[theworldtraveller]

For me, flying is all about getting to the destination with as few stops as possible, thus why all the legacy carriers do so well.

Surely, if your based in London, it makes little sense to fly a shorthaul flight into ZRH or FRA and then hang around for a connecting flight – or even worse, be delayed out of London and miss the longhaul flight. I could see why you would do that if BA was awful, but the products are generally good (food could do with a bit of a spruce up) and it’s a safe airline. I also have a massive points balance now for my family upgraded holidays, a big perk.

Obviously price comes into it but for me, its all about making the travel as quick as possible

[Bullfrog]

I’d agree with ‘theworldtraveller’.

I once took AF from LHR to CDG, and was then driven by Mercedes from the foot of the aircraft steps to the Premiere lounge. I had 3 hours to wait for the Premiere Class flight to Montreal.

It was a great experience, amazing lounge & I was the only passenger in Premiere Class.

It added about 5 or 6 hours to my flight time, and I arrived in Montreal rather tired.

[rchoonfl]

In response to Gooner et al: while I am fortunately in a situation where I am able to fly BA in the current economic environment, I find the fare discrepancy between BA and the other major carriers (which can be anything up to 100%) to be completely out of kilter with the difference in product / service. I question whether the convenience justifies the differential and I am pretty sure it doesn’t.

In effect, trying another carrier – and one that most people would say is one of the best given my criteria – is a win-win for me. If I find the hassle of trudging through Zurich with LX is too much, then I will know BA is probably the best of an average bunch this side of the Suez (which I think is where I will end up thinking). If LX works, then miles and more it is and I am sure there must be something redeemable on ski hols with those points!

[Swissdiver]

BA and LX.

Now it really depends on home and destinations. I used to fly a lot AZ because it offered the network to the Balkans for instance. Clearly not the best choice, comfort-wise though…

[SenatorGold]

I’m a fan of BA, LH and LX.

They each have their strengths and weaknesses. As others have said, much depends upon the destination concerned.

In my view BA’s Club World seat is the best – apart from being fully flat together with the foot stool it offers the highest number of reclining options.

LX’s new Business Class seat is excellent, especially the single seats configured so that there is a console either side of the seat e.g. 8A

LH’s angled lie flat seat is its downfall, but it’s not that bad. Business Class in the nose of the B747 is very convivial.

ZRH is a better airport in which to transit than FRA. That said, the new Senator lounge at FRA is excellent. I was there recently on a Friday night and the City Lights Bar in the lounge is a pleasant place to while away some time.

Comparing my most recent LH and LX flights (LHR-FRA-KUL and LHR-ZRH-NSI respectively), I actually found the food and service on LH slightly better.

Whilst overerall BA is probably my favourite I’m very happy to have the opportunity to fly on LH and LX as it’s good to experiene variety and gives me the opportunity to contrast and compare the three.

[PATRICKBARRY]

For intra-Europe, my vote is Swiss.

Austrian for intra-Europe business class is nothing more than economy. It is sad because Austrian, in my opinion, was the best intra-Europe airline 10 years ago. Now, it is noting more than a cost centre for Lufthansa and they are turning it into a low budget airline where Ryanair is a five star carrier compared with the one star of Austrian. I know and understand that I am being harsh, but Austrian, in my opinion, doesn’t have a business class, a real business class within Europe.

[KSHaggag]

Without reading ALL the Gentlemen s blogs I would have blindly and spontaneously said SWISS !!!!!!!!!!!!!…….Simply the best crew ,best seats ,best comfort ,best atmosphere on board ,best food and service …I mean among European carriers either for short or longhaul !….NO DOUBT !…..the catch is that Swiss network is still rather limited compared to LH,BA,AF ,etc…..LH IS OK on shorthaul but for longhaul they have still A LOOOOOOOOOONG WAY TO GO ….seat comfort is challenging ,IFE is the worst I have ever had to endure in the sky ….I wonder where the cabin product managers look for the contents of the IFE ….!!!!!!!!!..SURELY on another Planet …..extremely uninspiring !…..BA is great for seat comfort and can have fantastic cabin crew but this is not always the case ….AF serves good food and seat comfort is ok but have NOT yet tried their NEW longhaul business class seat ….am still looking forward to sampling AF in F on their A380 to NYC or Montreal ….If you want to talk Premium ECONOMY then funnily the Turkish airlines product on their B777-300ERs IS THE BEST IN THE SKY ….!…massive seat pitch !!!…really comfortable …Generally ,Swiss is a civilized airline with consistent service all the way through !!!!!!!!!!!!!..the secret behind it is simply that they are just swiss …………

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