We travel a lot. I write travel reviews for a few magazines, and my husband is an international supervisor for a company dealing with cruise ports. Between both of our jobs, I think we were actually in residence at our home a total of 4 months last year… but not all in one batch. Traveling can be a whole lot of fun, especially in the summer, but you have to learn the rules of the road to avoid unwanted complications. One of the most important parts of your trip will be who to to book your flight with. All airlines are not created equal, and some of them can flat out destroy the fun of the whole trip. I’ll tell you who the best airlines are so you can hit the ground at your destination in a good mood and enjoy your vacation.
My number 1 favorite International Airline is Qantas. This airline is solely owned by Australia (for now) and they know how important it is to keep repeat customers. The seats are a bit more comfortable than most, booking is a breeze, the flight attendants are fun & friendly, and they have a great frequent flyer program. I have talked to a few folks who have made the mistake of not checking for flights with Qantas to anywhere but Australia because they were under the impression that was the only country this airline services. Wrong! Qantas can get you to and from all the major hubs, including International airports in the United States.
Qantas even flies to Hong Kong, and lands at that beautiful new airport they have. Oh how I love the Hong Kong airport! So even if you are planning to fly from like Miami to Hong Kong, look into Qantas.
Now, I heard a rumor that some Texas businessmen were trying to buy this airline out. I have not tried to check how that was going. So do yourself a favor and check before you book… being bought buy Americans could have a detrimental impact on the high quality of service offered by Qantas in the past. the one drawback to Qantas is that their port of entry to Europe from the US is London’s Heathrow. Oh, that is a gorgeous airport, but it is also the airport that is the biggest pain in the rear end to enter the EU through. they are almost more paranoid in the UK than they are in the US… and if you are catching a connecting flight here, you are without fail going to have baggage restriction problems that nobody bothered to warn you about.
My number 2 favorite International Airline is Lufthansa. This airline is almost as good as Qantas in all the key areas, plus they have a very nice hub. If you are flying from the United States into Europe, Lufthansa will route you through Frankfort, Germany for entry through Pass Port control for the EU. That is a big plus in my book. I have not had any problems with Passport control at Frankfort, or with baggage limitations on connecting flights. It is a breeze to get through this place. It could be singed a little better in spots, but the employees on the flights and on the ground are very helpful.
My one complaint about Lufthansa is that not all of their big planes are equipped yet with individual movie screens, so you have to watch the pre-programmed one on the various screens dotting the aisle. they are planning to get them all up to speed in the very near future, though.
Living in Sweden, I have to put SAS on this list somewhere or face being deported. The truth is that SAS easily wins a place on my favorite International Airlines list anyway. Their planes are simply gorgeous. SAS has all the latest in comfort and convenience for long-haul passengers, and the flight attendants are fantastic. As far as food goes, I have to say that SAS has the best of them all. They do center mainly on getting you into Scandinavia, but is that really all bad? Of course it isn’t. Copenhagen is their main hub and that is also my absolute favorite airport in the World. Unfortunately, Copenhagen is not a Euro-hub so you have to enter the EU via some place like the dreaded mire of Heathrow Customs. If it were not for that one thing, SAS would be my Number 1. Excellent frequent flyer plan, though.
I normally try to avoid Charles DeGaul Airport in Paris because it is quite frankly the crappiest airport I have ever stepped foot in. However, if France is going to be your final destination, then go ahead and fly on Air France. You are not going to be able to avoid landing at CDG anyway. As far as the flight itself, the seats are pretty good for the Trans-Atlantic trip, and they do have the individual screens that let you pick and choose which movie you wish to watch, and at what time. That is a big plus on long flights. The flight attendants are not the most pleasant, but they aren’t totally horrible either. The best part of booking with Air France is the cost. Check their website frequently as they do tend to have a ton of unbelievably low deals throughout the year.
The other main carrier for International flights is Virgin Airlines based in the United States. Those words right there ‘based in the US‘ should be all you need to know. I’m sorry, but America has pretty much tossed the concept of customer satisfaction out the window. Plus, they enter Europe via Heathrow, and I’ve already told why that sucks. There are too many better airlines out there to deal with Virgin’s over priced flights and crappy in-flight service.
British Airways has completely fallen off my radar when booking flights. their planes aren’t bad, but they have two major strikes against them : Heathrow as a hub, and they make it nigh on impossible to join their frequent flyer program. They have no concern for repeat business at all. Just skip them altogether.
