OK634 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 6 days 3 hours ago) and read 792 times:
It's impossible for me to say a single one, but I can say a few which are above the rest;
CSA-Czech Airlines, Lufthansa,SABENA, Austrian Airlines,
Swissair, Crossair, LOT, MALEV and of Course LAUDA AIR.
AF Cabin Crew From French Polynesia, joined Sep 1999, 1036 posts, RR: 37 Reply 3, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 6 days ago) and read 779 times:
Hi Tg 747-300,
here is my list :
*British Airways for its First Class
*Air France for its l'Espace 127 / Business Class
*Virgin Atlantic for its Premium Economy and
*BA/AF for their World Traveller/Tempo / economy Class
Jet Setter From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 4, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 772 times:
It has to be Swissair.
Not only the only airline that has provided completely consistent service, but also one who's service is also outstanding ALWAYS!
I've only ever flown them in economy - but I've only ever flown any airline in economy - as have most people
The other people who reply have given away their bias in their unsernames! Be Objective!
My favourite airline is Air 2000 but I know it's no way the best in Europe (or even the UK) And that's right, I'm not Swiss either!!!!
Cedarjet From United Kingdom, joined May 1999, 7724 posts, RR: 55 Reply 5, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 762 times:
They're just fab, great Airbus fleet, great service and great food: on a recent flight from Zurich to London (70 minutes) I got a hot main meal, smoked salmon on the side, a nice dessert, crackers, cheese, fruit, coffee and wine. In Economy. Then just as I put away the last yummy mouthful, I was invited up to the flight deck for the landing in the A321, and had a nice chat with the captain about flying DC8s to Africa in the 60s. Who could ask for more?
If Virgin Atlantic count as European (I took the question to mean intra-Euro), they are the best long-haul by far, for most of the same reasons as SR. Shame about the new livery though.
fly Saha Air 707s daily from Tehran's downtown Mehrabad to Mashhad, Kish Island and Ahwaz
SabenaA320 From Belgium, joined Nov 1999, 113 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 16 hours ago) and read 752 times:
Hey People
My favourite airlines are:
- Sabena (Duh ). Because of their great new airbusses. More space for the legs. I only flew economy, but the food was also great.
- British Airways: perfect service.
that's all. I think there would be so much more perfect airlines in Europe, but I don't have the possibility to fly them all.
Thai747 From United Kingdom, joined Jun 1999, 814 posts, RR: 16 Reply 8, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 740 times:
Although I've flown only 2 of the european airlines.. I would say Lufthansa's probably the best... for their safety , punctuality however.. their FAs are not yet very enjoyable to have serving you on your flight as sometimes they get arrogant and stuff.
I would say another one would be Lauda Air for their new kinds of ideas.. however.. when Lauda crashed in Bangkok in the early 90s... they were very ignorant and they left the authorities in Bangkok and the Lauda's BKK office to handle all the troubles.. pretty bad yeah?
Nicolas From Argentina, joined Dec 2005, 0 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 729 times:
A recent study made British Midlands the best;
I flew BD just one ( LHRCDG ), it's too short to judge, but they have and french fluent cabin crews, ( and other airline may have not fluent french crews.
Airman99o From Canada, joined Aug 1999, 969 posts, RR: 2 Reply 10, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 1 hour ago) and read 719 times:
This name say's it all!! What a flight!! The Cabin Crew Was amazing and the foood was delicious. I flw the New A-330-300 from Ny to Dublin. amazing that is how I have to put it!! I would have to say that the next best would have to be Olympic. the airline may be hving a bit of trouble but It was very good!!]
MEA-707 From Netherlands, joined Nov 1999, 4124 posts, RR: 37 Reply 11, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 1 hour ago) and read 725 times:
I didn't fly every European carrier (yet)... Aer Lingus and Swissair are outstandig indeed, friendly service and offering nice snacks and meals even on the shortest flights. Sabena and Air France were less. Especially on the Sabena-flights operated by DAT (RJ's) you don't even get a meal on sectors of more than 2 hours, to Mid-Italy for example. No problem when you fly with a cheapie like Virgin Express, but I wonder why Sabena deserves the name of a blue-chip carrier.
