Showing posts with label Airlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airlines. Show all posts

11/04/2017

Garuda Indonesia


I've travelled twice with Garuda Indonesia for international flights so far, and it is a good airline. 

The planes were modern and clean. Seating in Economy Class was decent and not as tight as in other airlines. 

My last flight with them was comfortable and punctual. The entertainment program was decent, but not as good as that offered by other international airlines for similar distances, and not as as good as Qantas Domestic for long flights. 

In my last flight, only five and a half hours long, they provided travellers with a snack at night and a full breakfast in the morning. Food was all right regarding taste and variety. 

The flight attendants were lovely both in the airport and on the plane, but the in-flight communications in English were a pain to listen to. 

In short, a good airline to fly with, but nothing one would be looking forward to unless the ticket includes a part of the route with them. 

Etihad Airlines


I was extremely excited when my last intercontinental ticket had a part of the route, a long flight, with Etihad. The airline is at the top of any list of best airlines in the world these days, how not to be excited? Yet, Etihad was the biggest disappointment ever. 

Etihad might be a super-duper airline for Business Class and First Class, but it is average regarding Economy Class. It certainly, does not match the service and comfort I've experienced in Economy for similar flights with Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, KLM and other airlines. 

The plane was very pretty and looking very new and spotless clean. 

Leg room was very little, less than in other airlines, cattle travel, if you know what I mean. To me that ruins anything when you have a 14 hour travel and generates me plenty of physical trouble. 

Food and snacks were decent, but not as good or abundant as with other airlines.

The entertainment program was good enough, but not really excellent, or as vast and varied as that of similarly rated airlines. 

The crew were lovely, polite and smiley and worn a very classy glamour uniform. 

Overall, nothing in my long flight made me think that I was travelling with one of the best airlines in the world, honestly. 

5/31/2016

Norwegian Airlines

I had an inter-European flight recently and the flights I could find in Australia were too expensive for my budget and the departure times too early in the morning to be convenient. I browsed the net and came across this airline on one of Expedia international sites. The company also sells tickets directly through their website. I searched forums because, truly, the last thing I want is to expend my money on a flight with an unreliable airline, but the reviews were good. So, I dived in and flew with them.  

My experience with NA was good taking into account that his is a low-cost airline. It was a 4-hour flight, and the plane was as good as those I have frequently taken with Suiss or Luftansa, tiny space even in Business Class, therefore, nothing anybody in Australia would get excited about.

The flight was punctual regarding departure and arrival.

Like Jetstar they don't give you anything free, not food or water, but they sell some hot and cold snacks and drinks. They are dreadful and very expensive, so avoid. On the bright side of things, they allow you to take your own water and food aboard, so you don't need to buy anything unless you really want.

Some of the staff were really helpful and friendly, while others did their best not to interact with customers and, when they did, they were like robots and unhelpful. So I experienced both sides of the Norwegian coin.  

The only in-flight entertainment was shown in those TVs that hang from the plane's ceiling -- a mix of cartoons and funny videos. Thank Gosh for my tablet.

Overall, Norwegian Airlines is good value for money. I would have paid way more for the same flight with a normal airline, get similar or identical seats, get (at best) a free snack and service would vary as well. So it was worth flying with Norwegian Airlines, despite some of the unfriendly staff being aboard with us humans. I will certainly fly with them again if the occasion arises.

Norwegian Airlines specializes in flights to/from Scandinavia, with regular inter-European flights and with some destinations in the USA as well. 

Cathay Pacific Airways


7/10
I had never flown with CP until recently, but I was excited because a friend of mine has had a great experience with this airline. 

To be fair, my flight was an overnight flight, and most airlines have the dreadful practice of downgrading the service for overnight flights, so my first experience with CP might be affected by this practice. 

The plane looked modern, and it was pretty and clean, but the space in Economy Class was just tiny. First Class looked really as a million-dollar-buck First Class, but most people seat elsewhere. 

I thought the staff were friendly, ready to attend any request and help. However, I also witnessed some abruptness, like staff asking customers to let them pass when there was no need for them to ask that as they weren't passing with a trolley nor there was any turbulence. 

Other airlines have the staff running the aisles all night with trays with water and juice, while others have trays prepared in the crew area for you go and pick up a glass without having to ask for anything. Neither of this happened with my CP, flight until we were very close to destination, so you have to go and ask for a glass of water when you want one.

