best airline to fly with

partnership · 18-08-2014 1:59pm #1

Planning a trip next year to Brisbane. What airlines are the best to fly with? My husband is very tall so legroom is a big thing for him. Also where is the best place to stopover?

Sundy · 18-08-2014 3:12pm

I think there is very little difference between the airlines that fly this over this way. The food will be average, the seats are cramped, there will be a selection of movies to watch. I've flown Qantas, BA, Malaysia, Emirates and Etihad and there isn't a noticeable difference. Some A380 layouts may have a bit more room but its all the same really.
To me the best flight is a short one so pick the shortest route with the quickest stopover.

If leg room is a big thing maybe pay a bit more for premium economy?

In Exile · 19-08-2014 12:22am

Have a look at seatguru.com and compare flight numbers. Some flights will have a couple of rows of seats that have an extra bit of leg room and you can then try book those specific seats

mandrake04 · 19-08-2014 5:07am

I flew economy air NZ back from USA a while back and found their leg room to be good. I never took the tape measure out so can't confirm if is actually more leg room or not but it was a pretty comfortable as far as I remember.

irishmover · 21-08-2014 7:02am

I've flown with plenty now and from what I can recall Emirates leg room in their 777 was better than Etihad. I'm not sure about the A380 as I had exit aisle seats on that flight.

Qantas and Singapore I found were good for leg room aswell but I definitely recall feeling cramped on my etihad flights.

ArseBurger · 21-08-2014 8:17pm

This site http://www.airlinequality.com/ will help you. It has facts and numbers on seat pitch etc and reviews.

AngryHippie · 21-08-2014 10:27pm

In order of preference for me so far.

Singapore - Fairly comfortable, if you've got a stopover Changi is the best airport I have ever set foot in.

Etihad - Reasonable pricing, moderately comfortable, Abu Dhabi isn't too hectic for a stopover

Malaysian - Budget option, will probably get you there. My experiences haven't been particularly negative, but that said, for the sake of a couple of hundred dollars, I probably wouldn't flt with them again.

thedarksh1te · 22-09-2014 5:21am

partnership wrote: »

Planning a trip next year to Brisbane. What airlines are the best to fly with? My husband is very tall so legroom is a big thing for him. Also where is the best place to stopover?

Singapore airlines for sure - I'm 6'5 - I flew on the a380 via Singapore and it was the best flying experience I've had. I booked the emergency exit seats and the extra (I think €50 per seat per leg) was well worth it! Changi is the best airport in the world too so nice airport to break up flights

Hail 2 Da Thief · 22-09-2014 12:13pm

AngryHippie wrote: »

Abu Dhabi isn't too hectic for a stopover

I stopped over there in the 2nd week of Jan this year & it was a feckin nightmare..........Huge queues.

salmocab · 22-09-2014 12:20pm

Singapore airlines are great and Changi is a superb airport, however if you use Etihad or Emirates you should be able to do it with just one change in Abu Dhabi/Dubai assuming your flying from Dublin, which for me is a massive bonus. If your planning a couple of nights stopover Dubai is great. Haven't flown with Qantas in a long time but they used to be appalling.

Zambia · 22-09-2014 12:30pm

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

I stopped over there in the 2nd week of Jan this year & it was a feckin nightmare..........Huge queues.

I stopped there in August and it was the worst Queue ever. Like a Rugby match

AngryHippie · 22-09-2014 10:42pm

salmocab wrote: »

Singapore airlines are great and Changi is a superb airport, however if you use Etihad or Emirates you should be able to do it with just one change in Abu Dhabi/Dubai assuming your flying from Dublin, which for me is a massive bonus. If your planning a couple of nights stopover Dubai is great. Haven't flown with Qantas in a long time but they used to be appalling.

There is still a refuelling stop in Singapore with Etihad. Everyone off the plane, time to hang a pi$$ and then everyone back on again. No real benefit to choosing Etihad over Singapore based on stops.
Also, Singapore use the nice part of the terminal for their own flights, and Etihad get stuck in the older section (Still nice).

6ix · 22-09-2014 10:53pm

AngryHippie wrote: »

There is still a refuelling stop in Singapore with Etihad. Everyone off the plane, time to hang a pi$$ and then everyone back on again. No real benefit to choosing Etihad over Singapore based on stops.
Also, Singapore use the nice part of the terminal for their own flights, and Etihad get stuck in the older section (Still nice).

Any time I've flown Etihad from Sydney to Dublin it was just one stop in Abu Dhabi - no refueling stop.

AngryHippie · 23-09-2014 12:30am

6ix wrote: »

Any time I've flown Etihad from Sydney to Dublin it was just one stop in Abu Dhabi - no refueling stop.

OP -to Brisbane...

6ix · 23-09-2014 2:31am

Ah, sorry I missed that. That's a little annoying, I wouldn't imagine the distance between Sydney is much different than Brisbane so it's a pity they add that extra stop.

That said, some people prefer a chance to get off the plane.

AngryHippie · 23-09-2014 10:29pm

Emirates are the only ones with an A380 flying into Brisbane. (Not sure how regular it is either)
Etihad are running far smaller aircraft (777-300) on that route, its still the fastest way to Dublin that I've been on, as the stop in Singapore is short, and the layovers in Abu Dhabi are generally only 2-3 hours.
The A380 is definitely a more comfortable flight, but it does mean flying by Heathrow and all the joys of Terminal 1 to get home.

pclancy · 24-09-2014 5:35am

Korean air are well worth a mention, great legroom and prices, they will put you up at their Hyatt in Incheon for a night stopover (only one way sadly) In flight entertainment can be poor though. Food interesting

Emirates good legroom on the 777 but tighter width then other airlines as they pack 10 seats across into a space designed for 9. But excellent in flight entertainment and usually good food.

Etihad A330s showing their age now and not as nice as Emirates 777s, but again decent legroom and entertainment

Qantas now only fly to London in Europe but you can switch at Dubai over to Emirates. Their A380 is lovely but cost cutting has seen lots of the free food and stuff go away. I find their male flight attendants can be really bitchy.

Cathay Pacific usually very good, great legroom and service, great entertainment but food usually average.

Living in Nz for 7 years has given me lots of expereicne will them all

Remember to join at least one frequent flyer program, the miles to Oz and back could be used elsewhere for upgrades or fare reductions.

RadarControl · 24-09-2014 10:28pm

From 1st of June next year Etihad will be introducing that Boeing 787 between Abu Dhabi and Brisbane. From this date the flight will also no longer stop-off in Singapore.

irishmover · 24-09-2014 11:42pm

RadarControl wrote: »

From 1st of June next year Etihad will be introducing that Boeing 787 between Abu Dhabi and Brisbane. From this date the flight will also no longer stop-off in Singapore.

I said I'd never fly with etihad again as I've experienced much better service from Emirates but I'd be willing to try out the 787. Depending on price ofcourse.

Batgurl · 25-09-2014 2:18am

RadarControl wrote: »

From 1st of June next year Etihad will be introducing that Boeing 787 between Abu Dhabi and Brisbane. From this date the flight will also no longer stop-off in Singapore.

It'll also be the A380 from Sydney. May finally earn some Velocity points again!

best airline to fly with

Comments