2010 Best and Worst Airlines!

Friday, December 31, 2010 Unknown
So in 2010, I flew 90 times with my 90th flight for the year  on 31st of December 2010 bringing my total air distance for the year to 202 000km (120 000 miles).  I feel that gives me some qualifications for the following subjective rankings.


Best Airlines
I have confessed a few times in this blog that my favourite airline in the world (out of the 70 I have flown) is now Emirates. 

  1. Emirates - all round amazing customer service product- friendly, amazing food, attention to detail
  2. Air New Zealand, an efficient and friendly operator- I love the fact they still give sweets/candies/lollies as you come into land
  3. Lufthansa- -my perception of the German flag carrier is that they would be unfriendly and intimidating-far far from it- and the food is amazing
  4. Singapore Airlines-while I have some reservations over their safety, Singapore is a baseline for being a good airline-boo hiss for them introducing fees for exit row seats
  5. Lan - my other surprise for the year was discovering what a classy offering this airline is
  6. Virgin America- everything about this airline is class
  7. JetBlue- a US Carrier that are a pleasure to fly with
  8. Qantas- its a worry when an airline that I used to put at the top three is at number 8. My perception along with many other loyal passengers is of an airline that has lost its service crown
  9. Cathay Pacific- Cathay keeps earning awards for being the best. I have always regarded them highly but I think their product is slipping
  10. British Airways-following the crowd in a decline in service  but still in my top ten
  11. Southwest and Air Tran, , two US carriers that are in the process of merging share 11th spot for different reasons, Southwest's fun, straightforward service earns them respect and AirTran has some really good standout features. I will be sorry to see them go
Not tried Etihad yet who are ranked best airline in world by skytrax

Worst Airlines
  1. Air Zimbabwe- I have not actually flown them for a while but their continuing decline is very distressing
  2. United -tough competition for the second worst spot but United's horrific performance got them to second worst airline but it was a narrow victory
  3. Alitalia-one hopes that the takeover of them by Air France will improve things, one tatty, rude airline, They were third worst for me last year and here they are again
  4. Air Asia- the recent Business class enhancements may be boosting this airline but I still put them a 4th worst
  5. Tiger Airways- I think these guys are appalling. Nothing will possess me to fly them again
  6. Ryan Air- the epitome of how not to fly. When an airline charges you by the minute to ring their complaints number, there has got to be something wrong. Having said that I have been fine with them -if you have no expectations
  7. Jetstar- ugh shudder- how they get awards beats me but I rate them a little higher than I did last year 
  8. American Airlines- great to see some improvement here. The staff are a little less grumpy and their Admiral's Clubs have some food in them again. Would be nice if Qantas flyers could get free wifi in the lounges please. Still American Airlines continue to be a dark spot in the One World alliance
  9. US Airlines- has managed to combine the worst features of all the airlines that have merged with them
  10. Delta- Never thought I would say/see this but Delta actually has been getting better. Their wifi on board, website booking system , frequent flier program all improved. Its still a terrible airline but more bearable than it was a year ago. They are almost out of my top ten worst airlines.
NB I have not flown Cubana, Kyoro (North Korean), Aeroflot or Iran Air!!

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    2 Responses
    1. Anonymous Says:
      January 21, 2011 at 1:30 PM

      you know AA's not that bad, I've done Long and Short haul J with them and say the service and product is similar to QF. QF's food is better but the amenities are better for AA. Now i'm not saying they're top 10 but surely not the bottom 10...

      I do agree with your assessment of Air NZ... they're a class act.

      I think JAL should be in your list. Not the best J seat but love their service and food.


    2. Unknown Says:
      January 25, 2011 at 12:54 PM

      love to put JAL on the list but not flown them yet!!! Must rectify!

      Flown AA 39 times short and long haul in Y and J.
      In all that time, no awful experiences, just lots of barely average with 1 good flight. On one occasion, they were very impressive rushing me to meet a connection after their flight was late.


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