Food was surprisingly good, that always excites me when flying, although meals were not as bulky or complex as in other airlines, Qantas for example. 

The in-built entertainment program had very good digital screens and a good selection of Western and Asian movies. However, it was behind Qantas and other Asian airlines regarding volume and currency of the movies shown. 

Their duty free shopping catalogue is, perhaps, the best I have ever seen. I have flown with many airlines, and these days all of them seem to sell the same products, at the same prices. Corporations selling their thing. CP distinguishes themselves by selling luxury, really innovative expensive products, at prices that can be 1000+ bucks. Nothing I would or could buy, but at least they know what they want to sell and the products in their magazine are really amazing. 

CP is a decent good-priced airline, just not comparable to Qantas, Thai or Singapore Airlines in the quality of the service. Things might be different for day flights, so I will report back when I happen to take a day flight with them.

1/08/2016

THAI Airways


My first flight ever was with Thai, an inter-European one, and I was impressed. I thought that this would be the standard of all airlines. I felt from Cloud 9 in my next flight. Thai had just started operating in Europe, and doing small well-known routes and offered first-class service and excellent prices. I was mesmerised by the colour scheme of the upholstery and design of the aircraft, the little orchid on each seat, the hot towels before take-off, the nice meal, the classy beautiful flight attendants.

Since then I have flown quite a bit with Thai, for continental and intercontinental flights. They still have good comfortable planes, good meals, a good entertainment program, the usual gods and goddesses as flight attendants, and a good customer service overall.

I have never ever had a problem with them regarding delays, lost luggage or missed connections. Service is not as good as used to be for Economy, the attention to detail perhaps gone, but they are still a good airline and one of my favourite to fly. 

1/07/2016

Swiss Air


Swissair, Switzerland's national airline, ceased operations in 2002. Swiss Air or Swiss, is an unrelated company that shares much of the philosophy of the former airline. As they say:
 The national airline embodies Swiss values such as "personal service", "in-depth quality" and "typical Swiss hospitality". 
It sounds great...  

Swiss reminds me of Lufthansa in many things.  Ha!

I have been traveling with them quite a lot recently because they offer great prices and flexibility for multiple-stopover trips (without the need of buying an around-the-world ticket). They have good planes, a good entertainment system, but the rest is all a happy medium regarding comfort, meals and service on board for intercontinental travelers, and an average for inter-European short ones. 

My first flight with Swissair was an inter-European one to Switzerland, and I had a very good experience; I was lucky enough to enjoy views with the tops of high mountains almost at my fingertips. Utterly beautiful and an awesome experience.  

My trips with Swiss Air have been carried by the carrier itself or by other Star Alliance members, mostly Thai and Singapore Airlines from/to Australia. However, I have found that the partnership, at least with South African Airlines was not good, and the conditions of the trip were those of the latter and not those of Swiss, even though the ticket was purchased with and issued by Swiss. 

I have never had any trouble with the airline, so I don't know how they behave when customers experience lost luggage or delayed planes or missed connections. 

Overall, I am happy to flight with them, but I am never excited to do so, because there are other airlines doing better job than they do, but they get me because they are usually cheaper. Another ha!  
 
 
NOV 2022 UPDATE - GONE DOWNHILL
I traveled with the airline recently as part of a multi-airline intercontinental trip. I don't know if this is the after-effect of COVID, but the airline has gone downhill in all fronts. Poor customer service. Average entertainment system. Poor food. I was unfriendly unhelpful flight attendants. Not comfortable flights. Some of the European segments had flights delayed and no reason or apology given to customers. I had a very small computer trolley bag pack, way smaller than the average cabin suitcase. I was targeted at the Zurich airport as not being able to take it into the cabin as I was also carrying a small handbag. Nobody else was addressed. There were people carrying double the size and two items on to the cabin without a problem. addressed in publish in a form that had the whole customer seating area focusing on me, that is, without tact or elegance. Really rude and unfriendly staff, who won't help you with anything and don't know what smile means. If the airline represent the country, I feel bad for the Swiss, because the airline gives a really sub-par 3rd-world country impression. Not enough flight attendants to attend a long-haul flight. Terrible experience and I will avoid them from now on, as much as possible. Yes, they have cheaper flights than most European companies, but you understand why when you travel with them. There are small European airlines providing better service than they do. 

