[Acadiana]

What is your preferred international carrier? I have found the best rates on Lufthansa (due mostly to a sale, I don't know what their normal rates are like), but I'm open minded. I appreciate any feedback! (P.S. I'm flying either to London or France!)

[Judy]

Arcadiana, I just wrote a huge rant about the worst international carrier, but will start a separate thread so we can keep the good and the bad apart.

My own favourite is Singapore Airlines
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[David]

Our best flight, the one described at the end of my entry on the worst flight thread was on Varig---which I no longer believe exists. For our trips to Europe we mostly relied on Air Transat which was inexpensive and dependable if not lavish and was quite comfortable if you paid for the not too expensive upgrade to "Club Class".
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[Rachel]

My best ever experience was getting upgraded to first class on British Airways... which in a way is terrible because now I always hope it'll happen again and of course it never does!

The best flight I've ever had in coach class, though, was on Virgin Atlantic. (Granted, this was five and half years ago, I don't know if they've gone downhill since... and they cut their London-Chicago route shortly after I flew with them - damn them!! ) It was like I imagine business class to be on any other airline, only with slightly less legroom.

[Acadiana]

[Franca]

Judy knows what's what-- Singapore Airlines is the best in the world.

Close seconds: Emirates, Thai Airways. I have to say that I liked Jet Blue a lot, so I feel sorry for them that they've had so much trouble this winter. In America, they were my favorite as well as Delta's Song, which got merged back into Delta a while ago, which is a shame (though the planes still fly the same routes, and are fitted out nicely, but it's harder to know when you'll be on one).

I'll save my horror stories for the other thread.
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[melinda]

Air France because of the food & wine and they r always on time or early to depart
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[gisele]

Air Mauritius - lovely, smiley happy flight attendents. Great food. Plane well maintained, and very very comfy in economy with plenty of room.

And although I have never flown them, I have only heard good things about Singapore Airelines and Emirates.

[time3200]

Having just returned from Australia I can recommend Emirates - if they fly your route.
We flew part of the way in coach, and the rest in business class. The service was great in both, comlete with friendly staff and reasonably spacious plane. I even enjoyed some of the meals!
We were flying with my toddler, so I was not sure what to expect - but it couldn't have been better.
The final domestic leg of our flight was with a local carrier, and wow - talk about the holiday being over.......thank you British Midland (or what ever you call yourselves these days).
It has been 3 years or more since I flew anywhere with Lufthansa, but from what I remember they were good. The only trans-atlantic to avoid (in my opinion), is Continental.
You may have booked by now - but I had so many great tips from this forum in advance of my Aus. trip that I feel the need to give something back.

[Judy]

Hey time3200, how was your Aussie adventure? Where did you go? What were the best bits?
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Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

www.cupcakerecipebook.com.au

[emilyj]

When I flew Lufthansa a few years ago they were really good. I flew from LAX to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to London and have no complaints about either flight. Their planes were pretty new and well maintained, the meal was fine. Singapore airlines are very good, Malaysian can be good but some of their planes are a bit old on the shorter routes.

[Celia]

Has anyone flown from the midwest (Minnesota in particular) U.S.A to the UK? What's the best carrier from this part of the country?

[Pockymonkey]

Celia,

From Minnesota, the dominant carrier would be Northwest/KLM out of Minneapolis. I fly them for almost all of my trans-atlantic trips (I'm a slave to frequent flier miles) and I've found them to be pretty good - hardly ever had a problem with service or baggage, and they always have a vegetarian option as part of the normal meal service, which I appreciate as a non-carnivore. If you want to go to the UK, you'll probably have to put up with a stopover in Amsterdam, though I admit that I kind of love Schipol Airport so that's never been a hardship for me.

Now, KLM's Amsterdam-India legs--that's another story altogether in terms of quality (terrible!), but if you're just going to Europe, they're fine.

My second choice from Minnesota would be United, which has been in my experience a pretty solid, if unexciting, airline. American Airlines is partnered with British Airlines, and is also servicable in my experience.

I think Icelandair also flies from MSP, but though their reputation is for very reasonable fares (and free stopovers in Reykjavik if that tickles your fancy), I had heard long ago that their cabins are on the cramped side -- don't know if that's still true. Their fleet may have been updated since I got my rather old information.

[Debbie]

I prefer Singapore Airlines of Emirates. We fly frequently as my husband manages the european and asia pacific regions for the company he works for. There are so many carriers that it is hard to choos between the small ones for short hops. The long distance carriers can make or break your holiday/business trip though.

Singapore seems to have a slightly shorter travel time to Australia from Paris.

Emirates is fabulous if you have any food allergies or issues (religious, ethical etc). Having life threatening allergies to certain foods, I ordered my meals prior to departure. The choice was amazing!!!

I also received extremely caring and friendly assistance on and off the plane and with my luggage while on Emirates. Not being able to lift or carry anything makes travel a bit awkward on my own sometimes, but they were great. I was even taken to a seperate waiting area and offered tea/coffee/water while waiting for my connecting flight in Dubai.

I found the space and seating arrangements pretty much the same on both Singapore and Emirates. Service was the same on board the flights also.

I do not like Air France so much... they seem to be late to take off and land whenever we take them - meaning we miss connecting flights. They also tend to lose luggage more frequently for us than any other carrier.
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[Celia]

Thank you so much! I figured Northwest would be an obvious choice, but I've never flown with them so I know very little about them. Therefore, it's nice to know about someone else's experience.