which one gets your vote? I think Virgin is the best, but having only gone economy class, maybe they can be beaten on first or business class.

Singapore Airlines is my favorite. Although, I was in 1st class, the service would rival many hotel chains. I cannot wait to fly with them again !!

The best airline I have ever flown in is Emirates. Hands down the winner for customer service and inflight services. They were the first to provide seatback TVs to coach passengers.<BR><BR>On a 16-segments/2-openjaws/6-month RTW ticket (at the time in partnership with Canadian Airlines), they were unsurpassed: when I arranged the ticket, they were completely flexible with my itinerary and had CA include a bonus return trip between Vancouver and LA; they allowed many changes en-route at no extra charge; every flight was on schedule; every special meal ordered was available; great "goodie" bags in coach; they vouched for me for a visa to the UAE (at the time, a woman travelling sans "responsible male" with her could not get one on her own); and to cap it all, my son (twelve at the time and whom I was travelling with) received a birthday card in the mail from them until he turned 18!

Cathay Pacific!

Southwest--no bs, cheap fares, safe, on time, good pilots, and 100% American.

Air France. American monopolizes my hub, so that's my only choice 99% of the time. However, I was really impressed with Air France when I got to try someone new for a change.<BR><BR>

This is a very difficult question. It really depends on three things-the route, the class of service, and the customers perceived value. Value has several variables including price, convenience, frequent flyer plan, etc.<BR><BR>For international travel, I seldom use<BR>domestic (US) carriers. They are fine in business class but fall very short in coach service. When I travel to Asia, I always try to use one of two Asian carriers.<BR><BR>I find that the route, even in the US, can make a big difference. This may have something to do with the seniority of the cabin crew than bid on certain routes. I do not think that our domestic carriers have any edge on safety or service. I tend to vote with my feet and with my perception of safety vs. the flag of the carrier. I hate rewarding poor service or cramped<BR>seating simply because the carrier happens to be US based. This is the only way that some of these airlines have of understanding their strenghs and their deficiencies. In my opinion, there are a few domestic airlines that simply do not deserve to be in business based on their US and international service. The same holds true for some European airlines.<BR><BR>Based on my perceptions and my experiences I would agree that Singapore Airlines wins hands down-business and coach.

We truly love American Airlines. We have always found them to be courteous and kind. We use FF miles frequently and never have a problem using them or getting a seat and we fly to Hawaii a lot. At the check-in counter they always have nice things to say and they seem sincere. We recently e-mailed them about the fares to Hawaii being so high and two days later the fares went down $400.00. Is that a coincidence?

Good for you, Laura, but you are in a minority. My experiences with American have been OK at best and usually lots worse. They do sometimes offer enticing fares, but usually with horrid routings or schedules. And as for so-called customer service... well, Mama taught me not to use the kind of language that pops into my mind when I think about this. On top of all this, it is a huge, predatory company (think Enron) run by nasty folks, and that trickles through the corporate culture.

I am not sure which airlines is the best but some of the worst have to be US carriers (United, American, American West...to name a few). I say this because most of the stewardesses do not understand the concept of customer service. They act like the passengers are bothering them when special needs are requested. These people forget that they are in the customer service industry and they DO get paid for what they do. I do not expect the stewardess to slave over passengers but service with a smile goes a long way.

don't you ever listen to the pilots announcemnt? "the flight attendants are here primarily for your safety, but if there is anything they can do to make your flight more comfortable, please let them know." they aren't waitresses and waiters, they're FLIGHT ATTENDANTS. <BR><BR>

NOT DELTA!

I am doing a research paper about airlines and airports. There are only 2 five-star airlines: Cathay Pacific and Singapore. Out of the top 10 airports in the world, only Chicago is an American airport, it ranked 6. Again Hong Kong is No.1, Singapore is No.2. BTW, Southwest is a three-star airline.

ff,<BR>I love Cathay, but strongly disagree with their 5 star rating that you gave them. Try to fly for 14 hours in coach. Thank God, I have enough miles these days to upgrade to business. I did coach once and it was hell. Extremely tight seats and pitch. Granted, the service is exquisite, but a 5* should be great on all counts. I think they are one of the many good ones, but just like most, they do come up short in some departments. Singapore has been slipping for the last 1 - 1.5 . <BR>The conclusion is, that unfortunately what was the best is going down and equalizing with the average. Surviving in this viotile business forces these airlines to cut back on many fronts.