1/06/2016

Lufthansa



I've  traveled endless times with Lufthansa, mostly for intercontinental trips, and also for some inter-European flights and, throughout the years, I have learned to respect it as one of my most reliable airlines in the world.

Lufthansa never gets me excited. You won't hear me saying "Wow, I am flying with Lufthansa" because, truth be told, their planes aren't the best, their meals aren't the yummiest, their seats aren't the most comfortable, and the look and decoration of the planes is dead boring. Unless you travel in Business, you will find that Lufthansa offers a happy medium (or just a medium) on those fronts. 

However, Lufthansa does something that I value more than comfort: reliability, especially when problems arise, great prices for single or multi-country intercontinental trips (without the need of buying an around-the-world ticket), good stopover policies, and great staff. They did have a huge network of stops throughout the world before they even joined Star Alliance, and now is even larger. They are best pals with some of my favorite international lines. These days the inter-European trips are done  by subsidiary or budget-ish airlines but subject to the terms and conditions of Lufthansa (that is always a guarantee to me), and some of the inbound-outbound trips in Australia are done by Singapore Airlines or THAI, and these airlines get me always excited. 

So many bad stereotypes about Germans in Australia, and my experience with the crews has been always fabulous -- the smiliest, friendliest, and most h-e-l-p-f-u-l on-board crews in the planet. Certainly, you can find here rude staff, or staff who don't care and don't want to help. That happens in every single airline. However, I have never found any of those. My experience with them has always been excellent.  

Most importantly, when problems have arisen, regarding delayed flights or lost/delay of baggage, their response was immediate. From the manual. No begging needed on my part.

These days, they have  online check-in, which is great, but they can be tight regarding regulations for in-cabin hand luggage.

You cannot love a company that does not respect customers or does not treat them well. In that regard, Lufthansa got my love, perhaps not my passion.
 
DEC 2022 UPDATE - GONE DOWN THE HILL AND NO MORE LOVE FROM ME.
I had several intercontinental trips with the airline this year and they've gone downhill. Service has been dreadful, with 13h flights with limited number of attendants and many of them unwilling to give you a hand with anything, plain rude and barely any customer service skills, reduced number of free snacks and water during the night, like water shouldn't be a luxury. There were several people complaining about an obnoxious rude vulgar flight attendant. Having that sort of cow in this sort of plane is unacceptable, and she seemed to be that way, like it's her personality so, if it was up to the customers, she would be sacked. Beside this, their planes are old, their entertainment system hasn't been updated and they are worse than anyone else I traveled with in my last trip overseas. The screens were non responsive, the amount of movies limited. Seat leg space has grown to... tiny, Head lockers too small for an intercontinental flight. 
 
The European short segments of my flight with them were also average. Poor service. No entertainment program for a 3h flight. No free food, just a bottle of water. Average customer service and they were serving drinks in glass glasses, so one customer broke one and there were pieces of glass all over, which not a safety point that you get from them. 
 
Avoid if you can. I will do my best not to fly with them again.   

12/21/2015

Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines

Drukair is the official Airline of the Kingdom of Bhutan, and one of those airlines that you want to try, just to say, "I've flown with Drukair" because unless you go to Bhutan you won't be travelling with them anywhere any soon. And going to Bhutan is utterly cool, and utterly expensive not because of the flights.They usually travel from Bangkok or Singapore to Paro.

The flight was comfortable enough, in an average plane, not the latest model but good enough, although not the best if you have long legs!  The flight attendants were really lovely and attentive, all dressed in the national costume. The food was good, sort of international standard meals, nothing Bhutanese but once you've been in Bhutan you understand that you might not be ready for their national dishes! There was no entertainment program, something I always miss. but this was a short flight from Bangkok to Paro via Dhaka and the views were quite spectacular when approaching Paro.
 

I was utterly disappointed when I saw the products sold in the duty-free magazine as they were all corporate brands, your know, Gucci, Chanel, Dior that sort of thing, the same you find in any other airline. It is difficult to understand why an airline that represents a country like this, that sells another way of life,  is providing a on-flight shopping experience that has nothing Bhutanese in it! The Bhutanese awesome whiskies, colourful traditional textiles and handicrafts, traditional books or music were nowhere to be seen.   

