Flying is not everyone's favourite activity, to put it mildly — but many of us do love to travel. So how do we make our in-flight experiences as comfortable as possible? A recent survey holds (part of) the answer.
Today, Condé Nast Traveler released the results of its 30th annual Readers' Choice Awards survey, in which the magazine queried more than 300,000 travelers on everything from the best hotels to the best airports to the best cities, large and small.
The travelers voted on the best airlines, too, and the top honor went to Air New Zealand. "With some of the longest flights in the world, the Kiwi carrier pays close attention to seat comfort; legroom is ample on its wide-body planes, and they also boast lie-flat economy seats — or 'Skycouch,' which becomes a pull-out double bed. Business fliers on a budget can opt for the premium economy 'Spaceseat,' a pod-like seat with extra legroom," according to the survey. Sign us up for that Skycouch. (U.S. airlines, are you listening?)
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Qatar Airways was in second place. "Qatar has one of the industry’s youngest fleets of ultra-long-haul wide-bodies," says the survey. "[Its] jets’ composite structure allows lower cabin pressure and higher humidity, which can lessen the effects of jet lag, especially if you’re connecting through Qatar's hub in Doha to points beyond."
Third place went to Singapore Airlines, which "typically scores top marks in the traveler's trifecta of seat comfort, in-flight service, and reliability," according to Condé Nast Traveler. It also boasts a new, upgraded entertainment system and, on some planes, reclining seats that you can combine into double beds.
Other airlines on the top 20 list include Emirates, Swiss, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air, Qantas, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, and KLM. You can check out the full list, with explanations, here.