I've had the opportunity of travelling far and wide, Alhamdulillah. So in the process of doing so I have experienced air travel of some of the leading airlines in the world. This thread, here, could serve as a guidebook for people who are planning to travel in the future. So don't hesitate in sharing the goods, bads and the uglies of your travel experience.
Emirates: I've had the opportunity of travelling on Emirates a few times. From KHI/ISB to Dubai, Turkey and back. I left with mixed feelings. Their aeroplanes on the Pak-Dubai route are awful! Dirty seats and washrooms, out-of-order entertainment screens, rude staff, okay-ish food and a plane that seemed like it would break in half at any moment. Frightening!
Dubai and onwards (to civilized nations that is) is a different experience altogether. I was left perplexed wondering whether this was the same airline service or not. Five star service!
6/10
Saudia: Probably the best airline amongst the ones I've frequented. Top notch clean aeroplanes, decent staff and great food. Incidentally, it was Saudia which provided me with my first on-board entertainment system. 'Twas a Boeing-777 enroute to America in '98. Played tic-tac-toe and watched cartoons all the way.
I remember one sour incident when the staff refused us 'shai' because we were toddlers. I still own their perfumed tissues from those days.
9/10
Malaysia Airlines: Mixed feelings about this. Unclean plane with bubble gum on the seat that stuck to my clothes badly during a seven-hour flight to Malaysia. Return trip was fair and passed without incident. Food was decent and the staff very courteous.
7/10
Turkish Airline: Bad aeroplanes. One of the most uncomfortable journeys of my life. My ears hurt for days. But that was '96 and I heard they have improved vastly as the country's economy improved. So I'll reserve judgment till I have a chance to fly once again.
Delta Air Lines: Travelled domestically within the USA a few times. Everything was fine so it's a definite recommendation. A shame they don't provide lunch but that's not worrying considering most of it won't be halal either way.
9/10
Pakistan International Airlines: It's a miracle those planes can fly. I'm glad the European Union banned them from entering their airspace. Less said about our "national flag carrier" the better. Food used to be the only saving grace but even that has gone to the dogs now.
2/10
Airblue: Very clean aeroplanes. Good staff, good food and a comfortable journey. I've travelled to and fro from KHI to ISB a few times and they never gave me a chance to complain. I'm glad we have at least one decent airline operating within the country.
8/10
Next up is Etihad and Qatar Airways. I've been hearing a lot of good things about both, the latter specially. British Airways also received favourable reviews but I was too young back then to recall memories of that particular travel.
I'm sure a fair number of PG'ers have travelled abroad (and within the country). Let us know how you perceived air travel
Emirates: I've had the opportunity of travelling on Emirates a few times. From KHI/ISB to Dubai, Turkey and back. I left with mixed feelings. Their aeroplanes on the Pak-Dubai route are awful! Dirty seats and washrooms, out-of-order entertainment screens, rude staff, okay-ish food and a plane that seemed like it would break in half at any moment. Frightening!
Dubai and onwards (to civilized nations that is) is a different experience altogether. I was left perplexed wondering whether this was the same airline service or not. Five star service!
6/10
Saudia: Probably the best airline amongst the ones I've frequented. Top notch clean aeroplanes, decent staff and great food. Incidentally, it was Saudia which provided me with my first on-board entertainment system. 'Twas a Boeing-777 enroute to America in '98. Played tic-tac-toe and watched cartoons all the way.
I remember one sour incident when the staff refused us 'shai' because we were toddlers. I still own their perfumed tissues from those days.
9/10
Malaysia Airlines: Mixed feelings about this. Unclean plane with bubble gum on the seat that stuck to my clothes badly during a seven-hour flight to Malaysia. Return trip was fair and passed without incident. Food was decent and the staff very courteous.
7/10
Turkish Airline: Bad aeroplanes. One of the most uncomfortable journeys of my life. My ears hurt for days. But that was '96 and I heard they have improved vastly as the country's economy improved. So I'll reserve judgment till I have a chance to fly once again.
Delta Air Lines: Travelled domestically within the USA a few times. Everything was fine so it's a definite recommendation. A shame they don't provide lunch but that's not worrying considering most of it won't be halal either way.
9/10
Pakistan International Airlines: It's a miracle those planes can fly. I'm glad the European Union banned them from entering their airspace. Less said about our "national flag carrier" the better. Food used to be the only saving grace but even that has gone to the dogs now.
2/10
Airblue: Very clean aeroplanes. Good staff, good food and a comfortable journey. I've travelled to and fro from KHI to ISB a few times and they never gave me a chance to complain. I'm glad we have at least one decent airline operating within the country.
8/10
Next up is Etihad and Qatar Airways. I've been hearing a lot of good things about both, the latter specially. British Airways also received favourable reviews but I was too young back then to recall memories of that particular travel.
I'm sure a fair number of PG'ers have travelled abroad (and within the country). Let us know how you perceived air travel
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