i concur that gulf air is the worst airline i have ever travelled on...i had the misfortune of flying with them twice in my life and both experiences were equally as bad...i think out of emirates, etihad and qatar, emirates probably has the most reasonable fares...all 3 are top class carriers... if you want to stopover in Dubai then emirates is the best way to go...the food is good, but most people don't really fly for the food, its basically the same on all airlines, even gulf had good food...its the service you are after..