Airline quality

[regi]

Comet: read my lips: forget about Ryanair.
Easyjet is a bit better . But in your case it would mean a trip to one of the most depressing airports in the western hempisphere: East Midlands. ( from where BMI flies to Brussels as well )
Because this is a Belgian site, we don't read the horrific experiences of Brittish travellers who fly Monarch . Or French tourists who were cramped in a fully loaded Corsair 747 .
So stick with BMI. Small hint for you : you could travel to Scunthorpe. It has daily flights to Amsterdam with the KLM Cityhopper service. ( sometimes F-70 jet, sometimes F-50 turboprop. Check http://www.airliners.net and put in Humberside and Fokker.

From Amsterdam onwards you can take the highspeed train southbound to Brussels or Paris.

[Duigan]

My list from a recent trip
Air New Zealand 7/10
Qantas 7/10
Virgin Blue 8/10
Emirates 10/10
Qantas Domestic 4/10
Qantas domestic was 3 hours late with the flight leaving as pilots need a meal break or so they told us
No vouchers or assistance offered to passengers only burnt meal once we got off the ground

[euroflyer]

@ Comet

Good to see that you retain an open mind. As far as I recall you have not actually travelled on any " cheap crap" airlines (unless you mean BMI, BA et al) so you are not really in any position to criticise them or those who use them. Why not book a flight with one of them just to see whether your prejudices are real or just imagined from what you read in the press.

Unless I travel business class I am more concerned about timeliness and safety than creature comforts and with the average flight being between 1 and 2 hours there is no need for all the creature comforts you seem to regard as necessary when flying. Accept that you are going on a bus with wings and enjoy the benefit of still having money to spend when you arrive at a destination.

@ all

It is almost pointless maring airlines out of 10 as everyone's experiences and expectations are different. I could easily mark down Lufthansa after a "DARK" flight to Atlanta where all the audio and video refused to work. Yes, I didn't get to watch a couple of movies but we departedon-time, arrived a little early and the flight was smooth and the rest of the service was fine. We did all get a miles credit but that was later. C'est la vie.

I have to say that the best experience so far has been with Qatar on a leg from Munich to Doha where the, then, new business class was installed. Best restaurant I have eaten in!!

C

Oh, come on, this is not claiming to be a professional, representative, scientific study People were asked to give their opinion and that is what they do of course based on their experience on a limited number of flights. Everybody is aware of this, so where the hell is the problem

And on the Ryanair story, well, hm, I am a member of this club as well who criticises them without ever having been on board a Ryanair flight (my "low-cost experience" is limited to a few Easyjet flights, because they offer the only non-stop service between Berlin and Geneva and some with Air Berlin if you want to count them as low cost as well). BUT I have heard enough first-hand-reports from good friends who have been on board (and those stories were quite clear in their message ) PLUS I actually checked their prices on several connections when I searched for flights (only last week for Frankfurt-Mallorca-Frankfurt flights in September 09) and they have NEVER been the cheapest option. They seem to be cheap only if you are prepared to fly to a destination THEY choose at a time THEY choose, and not if YOU want to choose destination and timing . But of course, those are only my personal views