As a international travel guide and director for more tha 25 years, I have flown literally millions of miles! And I have been on great and horrible airlines, due to both service and safety or lack there of.
Cubana has some new planes now which are hot old Soviet ones, however, I have not had the luck of being on the new planes. Aeroflot aslo does but I have only been on the ones that look like the picture in this forum.
In my experince, the least safest airline I have flown on is Air Koryo, the flag carrier of DPRK(Democratic People's Rupublic of Korea, aka North Korea!) I had no problems but was also glad the flight was only from Beijing to Pyonyang.
Aerolineas is CRAP! I flew last year with them a a non stop flight EZE-Sydney. About 30 staff and same number of passengers. The staff was NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. No individual lights, a big hanging tv showing the annimated flim "Madagascar: 4 time in a row. Surly staff, horrible food, very limited drinks(NO GIN TONIC) These are not cheap tickets and this is one of their PREMIUM flights nearly 17 hrs NON STOP.
Coming back the flight was 7 hours delayed in Sydney plus a stop in Auckland making it more than a 24 hr nightmare ordeal! NEVER AGAIN, but that riute is gone now, too!
Has anyone been on TAAG(Angola) or Laotion Airlines? I have and not good
I was on an Iran Airlines flight in December and was surprised at the great service despite the old(more than 35 years)Boeings. I was though concerned about the maintenance which is a problem.
In my eyes, all US airlines are nightmares as well as are most of their staff!I hear Southwest is fine but havent been for over 20 yrs.
Most African ones are truly an experience! And I have had experiences which ended with nearly fatal results including having been hijacked in 1995 on an Ethiopian Airlines flight which ended in a terrorist-training hotbed in central Sudan!
European ones are a step above the US ones although AIr Europe, Alitalia and Iberia are BAD!
Quantas and Air New Zealand still good in my eyes.
LAN is still the best in S American but that;s also not saying much!
Hands down, Emirates, Qatar, Turkish, Ethiad and the reliable Asian one ike Singpaore and Thai get my votes!
I am old enough to remember when Pan Am served meals on porcelain plates, Ward Air in Canada wa like a first class VIP lounge in the air, IN ECONOMY, Varig was the creme de la creme of S American airlines and budget airlines didnt exist. If you know what you are paying for, then you should sit back and bear it(SANS grins) but when you pay for a "first" brand company and get Easy Jet service, BITCH.
Bon vol et Bon Voyage!
