With so many to choose from it is not easy to decide which is your favourite airline in the world, as all of them offer the same service: they fly you from point A to point B at a higher or lower cost. However, there are many other things to be considered, which will ultimately make your trip that much more pleasant or not. For example, American Airlines airplanes have quite a bit more of leg room than most other airlines, yet the fleet is not very new. Ryan Air is dirt cheap (you can often fly for 5€) but the seats have fixed backs and not complimentary beverages or snacks are given. Singapore Airlines have great airplanes and servive, but tickets are generally more expensive than its competitors. So where do I stand at?
My favourite airline in the world is Air Asia. This Bangkok/ Kuala Lumpur based airline offers very cheap flights in modern and comfortable airplanes, flight attendants are always pleasant and have a smile ready, and the food is good too. You can fly within SEA for as little as 30USD to many destinations, and it is relatively easy to find flights from London (UK) to Kuala Lumpur ( a 14 hour flight) for less than 300 USD, taxes included!
Air Asia is a low cost airline, and thus many of the extras are not included in the ticket. But 7USD will get you a portable DVD player with enough movies and entertainment for the 14 hour flight, and a little bit less than that will get you a warm meal to enjoy along the way. The bright red uniforms and big smiales of the flight attendants will cheer you up without noticing, and true to the Thai culture service is top notch.
Other contenders could be Etihad Airways (UAE) or Qatar Airways, but despite having superb airplanes and reasonable prices they are not always as rock bottom as those Air Asia has, and as a budget travler this is something I value a lot. So my vote is for Air Asia, but… which is YOUR favourite airline?
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for best airlines in the world
Cathay Pacific, hands down. I took a 15-hour long haul flight from Toronto to Hong Kong, and it was comfortable, super modern, very pleasant attendants, great movies and more food and drink than I could consume.
My second favourite would be Air New Zealand, who I flew extensively while I was living in that country. I’ve only flown domestic with them, but I hear their international flights are top notch as well. The Kiwis are super kind, have a great sense of humour (have you seen their security vids? lol) and serve wine on the hour flight from Christchurch to Auckland; win!
Have never flown with any of the two, though I had heard from Cathay. For some reason I never find cheap flights with them.
Their rates are so affordable for travelers like you. Wonderful trip at a less cost! No doubt, airline companies are competing based on their promos (specifically the prices that they can offer to their clients).
And the service is second to none…make sure you remember about Air Asia when going to SEA
Just booked an internal AirAsia flight for £4.68 (~USD7). Was expecting it to be awful, but after these comments am quite looking forward to it now
Steve, you’ll be surprised. Air Asia rocks, and is much better value than what you are paying for! I’d love to hear what you have to say after it…see if we agree 🙂 Have a nice flight to…?
Most flights I know in Asia are pretty affordable. Here in our place, we could actually go outside our territory for only $30. So basically, going to other places can’t be a reason of someone getting broke because of expensive flight.
It make so much sense to have cheap flights…then traveling isn’t as complicated and is more accessible! Where are you based in?
We love Air Asia too. And we seem to have the same taste because we love Qatar and Ethihad also, but it is the rock bottom prices that make Air Asia Number one! We haven’t done a long haul flight with them yet, but I am sure we will soon.
Starting February 2011 Air Asia will have flights from Paris to Kuala Lumpur for 99€… not a bad reason to try long-haul!
Air Asia is my favorite airline, hands down, in terms of price! But when you’re looking for a bit extra (or flying elsewhere in the world), I also am a fan of Qatar Airways & Southwest.
Qatar Airways is pretty good too, and Southwest..hmmm…I guess it´s OK, although I still have to see something that stands out 🙂
I have been flying
Thanks for the review. I’ve never flown Air Asia, but will keep it in mind for the future!
I highly recommend this airline Margo!
I really liked Korean Air but I haven’t been able to take advantage of the budget airlines. Sounds amazing!
They save you so much money that they are really worth checking them out 🙂
Wow Air Asia is really cheap and the way you make it out to be it seems to be a good choice as well. Usually cheap airlines are generally bad. I’ve always been a fan of Qatar Airways..but their prices can be high for certain flights.
Have to agree it’s one of my favorites as well. I was shocked at how nice it was considering the cheap prices, thought it would be more like Ryanair.
Ryan Air sucks when compared with Air Asia, though the flights can be cheaper…