Best airlines for international flight?
October 21st, 2009 | by admin |The best airplane I have ever traveled on for an international flight was Japan Airlines, hands down, no contest.
I am going to Ireland in August, what is the best, most comfortable airplane to fly overseas on? Any suggestions?
Well, there are only five airlines in the world that carry the 5-star rating (as awarded by Skytrax, who monitor this kind of thing); they are Singapore Airlines, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Malaysia Airlines. So if you can fly on any of those, you’ll have a very comfortable flight. (Since you’re flying to Ireland though — and I’m assuming you’re coming from the US — it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll find one of these carriers going that route.)
In general you’ll find the Asian-based carriers to be of the highest caliber when it comes to flying internationally, while the European ones will make up the second tier — Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France, and Lufthansa are all four-star airlines, as is the excellent Australia-based carrier Qantas. I’m afraid that the American-based carriers are all three-star airlines (with the exception of JetBlue and Midwest, though neither of them fly to Ireland!), and personally I’d only fly them if they were significantly cheaper (in the end, you only really want to get from A to B, right?) or you didn’t have any other choice.
Have a look at Skytrax’s site if you want to read reviews of the different carriers — it might help with your decision a little.
http://www.airlinequality.com/
You can find lists of which are five-star, four-star, three-star (and so on), and see what the criteria means for each (it usually has to do with standards of service, inflight entertainment, food, and seat pitch and comfort). Personally, if price wasn’t a concern and you could find the route you wanted, I’d go with an Asian carrier (if possible) first, then a European one, then an American one. (You’re likely just going to find European and American ones going in to Ireland, though.)
Hope this helps! Have a safe flight, and best of luck choosing.
–Holly
5 Responses to “Best airlines for international flight?”
By Sharon76 on Oct 21, 2009 | Reply
British air and Air France do a very nice job in my opinion.
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By Gayindc on Oct 21, 2009 | Reply
IMO, virtually all of the European airlines are better than the U.S. ones. Aer Lingus would most likely have the most direct flights from the U.S.
Also, you might want to consider airlines such as SAS, KLM, and Air France, if you are not as concerned with direct flights as opposed to service. You might also be able to get a stopover w/one of these carriers for either your outbound or return portion of your trip.
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By Holly at Travelocity on Oct 21, 2009 | Reply
Well, there are only five airlines in the world that carry the 5-star rating (as awarded by Skytrax, who monitor this kind of thing); they are Singapore Airlines, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Malaysia Airlines. So if you can fly on any of those, you’ll have a very comfortable flight. (Since you’re flying to Ireland though — and I’m assuming you’re coming from the US — it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll find one of these carriers going that route.)
In general you’ll find the Asian-based carriers to be of the highest caliber when it comes to flying internationally, while the European ones will make up the second tier — Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France, and Lufthansa are all four-star airlines, as is the excellent Australia-based carrier Qantas. I’m afraid that the American-based carriers are all three-star airlines (with the exception of JetBlue and Midwest, though neither of them fly to Ireland!), and personally I’d only fly them if they were significantly cheaper (in the end, you only really want to get from A to B, right?) or you didn’t have any other choice.
Have a look at Skytrax’s site if you want to read reviews of the different carriers — it might help with your decision a little.
http://www.airlinequality.com/
You can find lists of which are five-star, four-star, three-star (and so on), and see what the criteria means for each (it usually has to do with standards of service, inflight entertainment, food, and seat pitch and comfort). Personally, if price wasn’t a concern and you could find the route you wanted, I’d go with an Asian carrier (if possible) first, then a European one, then an American one. (You’re likely just going to find European and American ones going in to Ireland, though.)
Hope this helps! Have a safe flight, and best of luck choosing.
–Holly
References :
By Sharmila on Oct 21, 2009 | Reply
I think that British Airways is great, to be honest. They have an amazing safety record, and are very comfortable and accomodating
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By chai22 on Oct 21, 2009 | Reply
If you are flying from the US and you want a direct flight to Ireland then you have the US carriers or Aer Lingus, if you are transfering in Europe KLM, Lufthansa, Air France would be ok.
If you are flying from Asia then stick with the Asian airlines, the best.
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