Arriving in the airport of Paro is an experience itself. The landing of the plane is considered one of the most difficult and dangerous in the world, because of the altitude, surrounding mountains and dramatic and unexpected weather variations (this is the Himalayas, mind you). Yet, their pilots are master navigators (an Aussie pilot said) and they do it with great easiness every single day! If this was not enough, the airport of Paro is just a cute tiny traditional building and another experience to go through. 

In the inbound flight we were lucky enough to fly with one of the Royal Princes and his entourage. They were all dressed in their traditional national costume! The Prince was in First Class, but the entourage was in Economy Class, with us the rest of mortals. How cool! All the foreign travellers were very excited. The red carpet was spread for them on arrival!  Not for me, sigh. 

 

After the stop in Dhaka during the inbound flight I got a couple of Bangladeshi males seating next to me. One of them made my flight to Paro really unpleasant. A classic 'douche'. I commented on the situation with one of the flight attendants after landing, and she said that I should have called one of them and they would have moved me or him. But the plain was full! And can you imagine the situation and the scene! I think they should seat all Bangladeshi males flying without their wives next to other males and the problem would be solved. Unfortunately, men in certain parts of the world cannot come to treat Western women with respect.
   

I had a pleasant flight with Drukair. Their prices are not too high, but there is no option, option A or option A. I thought the flight with Drukair was part of the experience I got in this amazing country. Yet, I expected something more Royal, like in the upholstery of the seats, and the service on board.

12/10/2015

Virgin Australia

I travelled domestic with Virgin Australia and twice was enough not to bother again. 

The only thing I liked was their pricing, but the rest was average or not good. I expected the service on board to be basic, due to the pricing, and it was, but I also found that customer service was poor.


There is a young-and-fabulous culture in Virgin that I don't like. When I travel I want the culture of I-am-really-helpful-to-customers, but I found I-don't-give-a-dam-about-you attitude instead that put me off immediately. The thing is that the staff were very friendly and smiley, just not into customers unless you were a toddler or a kid. I ordered a paid meal, and they forgot about it. I could see the staff 'too busy' chatting among themselves, so I had to order it again.

They have good prices if you don't carry any check-in luggage, but their flights are basic and Virgin has more probabilities of cancelling a flight than other companies (together with Tiger Air). Their pricing is similar to Jetstar and Qantas, but they aren't as good to me. So they are at the bottom of my domestic preferred airlines in Australia. 

Air France

I always wanted to travel in the Concorde. They died before I could even been able to think about that.

I have used Air France a couple of times in my international flights to/from Europe as they were the ones offering the best pricing for the same itinerary. 

I was super-excited the first time I travelled with them. My excitement was short lived. 

The flights and intercontinental planes were average, on the cheap side regarding spaciousness and comfort of the planes, quality and quantity of the food, and attention to customers. The entertainment program was good. This would have been OK if it wasn't because I found Air France staff in their majority, unfriendly, uptight, and some of them bordering rude.  This might be the exception to the norm, of course, but I won't pay again to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Air France? Pas du tout! 

Qantas Airways

Qantas used to be one of the best international airlines in the world, and I was always looking forward to finding a good ticket with Qantas to enjoy the Aussie experience. That was about fifteenth years ago.  

Flying internationally with Qantas is still very enjoyable and a good experience, but not as good as it used to be. However, they still have comfortable planes, good generous meals, a great entertainment system, very helpful cheerful staff on board, and, since everything is bigger in Australia, they usually allow travellers to check-in more kilos than other airlines. What I miss these days in Qantas is the finesse and generosity in the service they used to have.  

Qantas Domestic has always been my preferred carrier for domestic flights in Australia. They are very good value for money and the broad smile and care of the Qantas staff on the plane makes a difference to me. The customer is their focus not the uniform they are wearing, or to have fun on-board. Some of my domestic flights felt like an international flight minus the price, as the plane and the on-board service was fantastic and similar to the one they offer for International flights. Other times the planes were smaller, not as comfortable and spacious, but the service was still great regarding courtesy and professionalism of the staff, quality of the meals and entertainment program. Their pricing is great for domestic, at times the same price as with a budget airline, other times about 10-50 bucks more, like the last flight I bought with them, 10 bucks more and a whole world of goodness for those. I pay happily the difference because there is a huge different in service, for the best, with Qantas Domestic. One of my friends and his wife don't travel Qantas domestically, and they are Australians!, and I think this is a huge mistake :)