United only fly LA to Sydney route). The Hawaii to Sydney route is operated by Air Canada, which code-share with United.

I spent two weeks in Torres del Paine NP in Chilean Patagonia in March/03. The US to Santiago segment was Delta (FF miles) and Santiago to Punta Arenas and return, via Lan Chile. Lan Chile was the best experience I've had since an Asian trip on Cathe Pacific. The four hour flight to Punta Arenas from Santiago (1900+ miles) was on a shiny, clean A320 with a flight crew that was so sharp they could have passed a military inspection. Two complete meal services with wine and salmon were served in coach on the flight, which departed and arrived precisely on time. Best of all, the 4,000 mile RT was only $160 advance purchase. TIP: Left hand side of plane going down; right hand side returning, well in front of the wings.

American Airlines (AA) needs to be added to the bad list. They're not overly bad, about average (and with the average on the low side), but my bad experience came with damaged luggage. Flew Cathay from HK to Tokyo, and AA from Tokyo to DFW. Don't know where en route it was damaged. The handle was ripped off. Makes it hard to carry - hardback suitcase. AA wouldn't compensate, claiming it was because the damage was to an 'external' part of the luggage. And where else would a handle be?

Good airlines: JAL, ANA, Cathay, Singapore, Korean.

I recently (May 2003) had the unfortunate experience of travelling through Paris CDG airport (flight to Manchester on BA). I have to say that it is the most filthy airport I have ever had the displeasure of visiting - there were very few seats (terminal 1) for waiting passengers. However those seats were nearly all empty because nobody wanted to soil their clothes by sitting on them. This airport is also bereft of facilities, my colleague and I had arrived at the airport after a long working day in Paris and even though it was before 8pm we were unable to find anywhere that would serve us a meal. This is one airport I would only use if flying to Paris - if you are not going to Paris please avoid it. Every other airport I have ever visited in Europe has been better than this - even the small provincial ones.

With regards airlines - the worst one I ever travelled on was Aeroflot (on 2 internal flights in Russia in 1987). It was an experience that puts everything else into perspective. When you board a Tupolev TU-154 passenger jet which has a hand painted interior you become concerned, when it vibrates like a single engined propeller aircraft during take off the only thing that stops you from panicking is that all the Russians look completely relaxed. On a 3 hour flight the refreshment was half a vending machine cup of a fruit syrup drink. I am sure though that things must have improved hugely in the years since then.

For Domestic travel in the western United States, Alaskan is ok. Commuter service from PDX to SEA-TAC was great, good coffee. Seattle to Anchorage was somewhat cramped, but I'm good size (6'0'', almost all of it leg). But they were cheap (thanks to many crashes), and may sitll be. Do NOT, under any circumstances, leave anchorage airport with film you don't want x-rayed. It will take them forever, and they generally treat you like a terrorist. Southwest Air is pretty good, friendly staff. Planes were dirty-feeling, mabey it was the lighting. San Diegois a great airport for flying into/out of. Handy newsstands by the ticket counter. Thats all. Thanks for your time, sorry for wasting it.

Just for the web function testing. --Thanks!

BA is generally very good but I have also travelled with QANTAS on several 14 hour trans-pacific flights and I was very impressed with the service and fresh food.

Most impressive airline in my opinion is Cathay Pacific - great for those trips from Asia to Europe and the best by a country mile...

SAS - even better than Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific (is that possible?)