Airplane seat reviews by Michael McAdam

The bulkhead seat here is a bit tight. Fortunately the shuttle flight between Mexico's two largest airports takes less than hour, so it wasn't an inconvenience. Only drinks are served on this short shuttle route.

6A and K are reserved as seats for Aeroplan customers with elite status. The big selling point is that there is a little shelf next to your seat, adjoining the closet, giving you a sense of a bit more space.

Overall, I was not impressed by CO's first class service. At the airport, I was told that my bag was over 50lbs and that I need to take some items out of the suitcase and put them into the handbag. Excuse my ignorance, but doesn't this leave the same net weight on the aircraft in the end?? Otherwise, check in was speedy as this is one of the last flights of the evening to fly out of CCS. The CO lounge at IAH is fine, with plenty of room at that time of night, although I am constantly frustrated that in US lounges, premium passengers are expected to pay for their drinks and refreshments when in Maple Leaf lounges, these are complimentary.

In any event, the flight back to Caracas was fine. The seat did not seem to have as much pitch as the emergency exit (14C) that I sat at on the way back. Overall, I didn't find the first class product terribly good value for money. In the future, I will probably go with buying the cheapest economy ticket I can with CO and then "upgrading" to the emergency exit row.

This was my first time flying out of CCS on Continental and overall I was pleasantly surprised. Being Easter week, it was a full house onboard. I had the foresight to pay the extra $90 to reserve 14C, which had plenty of legroom as well as recline. Beware: row 12 is cheaper to reserve but has no recline. While the flight was full, the cabin crew were quite firm with other passengers who wanted to sit in the empty seats: those were premium seats that required pre-booking. I thus had the row to myself which allowed me to spread out a bit. In fact, I think I enjoyed this seat more than my business class seat on the way back to Caracas. The only drawback is that there is not AVOD system yet. Hopefully CO will retrofit their fleet with this soon.

My overnight flight on LH turned into an overnight nightmare when our original aircraft, at 340-300, went technical -- the autopilot computer was malfunctioning. The captain was very good about keep us informed about the latest developments and cabin crew provided beverages. Finally, we had to be deplaned and go through the length procedure of putting up 306 PAX at the airport hotel. We left at noon the next day on the upgraded 340-600, which has a much more spacious feel to the J class cabin. By this time we all felt like family with the flight and cabin crew and the captain greeted us in a familiar, friendly (and most un-Germanic) tone. Cabin attendants were similarly charming and relaxed, possibly because half of the business class cabin had been rebooked on other flights to make important business meetings in the Gulf region. All things considered, LH handled this trying situation in an efficient and organized manner.

There is nothing fancy about Austrian Airlines. They're essentially a national, low cost carrier. They get you on and off. Nary a smile to be seen on the face of the cabin crew. Some of the 320s have new type seats which place the magazine rack higher, thus allowing a bit more legroom, despite the bone crushing seat pitch. I had the new type outbound to Athens, but inbound was the older type and the seat was not very comfortable at all. Austrian is a cheap, reliable alternative to Ryanair and other low cost carriers for getting around Europe and allows you to earn points with Miles and More. Just don't expect much in the way of onboard service.

Aside from the fact that my much hated boss was sitting three rows ahead of me, this was a pleasant flight. I sat on the upper deck outwards and on the lower deck return. Seat 4E was very pleasant as I could see out of both sets of portholes with ease and had no one in front of me. The seat is not very comfortable for a J class product, but as this is only a 3 hour flight, it was not a hardship. Service was crisp, cheerful efficient and cohesive. Meals were tasty and served with a smile.

May I never have the opportunity to fly GF again as long as I live. No inconvenience for Western passengers is too great to demand -- while the whims of local pax who check in at last moment are indulged. My only consolation was the Irish F/A who told all pax to fasten their seatbelts in the most surly manner imaginable -- otherwise GF pax are apt to ignore F/A instructions. The frequent inter-Gulf connections are the only thing to recommend GF; certainly their soft product is dismal when one could choose EK or Qatar.

I always enjoy CX's wonderful onboard service. Even on a relatively short leg such as Taipei-Hong Kong, there is a full meal service with wine and just enough time to watch an episode of CSI! Wish there was just a touch more pitch in the short haul business product.

