palomahh10

Hi!

I'm hoping I can get some of your opinions on some airlines going to Bali as I have never taken any of these airlines before.

I'm planning my first solo trip to Bali from Barcelona one way, going early to mid September. I've seen a lot of good deals ranging between 430 to 550 euros. The airlines are between Garuda, Qatar and Emirates. Ive seen alot of mixed reviews online.

What were your overall experiences with these airlines. my main interest would be based in this order comfort (leg room), food, cleanliness, staff, airport base for layovers (most of them have long layovers, how were the airports overall?)

I just want to get an idea because i'm torn and not quite sure which would be best for a long flight.

thanks!

crellston

Garuda, definitely not, Qatar maybe but i have always had pretty good flights with Emirates. Dubai airport is as good as any for a layover and better than most. I would check the layovers though as we have rarely spent more than a couple of hrs in Dubai (although we would normally be flying fro LHR or BHX)

LancasterLad

Used Qatar last September from London to Saigon via Doha. Doha is Qatar's hub and an excellent state of the art airport. We had 90 minutes between flights on the way out and 4 hours on the way home. Comfortable, excellent cabin staff, food was fine except from the savoury shawarma snack meal.

Flew Garuda a year earlier from London to Bali via Jakarta. The London to Jakarta flight had a 2 hour stop in Amsterdam and ditto on the return which was a pain. Immigration was completed between flights in Jakarta which was good as it enabled a quick exit from Bali Airport. The flight experience was fine, and the Jakarta transit was fairly straightforward in both directions.

Flown Emirates several times, good airline but I dislike Dubai Airport as it's too frantic for me. Ditto with Etihad, I dislike Abu Dhabi Airport as the ground staff like to nod or shake their heads too much but not give proper information, and it's an Airport where too many cultures collide in transit.

My preference of the lot of them, for any destination would be Qatar.

Do comparisons on Skyscanner, but book direct with the airline for a more complete service.

northie

Sky trax Ratings for those puts all in top 10 world airlines -Qatar 1, Emirates 5, Garuda 8 .
Garuda had a terrible name years ago but that has been redeemed - they weren't allowed to fly in EU for some time but that's changed.
Qatar and Emirates are very popular airlines for flying out of Australia - service and comfort.
We fly to Europe via Dubai and find the airport easy to transit in.

Kathie

One other airline to consider: Singapore Air.