Airlines to avoid? any recommended?

[punkrockpete]

flying to Osaka in March to start with ECC, and there seem to be a few Airlines offering flights at simular prices. was just wondering if anyone had had any bad/good experiences with:

Air China
Asiana
Lufthansa
Cathay Pacific

any help would be great

[Broken Promise Land]

Whatever you do, don't fly Japan Airlines. They are the worst. (OK Northwest is the worst, just behind American, United, Delta, Air India, Biman, Lufthansa, British Airways ........ )

But seriously, JAL sucks - avoid them on principle.

From FRA, I would recommend ANA or Singapore Airlines.

Originally Posted by punkrockpete

flCathay Pacific

any help would be great

Cathay was OK but I got stung for overweight baggage and had to pay $300 before they would let me board the plane. (about $20 a kilo I think it was)

[Nikay]

Does singapore airlines fly from where you are leaving from? Nothing but praise for that airline.

I am flying them in May when I head over to Japan from Oz.

I have not flown with any of the airlines you have listed, so I cant help you there Im afraid.

[Broken Promise Land]

Cathay is alright, but my last flight with them in April 2007 (coincidentally to and from FRA) was so awful - so awful - I was ready to lump them in with JAL. They are both OneWorld so I suppose it makes sense.

Stick with Star Alliance (with the exception Lufthansa (though they do fly the A340-600 to KIX and that is about as good as you can get save for a 777 flight.)

ANA flies to Narita then connect to Osaka. Singapore flies direct to FRA from SIN, then connect to KIX.

[smork]

Asiana is on my sh!t list. I had a flight from Osaka to Alaska via Seoul a few years ago, flew Asiana from Osaka, to Seoul, KAL Seoul to Anchorage. Asiana refused to straight check my bag through to Anchorage (even though I had one ticket the whole way, and they gave me boarding passes for the second flight). They told me I had to go through customs, get my bag, and recheck it, go back through immigration, etc.

I got to Seoul, check with KAL, they said Asiana was being a bunch of lazy-asses and they should have checked it through. KAL was GREAT, got my bag for me and got it on the flight, no problems.

I've flown Air China from Beijing to Mongolia, which was OK. Sure you don't mean China Airlines? They are different. Air China's problem is they route through mainland China, so you may need a transit visa (US citizens do). China Airlines goes through Taipei, and is somewhat acceptable.

Haven't flown Lufthansa, but flew Cathay 2x - not too bad. Not as nice as Singapore or Thai, but not so bad.

I like Singapore, Thai, KAL, and EVA as my fave Asian airlines...

Originally Posted by smork

A
I like Singapore, Thai, KAL, and EVA as my fave Asian airlines...

Probably not anywhere the person is going but Air New Zealand has a good reputation, probably on par with Singapore Airlines and they connetc through Australia and Singapore.

What's wrong with JAL? I never had a problem.

I was supposed to fly with lufthansa once, but they got grounded due to bad weather (in late November). It's not really their fault, but European airlines do have that risk.

Air France do a nice job and Charles de Gaulle airport is cool. Singapore and Virgin are also good. Cathay are pretty good (so I hear) but they charge if you want to stopover for a couple of days. I came with Singapore last time because I got a good deal on a couple of nights in a hotel there for a quick sightseeing trip - lot's of laksa basically, great fun.

The Amsterdam airport security is ____ing horrible.

Watched a guard take aside a Japanese girl and made her play her voilin, followed up with question like "how could you afford this?".

...she was pre-teen.


So...avoid KLM by proxy?




Hear hear.

[Broken Promise Land]

Originally Posted by bobbystokes

What's wrong with JAL?

Torture chamber seats, flippant, insincere service, reputation, wicked awful business model, aging fleet of 747s, corporate arrogance, appalling route structure, penny pinching mileage plan, open season xenophobia, bottom of the barrel labor relations, near bankrupt (operating with the greatest debt of any airline in Asia), few and far between routes, food with the imagination ala Chef Boyardee and the only airline which almost physically burned me.

[Broken Promise Land]

Originally Posted by Flying_Dutchman

Probably not anywhere the person is going but Air New Zealand has a good reputation, probably on par with Singapore Airlines and they connetc through Australia and Singapore.

