Singapore Airlines tops survey on world flights

The A380 delivered to Singapore Airlines arrives at the Airbus delivery Centre in Toulouse Blagnac, southern France in this October 2007 file photo.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Singapore Airlines has topped an Australian survey as the best airline to fly with internationally, while British Airways trailed with the lowest satisfaction rating for flights from Australia to Britain.

In a survey about 9,000 members of Choice, a consumer advice organisation, were asked to rate their satisfaction on recent international flights on cost, in-flight service, seat comfort, leg room, timeliness, food quality and check-in process.

Singapore Airlines was voted the best airline for 11 out of the 12 most popular international destinations for Australians.

This list included to Britain, the United States, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Japan. The one destination where it was not No. 1 was to New Zealand, as its flights are operated by Air New Zealand.

V Australian, Virgin Blue's trans-Pacific carrier, was ranked second in terms of satisfaction for flights to the United States while bankrupt Japan Airlines came second for flights to Britain.

Australian airline, Qantas, was criticised for not delivering on cost or in-flight service, lagging ninth when it came to flights to Britain and fifth on flights to the United States.

For flights to Britain, British Airways came last in overall satisfaction, beaten by Japan Airlines, Emirates and Thai Airways among others due to its poor scores for cost and in-flight service. Travellers heading to New Zealand rated Emirates as the best carrier with the airline beating Air New Zealand and the Australian carriers in terms of value.

Choice advised passengers flying internationally to check out at least three airlines before booking, taking into account the in-flight service, number of stopovers and type of plane.

"Passengers who have flown to the UK on the new A380s for example, say the aircraft have wider seats with a deeper pitch, which can make the difference between getting some sleep and being awake for 24 hours," said Choice spokeswoman Elise Davidson.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Alex Richardson)