[Steeroid]

Airline Experiences

#1 - Virgin Atlantic (& Jet Airways)

The brash Branson's airline takes the title for my best airline experience, without any doubts. The customer experience it great from the moment you check in, the girls are pretty, the cabin is spacious, the in-flight stress massage is fantastic, the food is great, the Virgin lounges are excellent (the one at Heathrow features a swimming pool, a health club, jacuzzi, the works) and you dont get snooty behaviour from any of their staff. All in all, terrific - I only wish they flew more destinations.

I havent flown Jet internationally, but even from my experiences in India I think they're right up their with the best internationally. A feeling that has been shared by those of my colleagues abroad that have visited India with me.

#2 - KLM

Okay, the name conjures up visions of a stodgy old airline with ageing crew and a bureaucratic setup. For me, the experience has been quite the opposite. Okay the crew arent good looking and the women are generally more than healthy, but the service is good. On the one occassion that they seem to have overlooked my VGML/AVML (Vegetarian / Asian Vegetarian Meal) request, one of the cabin crew actually offered her meal instead.

My experiences with KLM have been great and so their Flying Blue is my favourite Frequent Flyer program - thanks to their wide network of affiliates that I use - Air France (who now own KLM), Kenya Airways and Alitalia amongst others I am now platinum.

Only ONE instance of delayed baggage in about 10 years of flying. Thats more than I can say for those snooty !!##)*& at Emirates with whom I thankfully have had to endure very few flying hours.

#3 - Kenya Airways & Thai

Surprise, Surprise! "The Pride of Africa" ranks very highly in my list, probably because I used to fly across Africa quite often and they have the best network there + the best service. I could therefore be biased, especially because they were my only source of good food in some places. While my experiences have been on business class, I believe they are as good on Economy. They had flat beds in Business before any other airline I can remember, their cabin service and food used to be great, and the service was always very good. They can occassionally be a bit late, though.

Thai - need one say anything about this airline? Somehow service with a smile seems to come naturally to the Thais, whether it is with Thai Airways or the Dusit Hotel Chain. Everything's great about the airline except when they heat up Thai meals inside the cabin - I cant stand the smell of blachaan (sic? - I mean the fish paste with oyster/squid extract) and thats the only negative about this airline.

#4 - Singapore Airlines
The most professional of the lot. The most efficient. The most timely. The one with the best connections. Should've been #1 except for the rather detached professionalism they display. Its a characterless airline, much like the city of Singapore. Everything is perfect and professional about both, but somehow they both leave you cold and untouched.

#5 - Cathay Pacific & BMI
I somehow prefer Cathay to Singapore Airlines. I prefer Malaysian to Singpore Airlines too. However Malaysian simply doesnt make the cut, while Cathay is quite nice. More involving than Singapore, probably a bit less efficient.

British Midland's international service, particularly in the Middle-East sector, has been a revelation. Nobody expected a stodgy little brit airline to come up so well.

NOTE: I have flown Luftansa just once, so wont comment. Most of my euro travel goes through KLM or their affiliates (Air France or Alitalia) anyway.


The Donkey Club - my worst airline experiences:

1. British Airways. Snooty B*&#$@*s, enough said.

2. Emirates - Following BA's steps in snootiness rapidly.

3. Air Deccan - NEVER again.

4. Ethiopian Airlines - NEVER again.

5. Tarom (Romania) - NEVER again.

6. Saudi Arabian - Great food and good legroom even in economy, but SCARY AS HELL! Wonder who flies the plane because they seem to be flying on god's grace and little else.


NOTE: A lot of people complain about Air India, but other than the airport services at Cochin Airport, I've had very little to complain about Air India in several years of travel. True the aircraft are old, the seats are bad, the cabin badly lit and you feel like saying 'Thank you, uncle' to the cabin crew that brings you your drink, but I really have had no complaints as such. I could've been lucky because I've heard some bad horror stories - so bad that I sometimes think they're made up, but that hasnt been my experience.

I believe they do the best under the circumstances. For instance, I flew Air India on the last leg of one of my long winded trips, and I was flying from Kuwait to Cochin. The flight was over 3 hours late and it screwed up whatever sleep I had left in me. So when it finally arrived, everyone crashed and went to sleep while I went into the galley to have a drink with the cabin crew. Spoke to them for a while and gently inquired why this was so late, only to be told that this one aircraft had flown BOM-DEL-SINGAPORE-DEL-MAS-COLOMBO-MAS-COK-KWT so far TODAY. This crew had joined at DEL, and they were drained out already.

Phew thats long! More later.

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