Best airline to fly back to Europe?

[$Pripps]

Who cares about spending 12 hrs in the company of a crew that might not have the exact same standards of manners and service as seen throughout Asia if you can save several hundreds of dollars? I wouldn't! It's only 12 hours. Nothing wrong with KLM.

Its so annoying to beg for alcohol 

[Dr. Phil]

I have a friend who flies from Bucharest to Singapore twice a year, via Amsterdam on KLM.
She will not fly any other carrier and rates safety the highest priority. It appears the towering Dutch pilots inspire confidence and she has never experienced a bad flight and she thinks the hospitality is wonderful. This came off the back of a traumatic flight with Air France some years ago.

KLM are very competitively priced. They fly everywhere. I personally don't think they are flexible if you want to change your dates. However they have always offered good deals sometimes giving a free hotel for stopovers when using KLM also as the onward carrier. They do offer great savings.

Emirates is not so comfortable, with narrow seats and aisles and the food is poor. When I recently flew to Dubai, I could not wheel my cabin baggage down the aisle and had to carry it.

If you want to take a chance, try Qatar Air. Price their Business Class with Economy Class seats on other airlines.

I will also be going to Europe over Xmas and will fly SIA.

[cmdsea]

Agree with the above.

Emirates seat width on their 777's is atrocious. They squeeze 10 abreast whereas all other airlines its 9. Aisles so narrow that they take out knees and elbows with the carts.. Somewhat made up for by their excellent ICE entertainment system, but not totally..

LH I would rate the same as KLM, preferable if you want a Star Alliance flight for the miles. THey have daily flights to both Frankfurt (awful, avoid..) and Munich (a much better airport and in my opinion nicer than Schipol)

My personal choice would be either Thai or Malaysian (assuming they fly to the OP's final destination so its still a 1-stop journey) Good fares, good service and most importantly, 34" seat pitch vs everbody elses 31-32"

[Price]

The replies so far show that it's really down to personal preference.  Last KLM flight I took to Europe was under such cramped conditions that it felt like torture.  Others love them.

If you have no strong leanings either way than book on price plus convenience.  Think of all the money you'll save and how much fun you'll have spending it at your destination!

[KLM 2]

I agree - KLM has improved a lot - i find them ok and if you need to fly onward from your main flight, well schipol just smacks the pants of heathrow - no contest - loads of flights loads of options and a decent airport....

[rosbif71]

Agree about Emirates. their service on 777's stinks and the seats are extremely cramped
Their service on A380's from Dubai is better and the seats are far more comfortable

won't be using them again if I have a choice

[Luftwafe]

Agree with the above.


LH I would rate the same as KLM, preferable if you want a Star Alliance flight for the miles. THey have daily flights to both Frankfurt (awful, avoid..) and Munich (a much better airport and in my opinion nicer than Schipol)

I flew LH (business) to Munich over the festive period.  I have to say that the Business Lounge in Munich airport is the shabbiest I have seen anywhere, by a big margin.  There is an air of triedness about the lounge which is in contrast to the rest of the airport which is quite nice.  They have a separate lounge for Senator and First Class which I presume is better but the standard one is a joke.  The only hot food on offer was sausages and mashed potatoes!

The seats on the long journey from Singapore do not flatten much (leaving a big kink in the middle) and all the family woke up with backaches as a result.  My main meal on the outbound flight was really quite awful but on the inbound the food was nice. 
The check-in clerk in Changi (a strangely stressed-looking and slightly hostile Malay gent) refused to put a fragile sticker on one of our checked items as, he said, LH don't provide them. 

Given the cost, I think the service fell well short. Although my ultimate destination was in Germany, I think I will fly with another airline next time.

[Luftwafe]

Agree with the above.


LH I would rate the same as KLM, preferable if you want a Star Alliance flight for the miles. THey have daily flights to both Frankfurt (awful, avoid..) and Munich (a much better airport and in my opinion nicer than Schipol)

I flew LH (business) to Munich over the festive period.  I have to say that the Business Lounge in Munich airport is the shabbiest I have seen anywhere, by a big margin.  There is an air of triedness about the lounge which is in contrast to the rest of the airport which is quite nice.  They have a separate lounge for Senator and First Class which I presume is better but the standard one is a joke.  The only hot food on offer was sausages and mashed potatoes!

The seats on the long journey from Singapore do not flatten much (leaving a big kink in the middle) and all the family woke up with backaches as a result.  My main meal on the outbound flight was really quite awful but on the inbound the food was nice. 
The check-in clerk in Changi (a strangely stressed-looking and slightly hostile Malay gent) refused to put a fragile sticker on one of our checked items as, he said, LH don't provide them. 

Given the cost, I think the service fell well short. Although my ultimate destination was in Germany, I think I will fly with another airline next time.

Oh, I forgot.  The audio section of the entertainment was overwhelmingly in German.  I tend to prefer snoozing to an audio book and I find the BA/Qantas ones quite nice.  I guess, LH are not really geared towards non-German passengers.

[$Pripps]

Well we will probably try KLM next time, I find it great that they fly everyday.