AA, I didn't rate any airline or airport. This is what I obtained from an authority (cannot remember the name right now, it is in my folder). The rate comes many catagories, such as food, space, service in all classes, safety, timing, ... CX and SQ get the most points, and these are the only 2 airlines that have enough points for five-star.

I guess sometime you can't believe all you read!

AA, is AA your most favorite airline? Or do you have one? Just curious. I am an AA ff, but honestly I don't like it. Within a year, I flew with AA to Italy and Jamaica, with UA to Chicago, with Cathay to Hong Kong, with Swiss Air to Swizterland. In 1999 I flew with Singapore to Maldives. I've also flewn with many other airlines. Cathay has really been my most favorite, even though I have only $ for coach. I cannot say much about Singapore since I flew with it only once and it was not within the time frame of your judgement, but I did enjoy it totally. <BR>Do you fly with AA for long distance? I was starving in the flight to Rome. People all started complaining in the plane. Finally they gave everyone a tiny pizza - cold! When we flew back from Rome, they upgraded my husband to business class. We said we wanted be together. The AA girl spoke back loudly and rudely, "you paid for coach, you can only sit in coach." So both of us got downgraded from emergency exit seats to the last row, the seat back couldn't be pushed back, and we were right next to the smelly bathroom.

Sorry about your experiences with AA. Last February I flew AA coach from DFW-LHR. I did not have a choice because it was a last minute decision and all bus/1st was sold out. Yet, because of my elite status(Plat) I was assigned a 1st row coach seat(bulk) with full recline. It was my choice as I could have taken an exit row, with the full recline. For coach it was very comfortable. Anyway, we were served full dinner and breakfast, and both were the standard airline food. Dinner was hot and so was breakfast. I'm taking a guess why you did not have the same service to Italy. Their London routes are very profitable and with all the competition, they have to try harder, whereas Italy is only seasonal, while it might be profitible, I don't think it's on their priority list. No excuse, just my take on it. They treat Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean not as international, but local flights. Yet with MRTC in the last couple of years they are way ahead on most other airlines. Now as far as the others. As I stated before in most cases I fly business, and if really lucky 1st. Transatlantic, AA all the way, especially their 1st class, with the flatbeds. Transpacific, Sin and Cathay definately. Their exquisite service and comfort in those classes is a notch above others. If you go back and read my first post, you will see that I had no problem with giving them a high grade in that department. The only AA transpacific goes to Tokyo. Not bad, although service is their weak point. Being an AA miles junkie I have not flown UA in years, can't comment there. Have not flown the new Swiss, but hear great things. Will try them early next year, on one of my regular Europe trips.<BR>So there you have it. Now this is just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions..... <BR>If you see the BA vs AA post, I also do a little take on that comparison.

I've flown AA several times and I can't honestly say that I've had a awful experience. Then again, I've been in First most of those times on transatlantic flights. However, when I do sit in coach and I'm paying a dirt cheap rate of 120 RT I don't expect to be treated like royalty. It seems some do expect to be pampered to their every whim and desire. That is quite sad and very much unrealistic not to mention it borders being dellusional.

I have actually flown to China three different times, each time taking a different airline. The first time, I left from LAX to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. The second time, we left from Seattle to Beijing on Air Canada. Most recently, in April, I went to Beijing from Detroit on Northwest. I dont know what people rave about Cathay Pacific. The food was OK and the flight attendants seemed a little stiff. I will never fly to Asia on Air Canada again. The flight attendants argued the entire flight and seem bothered by a simple request. My best experience was on Northwest. They were professional, friendly, and the food wasnt too bad.