Since 2003 I have been flying to Asia just about once a year. I have made 1 trip to the Philippines and 6 trips to Thailand. I had flown on Cathay Pacific, Northwest Airlines and Korean Air. For me the Best International Airlines would be the one most comfortable with the best food and entertainment.
The flights out of the US are the longest part of the trips. They can be anywhere from over 13 hours to 15 hours. I have stopped in Hong Kong, Narita Japan and Seoul Korea. From there it has been a 5 to 6 hour flight to my final destination.
My only flight with Cathay Pacific was my 1st trip to Asia, and that was to the Philippines. I start my trip from Midwest USA and my 1st leg of the journey was to Los Angeles. From There I went to Hong Kong the base for this airline. From there I went to Cebu Philippines.
This was back in late 2003 and the planes have been all upgraded to my understanding now. Even back then the plane was very clean and the food was good. The flight attendants were very friendly and courteous. You had the one movie that everyone watched then. Now, everyone gets their own screen with plenty of options to keep you entertained. I do believe also that Cathay Pacific uses shelled seats so you never get your space invaded by the seat in front of you.
Flying with Northwest airlines based out of Virginia USA, I usually fly out of Detroit Michigan to Narita Japan. This leg of the trip is around 15 hours long. Their fleet of 747s is old, and they are dingy looking. Entertainment is everyone watches the same movies from shared screens. Flights with them out of Japan to Bangkok are usually on Airbus 330, and you have your own screen with a good selection of entertainment on them. The airbus is nicer looking being newer.
The flight attendants are not really that friendly, but will do a good job at getting you whatever you might need. The food is not really bad, airline food is airline food, what else can I say. They give out good snacks that are all right.
Flying with Korea’s airlines, you go to Chicago and then Soul Korea, then on to Bangkok from there. The planes for the flights are very clean and the flight attendants are very friendly. Entertainment out of the US to Soul, everyone had his or her own screens. Not so on the 6-hour flight to Bangkok from Soul. Everyone uses sheared screens with the in-flight movie shown.
Above picture is inside of the Korea Air 747 from the US to Soul.
The food is ok but I think it could have been better. On the 2 long flights, the plane inside temperature was too warm for me. It made for a very uncomfortable ride. The 2 flights going and coming from Bangkok, the temperature was cooler.
When booking my flights, I have used travel agents; on line sites and dealing direct with the airlines’ web sites. With the 2 web sites, Expedia and Priceline that I used, I had to call the airlines to get more information and straighten out problems. I had no trouble when I went through a travel agent, and always got good service when dealing direct with Northwest Airline and Korea airlines.
Cathay Pacific is usually one of the highest cost airlines to fly. The other 2, Korea and Northwest are generally the best priced. However, cost to fly varies due to time of the week and also the time of the year. When looking for flights, I will do a check from the airline sites and then check with a good travel agent. I use Priceline type sites just for reference now. They will give good prices but that is as far as it goes with them.
