Air travel in Europe

Air travel is a phenomenon that is becoming a part of every day life for most of us. With more than 70 thousand aeroplanes, carrying 4 million passengers daily around the globe, the demand for at par service and comfort in these commercial airlines is nothing but justified. Whether these airlines are earning their dollars justly, by providing the type of service expected in return for the money an average passenger is charged, is a question worth asking. Here is a review of some of Europe’s biggest and top ranking airlines, based on customer opinions regarding their performance, service and the comfort provided.

British Airways

Undoubtedly, British Airways is the most well known name in aviation, coming from Europe. A number of small airlines merged together in 1935 to form BA, which has it’s headquarter in London. The airlines was once regarded as the best in the world but lost a lot of ground in late 90’s and early 2000. Nevertheless, BA is making amends and the is again getting back on top of its game. The business and first class are regarded as very comfortable, overall service is attentive with generally nicely prepared, but at times not very well presented and oddly put together menus. The on flight entertainment system also in some flights needs updating.

Lufthansa

Another major name in Europe is that of Lufthansa. The German carrier is a well established airline that has been serving for more than 52 years now and is regarded amongst the best in Europe. Right from their check-in, one thing that is normally appreciated about the airline is their punctuality and friendly service. The flight crew is mostly very congenial and unlike some other carriers, tend to respond to the bell and can be seen walking between the aisles during the whole flight. The food quality is also fair with most planes features good IFA systems. On occasions, when the service fails to impress it’s customers, it tends to fail completely; then again we all have our bad days…

Austrian Airlines

During recent years, Austrian Airlines has emerged as a reliable and competitive airline in Europe. Their flights are almost always on time with very friendly and pleasant crew. The food quality is generally good and the cabins are at time shockingly clean and tidy. At times the aircrafts may feel a bit cramped, but generally service and comfort wise the airline is making a lot of loyal customers.

Air France

Based on their food quality, seat comfort, and Flight Attendants’ service, Air France would rank as fair. Being one of the oldest airlines of the region, they seem to have lost touch with the present day a little. There in-flight entertainment system is lacking in modern ingenuity and onboard entertainment options are also somewhat limited. The crew is ‘mostly’ pleasant but tend to be available only during meal services and seem to disappear in between. The cabins also need some updating and are considered rather dull and definitely not at par with the finer airlines. Normally there meals are good accompanied with nice wines, which is always a plus.

KLM Royal Dutch Airline

KLM merged with another European giant, Air France, in 2004. The airline gets mixed reviews from its customers. Usually, if your flight does not face any problem like delays, overbooking or any other such issue, the on-flight experience is generally good, with good service and attentive crew and reasonable meals. The aircrafts at times can be a bit shabby and untidy, but the bit that scores the least is normally their ground service. Most people getting in to some kind of pre-flight problem find it hard to get any help from the airline’s ground staff. Overall the standard of the airline is considered to have dropped after its merger with AF.

Overall it would be fair to say that the comfort and service standards that have been set my most Asian airlines, like Singapore, Thai and Cathay Pacific, are becoming increasingly hard for the rest of the world to attain; something obvious in the overall airline ratings from around the globe.

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