Yes, NZ is good but hate the 767 to KIX. I guess it's not NZ's fault, I just don't like the 767 except for its near tropical humidity in flight. You will never get that kind moisture on a 747 or 777. After 11 long-haul hours to AKL, I suppose arriving without a sore throat is a slight bonus. Still, the 777 is the plane for me, wish they would use it Osaka and not just Tokyo.

Originally Posted by Broken Promise Land

Yes, NZ is good but hate the 767 to KIX. I guess it's not NZ's fault, I just don't like the 767 except for its near tropical humidity in flight. You will never get that kind moisture on a 747 or 777. After 11 long-haul hours to AKL, I suppose arriving without a sore throat is a slight bonus. Still, the 777 is the plane for me, wish they would use it Osaka and not just Tokyo.

you really know a lot about aeroplanes, don't you

[punkrockpete]

ill be flying from the UK.

all the cheapest flights feature a connection somewhere.

Cathay in Hong Kong, Asiana in Soul, Lufthansa in Frankfurt.

so as long as i stay away from JAL i should be ok?

thanks guys

[trader_chink]

CX is alright, I fly them all the time.

[smork]

I'd vote CX from that bunch.

[Broken Promise Land]

Yeah, CX is the way to go of the bunch. My poor flight experience was a one off, so I can forgive them.

[Andy3004]

Originally Posted by punkrockpete

ill be flying from the UK.

all the cheapest flights feature a connection somewhere.

Cathay in Hong Kong, Asiana in Soul, Lufthansa in Frankfurt.

so as long as i stay away from JAL i should be ok?

thanks guys

If you're flying from UK, I would suggest giving FinAir a try. Their connecting hub is Helsinki (obviously), which means you'll basically taking a direct route. Helsinki airport is rather small, meaning short ways for transfer, and the service in-flight is also quite good, imho.

As for the other carriers, I can only comment on Cathay and Lufthansa:

Cathay: best airline I've traveled with so far, however prices are rather expensive. Also you'll spend more time in the air, since HK doesn't exactly lie on the direct route from UK to Japan.

Lufthansa: almost as expensive as Cathay, but with service being inferior.

Oh and another word of advice: avoid Air France like the plague!


ja ne,

-andy

[iLyo]

http://www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/5star.htm

[sunsoul]

Talking about flying to/from UK, I had a very bad flight with KLM - it was a really old, rickety plane. Uncomfortable seats too.

Singapore Airlines was better, but the connection in Singapore is terrible. It can add 7 hours to your total flight time, as Singapore is not really on the main route over to the UK, so you are just wasting time going there.. From Narita to London it took a total of 19 hours on one flight.

[tkyosam]

heard Korean airline is good <.<

JAL was fine for me on the way over here, waaaaaay better than when I flew United the first 2 times -.-

[Ryu for you]

Air Italia are awful from my experience. I always use Emirates now. Very cheap and very good service.

[Frontman]

Avoid American Airlines at all costs. I'm more or less stuck with them as I'm a platinum FF, and I don't want to start from scratch with someone else. I have yet to experience a problem free American Airlines flight. Delays, cancellations, diversions, and having my luggage fly to exotic destinations while I'm stuck flying to Newark is no fun.

My favorite is KAL right now. I've never had a problem with them. They are timely, the service is excellent, and you can book them through Delta and get a decent deal on airfare.

[不良外人]

It's easier these days to mention the airlines that are OK to fly with other than those that are not. They quality changes from year to year depending on the influence of the beancounters. There might be other opinions but at this point in time I would recommend:
Emirates
Singapore
Royal Brunei
Thai
Qatar
Cathay
Malaysian
Air New Zealand
Korean Air

Sure I have missed somebody.
All the others range from laborious to downright dangerous.

[ballbags]

Agreed. I would recommend:

Thai
Korean Air
ANA
Virgin
Air New Zealand
Singapore
JAL are OK for short flights.

