Flying internationally can sometimes be an experience you'd rather forget - grumpy stewards, bland food and tiny seats.
But it doesn't have to be that way, you just need to know who to travel with.
We've done the hard yards for you and reviewed the economy class of three airlines on international flights.
AIRLINE: United Airlines
ROUTE: Sydney to San Francisco
PLANE: Boeing 747-400
DEPARTURE SCHEDULED FOR: 4:20pm
TAKE-OFF: 4:35pm
CLASS: Premium Economy
SEAT DIMENSIONS: 21C (aisle) had noticeably good leg room and a decent seat recline. The seat pitch (distance from one row to the next) was 86.36cm, the width 43.18cm and the recline 12.7cm.
SERVICE: Polite, professional and there were regular offerings of meals, additional snacks and drinks.
MEALS: Basic cheese pasta with tomato sauce, a bread roll and a simple lettuce salad for lunch. For breakfast, fresh fruit, yoghurt and a croissant. Complimentary tea, coffee, water, juice and soft drink. Alcohol to be purchased.
ENTERTAINMENT: Instead of TV screens in the backs of seat headrests, there were three screens mounted on the wall at the front of the Premium Economy cabin. The centre screen was large and two outer screens were medium-sized.
This entertainment arrangement worked better than I had expected. There was a good selection of new-release movies (e.g. About Time starring Rachel McAdams), documentaries and TV shows, and they were played at appropriate times around meals and sleep. However, if you were seated in regular economy, you would have wanted to be at the front end of what is a larger cabin so you had a decent view.
TOILETS: Small but clean
EXTRAS: Nil
NOTE: I was pleasantly surprised by the experience of flying with United on a long-haul flight. Although I had been worried about not having my own TV screen, it wasn't an issue and given the cheaper flight costs compared to other airlines, it's inconsequential on a Sydney-US leg (united.com).
* The writer travelled as a guest of United Airlines.
AIRLINE: Air New Zealand
ROUTE: Sydney to Queenstown
PLANE: A320
DEPARTURE SCHEDULED FOR: 8:20am
TAKE-OFF: 8:45am
CLASS: Economy
SEAT DIMENSIONS: 23C (aisle) had a seat recline of 5.08cm and a pitch of 76.2cm.
SERVICE: Very friendly, personable and relaxed.
MEALS: Snacks to be pre-purchased when booking or bought onboard on the Seat & Bag ticket. Complimentary water handed out in cups, and complimentary tea and coffee. Other cold drinks and alcohol to be purchased by credit card (cash not accepted).
ENTERTAINMENT: There is a very limited complimentary entertainment service that includes TV shows, music and games. It costs $NZ10 ($A9.50) to access movies, an inflated cost given the short length of the flight.
TOILETS: Basic and clean.
EXTRAS: Hard-boiled lollies offered prior to landing are a nice touch.
NOTE: Despite checking in online before arriving at the airport, I was still required to check-in at a kiosk and line up to drop off baggage. The rectangular set-up of the kiosk area (as opposed to a line of kiosks), and the fact some kiosks were not printing boarding passes correctly, caused confusion among passengers. There was also very limited assistance at check-in due to understaffing (airnewzealand.com.au).
* The writer travelled at her own expense and reviewed the flight anonymously.
AIRLINE: Fiji Airways
ROUTE: Nadi to Sydney
PLANE: A330
DEPARTURE SCHEDULED FOR: 9am
TAKE-OFF: 9.13am
CLASS: Economy
SEAT DIMENSIONS: 27F middle row. The economy seat pitch onboard the A330 is between 78.74cm-81.28cm, with a width of 53.34cm and recline of 19.05cm.
SERVICE: The staff were friendly, smiling and professional.
MEALS: Breakfast was an English muffin with scrambled eggs, diced smoked chicken and tomato relish. Complimentary non-alcoholic drinks are available with alcoholic beverages to be purchased separately.
ENTERTAINMENT: There were 21 TV shows available to watch but only three were complimentary. There were 11 movie choices but only one was complimentary. It cost $FJ10 ($A5.93) to access the movies, and given the short flight you would only have time to watch one.
TOILETS: Standard and clean.
EXTRAS: Nil (fijiairways.com)
* The writer travelled as a guest of Fiji Airways.