Not quite as bad as taking a city bus -- but close. At least the bus driver will smile to you when you get off and on. These seats are relatively limited in pitch. I was travelling on a J class ticket and seated at the rear of the plane in a seat with no extra pitch. No meal service on an international leg, contrary to Continental on the same route with the same aircraft. AA looks to have upgraded this route to MD-80s, which is an improvement.

These planes are workhorses that will soon need to be put out to pasture. Fortunately AA is retiring them progressively and replacing them with 737-800s. The flight was delayed by passengers who had misplaced their passports, but the captain was excellent about keeping us informed of the latest developments, even if it was to say that he had no news.

Product on board was pleasant. An efficient service, frequent refills, a nice meal to make 2.5 hours go by quickly. No in-flight entertainment worth speaking of. AA needs to do some catch up here.

Although these 767s are old workhorses, they are reliable and comfortable. The seats are relatively "old fashioned" recliners, but they are more than sufficient for the 2.5 hour flight to Taipei. I was so exhausted coming in from LAX to NRT that I had no trouble dozing off for an hour or so on the way to Taipei. Service on board is attentive, crisp and cohesive.

Aside from the stark slate colour that dominates the cabin, I was pleasantly surprised by the AA business product. The seat, to me, is more comfortable than the herringbone pods that are en vogue on many airlines. The IFE is reasonably well stocked and enough to keep me amused for a few hours before stretching out to sleep.

Dinner was enjoyable and the cabin attendants were cheerful and efficient. My only gripe is that for lunch I was offered either pizza or salad. PIZZA? Isn't that what other airlines sell their economy class passengers on domestic legs? Seriously, AA: that was a bit of a joke.

Other than that, it was an enjoyable flight. DFW is a good hub to connect through and never gets as horribly busy as LAX or MIA.

Due to a recent typhoon, the 330 we had been slotted to fly on was upgraded to a 777-300 to accommodate the large number of passengers wanting to get back Taiwan. The crew was very adept at reseating families together without being bothersome, the famous Thai smile on their faces. The crew showed true professionalism as many travelers had been waiting for two or more days to return home.

The business class seats on this aircraft are recliners, not lie flat, but they're more than adequate for the 3 hour jaunt to Taiwan. Dinner was very savoury and the service was attentive and cohesive, unlike my previous flight from LHR. I congratulated the purser on the fine service as we deplaned and she accepted again, a modest smile on her lips.

Upstairs in business class on a 747-400 is the place to be. It's a little oasis of calm. I prefer these "lie-flat" seats to the herringbone pods of other airline for their width. I've actually got pretty adept at sleeping at a slight angle.

Service was good, but not quite the TG standard I've come to expect. The crew seemed to lack cohesion and most walked around with frowns on the face. Had there been an incident prior to take off? If so, that should not affect the on board service.

The food was very good and the IFE kept me diverted for a few hours before stretching out for some shut-eye.

The 777-300 is now the flagship for Air Canada and performs admirably. It is comfortable and spacious. I'm still not enamored of the herringbone seating as it is rather narrow and not terribly comfortable for people of height. I cannot imagine what they would be for a person of any considerable girth.

That being said, the cabin ambiance is lovely, the lights being adjusted subtly throughout the flight. Service in Air Canada's business class always seems to be reliably good. You do tend to get well seasoned F/As on trunk international routes. This can be a double edged sword. On the one hand, they know their job inside out. I have had some quite "Mumsy" types who go out of their way to fluff your comforter and bring you an extra bottle of water. Others seem to have gone past their "sell by" date and come off as quite stale.

The food on AC has been of reliably good quality for airline food and I have never had a disappointing meal in their J class. They are generous with the spirits, but seem to know when to bypass someone who might be in danger of becoming rambunctious.

I do agree with the previous comment about the IFE on AC. It does need a wider choice and is prone to acting up, often needing to be reset, a process that can take upwards of a quarter of an hour. However, F/As are aware of the issue and seem to have no problem with resetting this. Hopefully this is something that AC will look at when they review their business class product and its next iteration.