Flying on Austrian Airlines’ Boeing 777 to Cape Town

SINGAPORE - There I go again on board the longest scheduled flight in the world from Singapore to New York! I recall very vividly how I did this torture once before in 2004, because yes, that’s what it was back then. It took me 18 hours and eleven minutes on an A340-500 from New York to Singapore. »

SYDNEY - To fly transcontinental in Australia means comparable distances to North America, the Aussies call this “tyranny of distance”. Nobody would think of crossing the 3.300 kilometres as the crow flies between Sydney on the South Pacific coast in the East and Perth on the Indian Ocean in the south-western corner of the country on the ground. »

SYDNEY - I am often asked which is my favourite airline. That’s always hard for me to answer, as I see some things at least in many airlines that I like. One airline, however, sticks out, partially because I fly on it since 1986: Singapore Airlines (SIA). »

FORTALEZA - Air France, currently battered by strikes, is far behind in the quest of the airline industry to lower costs and become more efficient to sustain tough competition. One way to achieve this is supposedly the new “Joon” brand, whose operational costs are 15-18% below the Air France main-line, according to Joon`s CEO. »

JOHANNESBURG - Fortunes for airlines in the Indian Ocean can change quickly, as currently illustrated by the example of Air Seychelles, which I have reviewed here just one year ago. At the time the carrier operated two A330s, to Düsseldorf among other routes.»

DOHA - Qatar Airways doesn’t appear modest at all when praising its new premium product as “the best Business Class in the world” or, literally, “First in Business”. Anyone who puts the benchmark this high should make sure to be able to deliver. »

CAPE TOWN - Ethiopian Airlines is Africas biggest airline since some time, ranging in front the former market leaders from the continent, SAA, Kenya Airways and Egypt Air. Ethiopian Airlines has long held the reputation of being Africa’s best airline, an assertion supported by its continuous profitability, its modern aircraft fleet and its impressive route network.»

HELSINKI - Finnair has massively renewed its long haul fleet by adding currently eleven A350s, eight more are to follow. At the same time eight older Airbus A330s remain a second backbone, especially for shorter routes like to the US East coast.»

FRANKFURT - United Polaris, Delta One Suite, Ethiad Business Studio and Qatar Airways Q-Suite - airlines double down on Business Class revenue with schmick new cabins. Lufthansa will close the comfort gap to competition with introduction of the first Boeing 777-9 widebodies in to its fleet by 2020.»

DUBAI - In 2003 Emirates was the first airline offering fully private suites in First Class. Now other carriers are upping the ante and the Dubai-based carrier has to catch up. At the Dubai Air Show this week, Emirates managed to launch a few industry firsts in First – question is: Are they really enhancing the experience?»