thanks for the reply.... ur comment has made me lot more inclined towards travelling in PIA now:p
**twinklystar_hp **I would recommend PIA. I have quite a lot of experience travelling and I make this recommendation wisely.
Firstly, it's admirable you want to travel on an Islamic airline, but apart from the fact that the names of Emirates/Etihaad are Arabic, there is actually very little 'Islamic' about them - they serve alcohol as well as non-halal meals. Secondly, the major point against these two airlines is they generally make a stop-over either in Dubai or Abu Dabhi. That can mean a wait of 4-5 hours or sometimes an over-night stay. Generally, I like to avoid this, because South Asians (with or without the Canadian passport) are considered inferior by the Arabs.
i completely agree with the bolded statement:) yes it is true, even though naam se toh they r islamic, but there really is nothing islamic about them other than halal food...but still compared to other to other western one, i still do feel a bit at peace when they recite travel dua in the beginning..... abt the stops, etihad makes 3 hours stop on abu dhabi which in my opinion is the MOST BORING airport in the world..so yeah not too keen abt that..:D
With regards the atmosphere, yes it's Pakistan. There may be crying children, but which airline doesn't have that? If you want to avoid that, get an Economy Plus or Business ticket, because Economy on any airline isn't going to be perfect. The cabin crew are as cabin crews should be - to be honest, I feel vastly more comfortable with PIA cabin crew than with Etihaad's or Emirates, because at least they're Pakistani, they're your people. The other two airlines employ staff from all nationalities, which is perfectly fine but they're not on your plane (no pun intended!).
@bold: one of the main reasons i really wanna give PIA a shot:) as for kids, im all cool with kids as long as they don't come and disturb me:P:P LOL! and yeah i agree every airline has kids...so wtever... its just when ppl mention kids on PIA they make it sound as if there is a ZOO of crying kids on the plane:P but that i think is a bit too much of exaggeration..
The food is great, both in terms of quality and portion size. It's obviously geared towards the Pakistani palette so none of the stuff you'll get on Etihaad/Emirates. Of course, you can request a diet/diabetic/vegetarian/fish meal also.
As for those people complaining about entertainment... PIA was actually the first airline in the world to introduce in-flight movies on international routes. With regards to the present, they have significantly upgraded their inflight systems, meaning you get a large variety of Pakistani dramas, movies, English movies, sports, religious events, songs, Quran recitation etc. Yes, Emirates/Etihaad probably have more, but PIA's is sufficient.
One thing: I don't think PIA broadcasts any Indians movies (something I agree with) so if that's one of your criteria, just be warned...
@bold: im PURE non-veg:P:P LOL!
as for entertainment..my friend mentioned how they show pakistani dramas..and i love pakistani dramas..so that was one thing that made me reconsider my decision of flying etihad... as for indian movies - had u mentioned this fact a few months ago, i might have ended up sticking with etihad..but now i don't find the movies even a tiny bit interestign (unless its a shahid movie:P ) ...and other than this, the fact that im thousands of feet above the land is a thought that is scaring me quite a bit nowadays after hearing abt some crashes...so i wud rather be listening to Quran recitation to calm my heart :)
all in all, even though i know etihad is a great airline, i do think i might give PIA a shot since the truth is that i have ALWAYS wanted to travel to pak in it...
thanks for the awesome reply:)