But Lufthansa and British Airways are probably the most professional. They never let you down on service, but never surprise you either, on a nice way like Aer Lingus and Swissair do.
nobody has ever died from hard work, but why take the risk?
Ilyushin96M From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 2609 posts, RR: 14 Reply 12, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 3 days ago) and read 703 times:
So far, I've flown British Airways, Air France, Aeroflot, CSA, Balkan Bulgarian, SAS and Finnair. British Airways was the best in terms of service and comfort, while Aeroflot provided the best value per dollar. CSA would rank second to Aeroflot in terms of value - their tickets are cheap and their service is excellent. But for flights to Europe, if I have the change to hub through London, I'll choose BA every time.
WingedCreature From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 13, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 699 times:
I think Austrian Airlines is the best. They have modern fleet, very nice A320s, A330s, and A340s. Also, they have served me some excellent food. Once on a shorthaul flight we got fresh baguettes with slices of brie cheese.
Also, they codeshare with SwissAir, which is also a very good airline.
SRA330-223 From Switzerland, joined Oct 1999, 158 posts, RR: 1 Reply 14, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 691 times:
I think that the best European airline is Crossair.
I think it is the best airline becuase it offers a really good inflight service. The meals are delicious and the cabin attendants are always very helpful and friendly. Example : Flight from Basel EuroAirport to Zurich. It's just a short shuttle flight - 16 Minutes flying time. The cabin attendants serve an orange- or apple juice. Chocolates and refreshing towels included and that in just 16 Minutes !!! Can you imagine that ?
Swissair is also a good European airline but I think that the small planes which Crossair operates produce something like a familiar athmosphere on board.
So, fly CROSSAIR and experience the familiar inflight service yourself !!!
TriStar500 From Germany, joined Nov 1999, 4685 posts, RR: 47 Reply 16, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 681 times:
I've flown with Air France, Sabena, BA, Iberia, Swissair and Crossair within Europe, so my judgements are based on their European service.
Swissair and Crossair
As already mentioned - great service, friendly personal both on the ground and in the air. Due to their modern fleet, technical delays are low.
Their weak point is the location of their main hub at ZRH though. It seems like there are always delays due to congestion. I'd schedule at least 1.5-2h when flying with these airlines via ZRH.
Sabena
Service on board is average, but the personal is friendly. SN's strong point for me is their large number of services to secondary European cities like e.g. Hannover or Bordeaux, which offers the chance to do day-trips on connections, that would not be possible otherwise.
Transfer at their BRU hub is quick and one does not have to walk or look around for long.
BA
Haven't flown with them a lot yet (only twice), but from what I've experienced, their service was good, friendly and on-time, and if you have some time to kill while passing through LHR, there is always a lot do do (both in terms of shopping and spotting).
Iberia
Sorry, can't say many nice things about them. We were left stranded for half a day last September, when our connection flight BCN-AGP (Malaga) was deferred until 2a.m. with no information for or care about the passengers whatsoever. Food on board is substandard and the domestic fleet ancient (about the only DC9 and 72S left in European mainline service).
I haven't been at MAD yet (I wil be in late December), but it seems like their BCN hub is having enormous problems with punctuality - they are leading the list of European airport-induced delays.
The only positive point for me was flying with 727's domestically, which I never had a chance to do before.
Air France
My personal favorite. A modern fleet, good and friendly service, great customer care when it comes to frequent flyer rewards combine to make a great airline (at least intra-Europe). AF offers a large number of convenient connections via CDG both within Europe and to the "rest" of the world. A great feature is its special staff, which assists transfer passengers in their search for their next flights as soon as they get from the airplane.
