02.Best airlines to UK and Italy
Europe (UK and Italy)
UK
While most CHOICE members flew Qantas to the UK, overall it did not rate well for this destination. British Airways (BA), a Qantas’ Oneworld alliance partner that codeshares with Qantas on several flights to and from London, had the lowest overall satisfaction score, with the majority of member complaints citing poor in-flight service. “We had a five-month-old baby with us, and the BA head stewardess was rude and confrontational,” CHOICE member Sam told us. BA also scored poorly for food quality, leg room and seat comfort. Etihad Airways (the United Arab Emirates’ national airline based in Abu Dhabi), Japan Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines had higher cost satisfaction scores than Singapore Airlines, and may be worth considering for your next UK trip. Our WA and Queensland members who have the option to fly to the UK with Royal Brunei said while this carrier’s in-flight entertainment wasn’t fantastic, its in-flight service overall was good. It also offers one-way business class seats that cost on average almost half that of Singapore.
Italy
In general, members do not think Qantas is good value for money for Italy. The total travel time is also an issue, as Qantas requires transferring to a codeshare plane at Heathrow or Hong Kong, whereas Singapore Airlines flies direct to Italy after transiting in Singapore. (Flights to Italy generally transit first in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Dubai or London.) Although only 31 members flew Malaysia Airlines to Italy, 75% were as satisfied with the ticket cost as those who flew with Singapore. “The food was pretty bland but Malaysia was an efficient and economical carrier to fly with to Italy,” said CHOICE member John. Members also rated its in-flight service well. If you’re prepared to pay a little more for your next Italian trip, Emirates has good in-flight service, entertainment and food quality.