voyager61

I would love to hear from others who have flown to Europe frequently out of Seattle and what airlines/routes they prefer. We are flexible on where we fly in because this is not a first or second trip to Europe, but we really want edible food and comfortable seats for a flight that long. We're getting pickier about the actual airplane experience with every passing year. Thanks for your feedback!

Gardyloo

Limited choices - BA to London, Delta to Amsterdam or Paris, Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Icelandic to Reykjavik.

Coach is coach; Delta might be worth a look for their "economy comfort" seating - more legroom. BA offers premium economy ("World Traveller Plus") but at a big bump in cost over conventional coach.

Two questions: 1) When are you flying? and 2) Do you have any frequent flyer miles or loyalty? It can make a difference.

voyager61

We want to go either late spring or late summer, 2014. We do have a lot of Alaska FF miles, which helps for most of those airlines. The information about Delta is good to know. We have flown BA and really didn't like the food or much of anything else, but it would be more convenient if we had. It's looking like we need to try Delta, based on your input, and Paris works for us as a destination/jumping off point for other travels.

janisj

>>We have flown BA and really didn't like the food or much of anything else, . . .<<

Then I think you might be in for a bit of disappointment. BA is as good or better than most.

Gardyloo

<i>We do have a lot of Alaska FF miles, which helps for most of those airlines.</i>

Of course "a lot" means different things to different people, but using miles for business or first class on longhaul flights is by far the best use of them.

I just did a very brief check on Alaska's site, and for several days in late May to early June I immediately found numerous openings in business or first class; for example Seattle - San Francisco - Paris on Alaska and Air France, or Delta to Paris via Minneapolis, returning on American in first class, and so on. Generally you're looking at 90,000 to 120,000 miles per person for the round trip, depending on the carrier. Alaska is partners with BA, Delta, American, Air France, and KLM. If you have the miles (and you can always use miles for one ticket and buy the other) there's no better use for them. If you haven't flown business class longhaul, be warned - it's highly addictive.

Southam

I hope you check multi-destination ticket possibilities, flying in to one city and home from another. Delta and its KLM/Air France partners are particularly useful in this respect. For example, you could fly through Paris to Marseille and then back home from Paris for very little more than a simple round trip to Paris.It would save you both travel time and money if you want to visit the south anyhow. This can be done on points too, although it might take a phone call to your points representative to work it out.

voyager61

I should probably clarify..we didn't like BA because of 1.) food 2.) having to check in 24 hours ahead of time to get a seat assignment (big nuisance while on vacation or just leaving) 3.) seats were very tight and my husband's cushion was shot, so he felt as if he were sitting in a hole one entire flight. The service was very good on board the plane, so no complaints on that.

We have flown business class with miles once out of our 5 trips, and that was on Air France to Paris and back (non-stop), which did ruin us forever (good food) because that route is now offered through Delta and seems to be a 1-stop instead of non-stop. I am still leaning towards Delta, even though I was hoping for a non-stop.

I appreciate all the different perspectives. Perhaps if we could get BA business class, it would make a difference, but we both hate the 24-hour seat assignment thing, so unless that has changed (we'd be willing to pay to do it at time of reservation), I would go with Delta.

Gardyloo

No, SEA-CDG is served nonstop by Delta, just not every day year-round. I didn't see any award seats on that flight for the days I looked, but that doesn't mean they don't come open. You can see partner availability on Alaska's website.

BA business class is great, but Alaska passes through BA's extortionate fuel surcharges on mileage tickets, resulting is a cash cost (on top of the miles) of up to $1000 for a round trip. That's a world class lousy exchange for your miles, compared to fewer miles and way, way less in tax and fee add-ons if you use another of Alaska's partners.

travelgourmet

A few thoughts:

1) In addition to the routes and airlines mentioned, Delta also begins nonstop service to London in March, so that means you can use London, Paris, or Amsterdam as jumping off points with Delta and still get the nonstop.

2) The primary advantage to Delta would be that Economy Comfort would give more legroom and recline and should come at less of a premium than going up to business class or BA's World Traveler Plus.

3) The other advantage for Delta over BA and Icelandair (but the same as Lufthansa) is that they have 2-3-2 or 2-4-2 seating arrangements on their flights to Europe. To my mind, that is preferable to 3-3-3, 3-4-3, or 3-3 offered by BA and Icelandair, since it means you and your wife can get a pair of seats without having to share the row with a stranger.

4) Personally, I think Lufthansa is inferior to both Delta and BA in all classes of service, save First. Given that you are primarily accumulating Alaska miles, I would disregard them unless the savings are substantial.

5) Honestly, though, one seeks to endure coach, not enjoy it. None of the airlines are going to offer a great experience, so it isn't worth stressing too much and choosing on price might make a lot of sense.

<i>Then I think you might be in for a bit of disappointment. BA is as good or better than most.</i>

Not for food. IMO, BA's food is generally quite poor, even for airline food. I'd rate them as having the worst business class food of any airline I've flown. For coach, if they aren't the worst, they certainly rank in the lower tier. I don't choose airlines on food, but BA's is really bad.

voyager61

Thank you for all the continued information; it is making my decision easier and easier. I really appreciate the time your responses took.

suze

I'm in Seattle. I've only been to Europe 5 times so far but I always flew British Air thru Heathrow on the overnight nonstop. I loved it. I can't imagine expecting anything more for a coach trip. I thought the food, the service, the free booze, the entertainment, the seating and ammenities, all more than adequate.

JoanneH

I have done the Delta to Amsterdam several times, great flight good service takes about 11+ hours. I think it really depends on any connecting flights you want\need to make it you choose Amsterdam or London.

sparkchaser

OP, if you find the standard meals on a particular carrier to be an issue, then perhaps you should request a special meal. Kosher or Halal meals tend to be leaps and bounds better than the typical cattle class offerings.