[Frontman]

I flew Continental last night from NYC, and I was surprised. I had originally purchased a round trip flight using AA, and had flown AA to NYC. Then there was a screwup on my return flight (a regular occurrence with AA), so my agent got me onto a Continental flight for the return trip. The Continental flight left on time, the service was good, and the stewardesses were generous with the drinks. What's more, the flight arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

[Broken Promise Land]

Yeah, CO has the best service of any US airline, that is for sure. When I am in the US I fly United because of Star Alliance, but I have to admit, they are the worst when it comes to rolling delays. You know, those are the ones where they tell you the flight has been delayed another 20 minutes, then another 20 minutes, then another 45 minutes, and so on. The other thing that United does is the old penalty box delay.

They push off the gate then roll to a holding area until they get "ATC" or "weather related" approval to advance to the destination. I cannot tell you the number of times in just the past year I sat on a United flight to have then pull this sh!t.

They mark it down as an on-time flight because it left the gate "on-time" but then they let you know about the situation that they knew about before you got on the plane.

"ATC" says we are #46 in line, so sit back and relax. Then its, "okay folks, just to update you we are 33 for departure." An hour later, we are wheels up with an apology that "due to ATC congestion" yaddi yaddah yadah.

Hey here's a better idea United, when you know I am going to blow my connection, why not tell me at the gate. Give me a hotel voucher at ORD then and there and we'll try the charade the next day. Nothing like making it all the way across the country only to wind up in the same position, but without your luggage "as a transit passenger," and 15 dollar meal ticket for the best of Starbucks.

CO doesn't do that sh!t as much, and when they do, at least they are not as "hmpf, waddya' gonna do" about it as United.

[不良外人]

Yes. Probably the only US carrier I don't mind flying. They've come a long way since my flight from hell with them 20 years ago.

[von]

cheap airline

no service or u pay extra but if ur after cheap they may be ok??

[smallen420]

just get the cheapest ticket you can find, take an ambien, xanax or valium, no take 2 ambien, xanax or valium and sit next to the window so nobody has to wake you to take a ____.

[LondonJohn]

I flew in and out with Qatar a year or so ago, and apart from the change at Qatar itself (awkward currency exchange at the airport, unattractive choice of food and drink, and the toilets were hellish, full of arabs evacuating their bowels - not a pretty sound - plus the 'water' all over the floor), the actual flight and service was fine, probably the best so far out of eight other trips, taking in Lufthansa (who aren't bad), CathyPacific (which went the 'pretty way' round) and KLM (which again wasn't bad). If you're from London, I'd recommend for over all comfort, fly out of London City with the Lufthansa connection at Frankfurt. Most airport security behave like Nazi's (at least you'd be with the real thing in Frankfurt!), and most international airports are hellish anyhow, but the good thing about London City is that you don't have to endure Heathrow.
Qatar have an inflight television where you can choose when you see the film, etc. and how many times.

[SteadyRollingMan]

JAl I would avoid those motherfeckers! Am drunk!

[sekicho]

Originally Posted by Frontman

Avoid American Airlines at all costs. I'm more or less stuck with them as I'm a platinum FF, and I don't want to start from scratch with someone else. I have yet to experience a problem free American Airlines flight. Delays, cancellations, diversions, and having my luggage fly to exotic destinations while I'm stuck flying to Newark is no fun.

My favorite is KAL right now. I've never had a problem with them. They are timely, the service is excellent, and you can book them through Delta and get a decent deal on airfare.

You know that other US carriers will match your status, right? You just have to call them, say you're AA platinum and tell them you want to change your business over.

Not that other US carriers are much better, although I've had pretty good experiences on Northwest and Delta so far. My choice for transpacs is still United -- not that they're any good, but they're generous with miles which you can spend on trips to Asia with ANA, Singapore, Asiana, Air China, etc. etc.

[LOstSamurai]

Originally Posted by Marius_JP

Watched a guard take aside a Japanese girl and made her play her voilin, followed up with question like "how could you afford this?".

...she was pre-teen.

Pre-teen? How the f++k did she afford the violin!?! Was she finally arrested?

[Angelfish]

Of all the flights me and the bloke have taken in and out of Japan...
The Good:
Cathay Pacific
Virgin Atlantic (the best)
ANA

The Bad:
Alitalia
JAL
British Airways

The Ugly:
KLM