Qatar, Emirates and Cathay Pacific, have been my three favourite airlines for a while now (although I have some misgivings regarding Qatar following revelations last year of their employment practices). Nonetheless, these carriers bring back the pleasure of airline travel providing me with reminders that air flights do not have to be a barren bus like experiences! Today’s flight (my 994th ever) was the epitome of how phenomenal Emirates are. Booking: 9 out of 10 I actually booked my ticket through Qantas. Despite being the same seat on the same plane, Qantas were selling it…
Emirates
Tag Archives for Emirates.
Reviving Qantas
The news that Qantas has been devalued by two rating agencies to “junk status” filled many of us with dismay. In 2020, Qantas should be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Only two airlines: KLM and Aviannca are older. Qantas has survived the Great Depression, World War Two, 1970s hyperinflation and oil crisis, the Asian Financial Crisis, the bombing of the World Trade Centre, SARS and the the global financial crisis. It has outlived other Aussie competitors: Ansett (1935 to 2002), Australian National Airways (1936 to 1957), Compass (1990 to 1993) and East-West (1947 to 1993). Today,…
World’s Longest 380 route
Emirates has launched the world’s longest Airbus A380 non-stop service from Dubai to Los Angeles. The daily flight will take 16 hours and 20 minutes to cover 13,414km (8 335 miles). The airline has previously served the route with a 777 and has said demand has led them to add the 489 seat Airbus to the route. The route will take the plane across the Russian Federation, the North Pole and Eastern Canada. Related Posts Time for Thai’s A380 I wanna fly Malaysian China Southern’s Third 380 Tuesday Trip Report: Korean Airlines A380 Tuesday Trip Report: Lufthansa’s A380 Tuesday Trip…
Qantas Downgrades Status
I must admit, I am somewhat protective of my “status” with Qantas and Virgin Australia. I like my perks of lounge access, express check in and other bonuses. So any change an airline makes to how status credits are earned, what they mean and what benefits I receive, piques my interest. For example, from tomorrow, Qantas is changing how you get their “Loyalty Bonus” For every 500 status credits earned, Qantas currently will reward passengers with an 8000 point “loyalty bonus”. 500 status credits is equal to 50 flights between Sydney and Melbourne in Discount…
World’s best airlines -skytrax 2013
The 2013 Skytrax World Airline Awards were announced at the Paris Air Show on the 18th June 2013. The awards are based on a passenger satisfaction survey completed on 200 airlines by travellers from over 160 countries. They review over 40 plus areas from check-in to cabin cleanliness to food to service. The airline award winners are becoming fairly predictable. The names Air New Zealand, Air Asia, Qatar, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore sit in the top categories year on year. It makes me wonder if the airlines that are not in the Top 20…
Fastjet falters
Africa is a continent crying out for a decent transportation network. The railway systems are largely fragmented and crumbling. The top nine airlines in Africa carry fewer passengers a year than Delta alone does in two months. Trade, tourism and travel are all hampered by an inadequate infrastructure. Enter fastJet with the vision of a series of low cost airlines throughout Africa all using A319s, all sharing brand, marketing and infrastructure. With a pedigree as impressive as Easyjet‘s Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a chunk of cash and the backing of Lonrho PLcwho already invest in 18…
Introducing the British Airways A380
Revealed this week an A380 for the tenth operator of the A380 British Airways. The plane is due to be delivered by July, 2013 followed by three more this year and then another eight after that to make a grand total of 12 for the carrier. The plane will be flying initially between – London and Los Angeles from 15th October (as BA268 and 269) – London and Hong Kong from 15th November as BA25 and BA26 The BA A380 will have 469 seats in a four class set up: 1. BA First Class –…
Qantas/Emirates: Positive, Negative, Alternative
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJmj_KgH_x8 With a spectacular flyover Sydney by two Airbus A380s, the Qantas/Emirates “partnership” was officially “birthed” a week ago. Announced in July, 2012, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce claimed this was the most important deal in the 92 year history of the airline. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission gave final approval for the alliance after deciding that the deal will not lead to negative effects for passengers. It however, rejected Qantas’ argument that its international operations face a ”terminal decline” without the Emirates alliance. There are lots of pluses for Qantas passengers but I have yet to…
My Top Airlines for 2012
This last year, I flew 121 times for a total distance of 331,127km (205,753 mi). This is eight and a quarter times around the earth. I was inside planes for a whopping 19 days of the year. Some airlines made my time with them a delight – and some made it not so fun. I rate each flight I take for every factor from Booking to Check-in to deplaning. and keep a tally of my rating using Flightmemory.com. The scores averaged out give me the ranking of flights, airlines and airports. I have placed my score for each airline…
Qatar joins One World
To no one’s surprise, One World announced today that British Airways will sponsor Qatar Airways as a full member of the Alliance, a process that is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. This news is an interesting addition to the One World. The 13 airline strong alliance will count amongst its membership three five star airlines (as measured by Skytrax) : Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar compared to Star Alliance’s two: Asiana and Singapore. One World lost two members when Malev collapsed in 2012 and Mexicana was grounded in 2011. Kingfisher, a would be One World members has had significant financial woes – to…
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