There are just two minor negative points for me:
-Delays suffered at CDG during the summer months (but at least they give you ample information about what's going on, unlike Iberia).
-Flights to some North African and Spanish destinations are still only available from Orly.
Homer: Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!
TriStar500 From Germany, joined Nov 1999, 4685 posts, RR: 47 Reply 17, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 676 times:
I've flown with Air France, Sabena, BA, Iberia, Swissair and Crossair within Europe, so my judgements are based on their European service.
Swissair and Crossair
As already mentioned - great service, friendly personal both on the ground and in the air. Due to their modern fleet, technical delays are low.
Their weak point is the location of their main hub at ZRH though. It seems like there are always delays due to congestion. I'd schedule at least 1.5-2h when flying with these airlines via ZRH.
Sabena
Service on board is average, but the personal is friendly. SN's strong point for me is their large number of services to secondary European cities like e.g. Hannover or Bordeaux, which offers the chance to do day-trips on connections, that would not be possible otherwise.
Transfer at their BRU hub is quick and one does not have to walk or look around for long.
BA
Haven't flown with them a lot yet (only twice), but from what I've experienced, their service was good, friendly and on-time, and if you have some time to kill while passing through LHR, there is always a lot do do (both in terms of shopping and spotting).
Iberia
Sorry, can't say many nice things about them. We were left stranded for half a day last September, when our connection flight BCN-AGP (Malaga) was deferred until 2a.m. with no information for or care about the passengers whatsoever. Food on board is substandard and the domestic fleet ancient (about the only DC9 and 72S left in European mainline service).
I haven't been at MAD yet (I wil be in late December), but it seems like their BCN hub is having enormous problems with punctuality - they are leading the list of European airport-induced delays.
The only positive point for me was flying with 727's domestically, which I never had a chance to do before.
Air France
My personal favorite. A modern fleet, good and friendly service, great customer care when it comes to frequent flyer rewards combine to make a great airline (at least intra-Europe). AF offers a large number of convenient connections via CDG both within Europe and to the "rest" of the world. A great feature is its special staff, which assists transfer passengers in their search for their next flights as soon as they get from the airplane.
There are just two minor negative points for me:
-Delays suffered at CDG during the summer months (but at least they give you ample information about what's going on, unlike Iberia).
-Flights to some North African and Spanish destinations are still only available from Orly.
Homer: Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!
Finnair MD-11 From Finland, joined Dec 1999, 158 posts, RR: 1 Reply 18, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 687 times:
I think the best european airline is FINNAIR!
It is very safe and it has good planes (MD-11, 757, MD-80s, ATR-72, DC-9-51, A320s...). The cabin crew is nice...
I fly very often with Finnair. I once flew with Malev from Helsinki to Budapest; it was quite good company, but when I flew with Malev from Kavala, Greece to Budapest was it very stormy and our 737-200 (HA-LEB)almost fall down. The tail had burned outside!! I don't know why!?
Regards from stormy Helsinki, Finland
Finnair MD-11
OK634 wrote:
-------------------------------
It's impossible for me to say a single one, but I can say a few which are above the rest;
CSA-Czech Airlines, Lufthansa,SABENA, Austrian Airlines,
Swissair, Crossair, LOT, MALEV and of Course LAUDA AIR.
Killjoy From Finland, joined Dec 1999, 646 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (13 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 676 times:
Agree with you completely, Finnair MD-11!
Finnair has an excellent safety record and I haven't once had to complain about anything (I hope it's not just my luck...) on their flights. Cabin crew always very nice and helpful.
And like you said, good planes. The DC-9's are getting a bit old, but they've taken good care of them and will (sadly) replace them in the future.
The only bad thing with Finnair is their new livery (it's good, but not as good as the old one).
And no, of course I'm not biased! :-)
(And even so, I did try to stick to the facts based on my experience with them...)
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). Because of their great new airbusses. More space for the legs. I only flew economy, but the food was also great.
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