Superficially Emirates and Etihad are impressive and enjoyable.

Yes - several times. My most recent flight back from the UK was with them, via Zurich. They were OK; nothing special.

Yep, 27 years ago, on my exit-only visa final flight from Riyadh. So scunnered when I got to London I was incapable of speech; somehow they managed to lose my baggage, but I was so paralytic I couldn't explain...Gloria picked me up in my Mustang, but that's all I can remember.

Never flown them .

I'd assumed they would be top notch as the Swiss are known to be perfectionists .

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So any consensus on who is the best carrier by a country mile?

I dunno what others think, but I rate Cathay Pacific very highly, having flown them in Business class and cattle class.

Virgin Business Class

You have GOT to be joking........... dreadful food, zero legroom (even for much shorter passengers than me) and narrow seats, plus a seriously unpleasant - no, downright hostile - attitude from the wagon dragons.......... most airlines I will at least fly with again if I have a bad flight with them, but I will never fly Virgin again.

I like Swiss Air and have flown with them several times. Singapore Airlines takes the top prize for the best from me though

Scat airlines between Baku Azerbaijan and Atyrau Kazakhstan - 50 Year old Ruski propeller jobs - they had one identical to the one we flew on parked as a decoration in the middle of a roundabout in Atyrau!

Azeri Airlines (AHY) used to use ancient Russian Illushin IL76's (I think Tridentski's) Between Baku and Dubai. All were in shit condition, and required much pre-flight alcohol to be consumed to numb the rising panic before take off. They also used to use ex-Pan Am 727's to Gatwick - they still had the Pan Am logo on the seat belt buckles....Too noisy and poluting for Gatwick now ( I hope...)

I quite like Virgin. The Premium Economy offers bigger seats and better leg room. Also, in terms of trolley dollys, its industry known that that have the sluttiest ones.

Emirates & Etihad are generally much of a muchness for me. Been flying Etihad quite a bit recently as they seem to be a good bit cheaper than Emirates. The only thing that would set them apart for me (which has annoyed me hugely) is that on Etihad they play several adverts before each program you put on. They are always the same so if you are watching a series you have to mess around with the crappy remote. 1st world problems I know!

Emirates business is pretty boss.

Bulgarian airways.... oft! Flew with them about 10 years ago. Wooden tables, glass tumblers and spirts poured by hand out of the bottle.....

BA have always been average and they have by far the ugliest trolly dollys.

Surprised that no one has mentioned Ryan Air as the worst... Air France is shockingly bad - hated every second on that flight...

I do quite like Emirates I have to admit...

Flew Turkish Airlines recently, they keep winning awards etc but have to admit found them ok at best, not great for sure...

I flew Lao Airlines internally in Laos about 6 years ago. It was like being on the village bus. When all the seats were full, they actually got out those little plastic stools and started to fill up the aisle, until everyone was on. Never been so glad when we touched down safely!

I’ve done Lufthansa a few times lately and would rank them below BA and KLM, although for internal flights within Germany they were ok. Also, Frankfurt is a pretty horrible airport.

I don’t have a huge problem with BA (or KLM), for flights back to the UK I’d rather go with them and pocket the difference in price v’s Emirates, plus the onward connection times are much better.

Emirates Business Class is a very nice away to fly.

Singapore Airlines wipes the floor with everyone ive ever flown with over the years .Their economy is superb and business class is fantastic .


Emirates is a decent airline in my opinion , their quality has waned a little bit over the years but you still get a decent all round experience . They were fantastic in the 90's.

You were getting business class service in the cheap seats , unheard of at the time , probably never to be repeated .

Qatar Airways is the most overrated airline at this present time , it's a bit like Doha in general really. It promises a lot but only delivers a sub standard service at top prices .