Best Airline For Travel/Domestic or International (Paris, Amsterdam, airlines)

[Phoenix lady]

In this day and age of airline problems,which, if any, airline have you had the best experience/s with?

[cb at sea]

I've been told by a very prolific traveler that International airlines are so much nicer than our domestics---and she flies several times a year overseas---quite the traveler, that one! More leg room, larger seats, better service....of course, the fuel crunch may have hit the Int'l lines, too!

[Dd714]

Easy question - Singapore Airlines has always been at the top of almost every airline study done, and my experiences with them have matched those expectations.

But really - International vs. Domestic. Not really a difference, and probably inferior when you travel INTRAcontinentaly (I've been in what was called first class on a domestic european flight - which was simply the same couch class seat with an empty seat in the middle). And when you travel overseas, with all the code-sharing flights it really doesn't matter. Air France could be Delta. KLM could be Northwest. It's all the same.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Well, I like British Airways better than some domestic airlines I've flown, and KLM had better food than Northwest, but I am not all that faithful to any particular airline. I go with the cheapest fare.
edited to add: I've always wanted to fly Virgin Airlines, I heard they're good. But they aren't ever inexpensive enough.

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Well, I like British Airways better than some domestic airlines I've flown, and KLM had better food than Northwest, but I am not all that faithful to any particular airline. I go with the cheapest fare.
edited to add: I've always wanted to fly Virgin Airlines, I heard they're good. But they aren't ever inexpensive enough.

Yes Virgin and BA has always got high marks in quality.

The thing is, which I'd like to re-enforce as a warning, if you book a KLM flight to travel over the pond, it might be Northwest airlines (due to their code-sharing agreement) and you will find yourself on NW equipment. If you book on Air France, it might be Delta for the same reason.

[PA2UK]

I've actually had better experiences with US Airways than British Airways for international travel.

[Uconn97]

Best Experiences...

Virgin
Aer Lingus

Worst Experience...

Northwest

All were international flights

[mattyj46]

Air New Zealand is great for international flights.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Dd714

warning, if you book a KLM flight to travel over the pond, it might be Northwest airlines (due to their code-sharing agreement) and you will find yourself on NW equipment. If you book on Air France, it might be Delta for the same reason.

Yup--codesharing happens. We've actually experienced the exact equipment changes you mention.
I was on Northwest to Amsterdam, but the second leg of the flight, to Toulouse, was KLM.
My kid was on Delta to Newark, but the second leg of the flight, to Athens by way of Paris, was Air France.
Depending on what search engine you're on, the itinerary *usually* mentions the airline change.

[Mooseketeer]

"Singapore" and "Emirates" were the best by far but I was travelling first class so I could not comment on their economy section. The food was fantastic and it was just incredibly luxurious and comfortable.
Thai Airlines was also excellent.

I have to say economy wise until it went bust last month , I really enjoyed travelling economy with "Zoom" the so called budget airline. Brand new quiet planes, good leg-room, food was perfectly OK and the service very friendly. ( We had to re-book with Air Canada when Zoom went bust and Air Canada was horrible-really not a good experience at all).

Aer Lingus has always been fine also , friendly crew, reasonable seats, and I also like Virgin. I was not impressed with UA and AA last year I have to admit. Air France is usually quite good too.

I will however never use Lufthansa ever again in my life, even if the flights were dead cheap. It was the most awful, awful , awful experience, dreadful seats, incredibly rude service, appalling food, the whole thing was a nightmare. KLM was not great either.