Which airline to go with?

We%26#39;re planning to go back to the Maldives next year. Because FC/Thomson have good legroom even in cattle class and 2-3-2 seating (we prefer a 2 rather than 3 seat by the window configuration) I%26#39;m thinking it%26#39;d be best to go with them. Can anyone tell me what the seating is like on other airlines - Emirates, Sri Lankan etc? I get the impression that upgrading on those airlines if cattle class is too cramped would be very expensive.

Which airline to go with?

Hi DeneBebbo -

we have tried almost every airline - Emirates, SriLankan, Condor - and Emirates is way ahead of its competitors.

They have 2 seats by the window. The only disadvantage for some, may be that you get a stop over in Dubai. I personally prefer that to be stuck in a small plane for 11- 12 hrs.

The stop over is about 2 hrs, and you get a chance to shop around in the Dubai airport, which is quite a sight.

;-b

Which airline to go with?

We have been on First Choice, Qatar and Sri Lankan. Best flight was in Qatar but we were lucky enough to be in business class. Qatar economy was nothing special and the only good about was the IFE. We prefer now not to do a stop over as it adds so much time to the journey and are doing direct Sri Lankan flights next time. We have no complaints at all with First Choice/Thomson except that you are restricted to one departure a week. If you like two seats by the window then Qatar, Sri Lankan and FCA all have this.

Hi Dene

Like Gengy we prefer the direct, non-stop flights. Our airline of choice is Sri Lankan for that reason. Nothing wrong with FC/Thomson - I just object to having to pay to sit together and for pre-meal drinks and nibbles and for the latest movies on the TV.

We have flown Sri Lankan a number of times and find them perfectly OK.

with regard to Burmu%26#39;s comment about Emirates having 2 seats by the window, it depends on the plane. Their Airbus 340s are 2-4-2 but their Boeing 777s have a 3-4-3 configuration.

OD

OD, how does the legroom with Sri Lankan compare to FC/Thomson? We too prefer direct flights - more time in the Maldives that way!

I prefer Qatar %26amp; Emirates to any charter flight or Sri Lankan, Emirates also recently cut ties with Sri Lankan - not every flight with Sri Lankan is direct some still have the return leg stop in Colombo.

Seat pitch - is similar on all three, I am 6ft 3'; and do not have any issues with legroom in economy, what I will say is Emirates %26amp; Qatar have far superior inflight with Emirates the best, the only downside to this is the large silver box (for the inflight data) under every seat (Emirates) and some seats (Qatar), taking up some leg room.

I think that Qatar %26amp; Sri Lankan have 34'; pitch %26amp; Emirates 32'; but none affect my inflight experience.

Regards

Emu

Hello

For comparisons between airlines try: www.airlinequality.com/Product/seat_intro.htm

and

http://www.seatguru.com/

We have been with FC which we thought was very good; Emirates (bad experience, both legs); and are about to go Sri Lankan (non stop both ways, from London Heathrow). Sri Lankan has 2-4-2 and you can prebook by joining FlySmiles (free).

Good links Karla!

When you off to Ihuru??

Regards

Emu

Nothing but Emirates! Economy was so good, we booked Australia the next year, and those flights were fab too!!

Flew direct with Sri lankan in Jan and prebooked window seats through flysmiles. Plane was 2-4-2. Food and service were fine and seat pitch very good.No need to upgrade for extra leg room. Films were OK as well.Would choose them again but may have to go thomson as best quote for the islands I want to visit.

Hi Dene

According to this website I found for economy seat pitches

http://www.uk-air.net/seatpitch.htm

Sri Lankan, Qatar and Emirates area all 32';, with FC Star Class (long haul) being 33';.

Not much in it and probably too little to make a noticeable difference.

OD