One of my college friends is getting married in Karachi this summer, so I think I need to start looking around for tickets now…
I haven’t been to Karachi in a long time…the last time I went, I took Swiss, which no longer flies to Pakistan. I’ve heard mixed things about the Middle Eastern carriers, so I’m kinda wary of using with them…and I refuse to fly PIA.
That pretty much leaves Lufthansa…I’ve never flown with them before, and so I was wondering if anyone had, and what their experience was like? Or would it be best to do what I usually do when I’m going to Lahore (British Airways to Islamabad, with a connecting flight)?
One of my college friends is getting married in Karachi this summer, so I think I need to start looking around for tickets now...
I haven't been to Karachi in a long time...the last time I went, I took Swiss, which no longer flies to Pakistan. I've heard mixed things about the Middle Eastern carriers, so I'm kinda wary of using with them...and I refuse to fly PIA.
That pretty much leaves Lufthansa...I've never flown with them before, and so I was wondering if anyone had, and what their experience was like? Or would it be best to do what I usually do when I'm going to Lahore (British Airways to Islamabad, with a connecting flight)?
I've flown with all of the airlines you mentioned, ie Lufthansa, British Airways, PIA and Emirates/Etihad.
If I had a choice between all of these, I'd go for Emirates any time.
If you have no porblem with a longer flight, then Umer is right, go with Emirates but be warned of their horrible 777 economy seats. My personal choice would be PIA just because I'm more willing to accept mediocre service than a trip that's 3 hours longer.
As for the others: Etihad is inconsistent. BA just as mediocre as PIA. Lufthansa is fine, but dont know how well their PKR routes are going - have heard them shuffle around scheds alot lately.
If you have no porblem with a longer flight, then Umer is right, go with Emirates but be warned of their horrible 777 economy seats. My personal choice would be PIA just because I'm more willing to accept mediocre service than a trip that's 3 hours longer.
As for the others: Etihad is inconsistent. BA just as mediocre as PIA. Lufthansa is fine, but dont know how well their PKR routes are going - have heard them shuffle around scheds alot lately.
P.S. Where are you flying from?
I plan on flying business, so I'm guessing seat comfort is pretty similar across the board (except possibly with PIA).
I'm flying out of Boston, and the prospect of having to switch planes in JFK for the Middle Eastern carriers isn't particularly appealing...but I think I'll still look into it. Is Emirates pretty much the only one that's worth it? What about Qatar Airways?
Do you think Lufthansa is planning on canceling the Pakistan flights? How bad are the schedule problems?
Lufthansa is a great airline with great service. The seats are a bit tight but the service is worth it. I have flown Lufthansa from USA to the Middle East and loved it.
Even if you go with Emirates, you’ll need to fly to JFK, then JFK-DXB, then DXB-KHI. It’ll be a pain in the ass. Same # of stops for Lufthansa (maybe even 1 extra) but it’ll be an even longer flight NA->EU->(sometimes ME)->PK.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look into PIA…are they reliable/on time though? I’m on a tight schedule, and that’s really the main thing I’m concerned about with them.
I looked on their website…apparently all of the nonstops from JFK are going to go via Lahore…which is a little inconvenient, but its not a huge problem…I hope they actually made sure its OK with the US government this time before posting the schedules online.
Lufthansa has far fewer stops…that was the main reason I was interested in them.
Boston - Frankfurt - Karachi
Karachi - Lahore - Frankfurt - Boston
I looked on their website...apparently all of the nonstops from JFK are going to go via Lahore...
Lufthansa has far fewer stops...that was the main reason I was interested in them.
Last time I checked for an aunt PIA was direct JFK-KHI also. I'll check and get back.
Double check the total flight time from Boston to Karachi for Lufthansa. I'm sure it'll be a very long journey. Same goes for any other airline - check their total time.
I've heard some pretty good things about PIA for point-point journey. US-PAK is the fastest trip if you go PIA because it doesn't change planes or stop at a hub like other airlines.
As for Lufthansa: If you do end up traveling it, please post back here, others might benefit from the info.
Double check the total flight time from Boston to Karachi for Lufthansa. I'm sure it'll be a very long journey. Same goes for any other airline - check their total time.
It is pretty long, especially on the return trip...the connections really aren't as convenient as they usually are for India...not to mention the fact that BA gets me to Islamabad in just 16 hours.
I flew to Karachi from Boston 2 years ago and I took Delta from Boston to JFK and then JFK to Istanbul Turkish Airline 4 hour layover and then Istanbul to Karachi again Turkish Airline. It was a good experience but beware of the Turkish babies on board they love to scream and cry. Oh and they have Halal food.
Try Boston-JFK or EWR-Bombay-Karachi
you can do the international with Continental which has one of the best biz and first class experiences. Between 1st class Luftansa and Continental, at least my experience is the latter is better because a) they give you a wider choice - in fact you can pretty much tell them what to make for you if you call in advance and 2) the wine list is very good. I remember a NYC Japan trip where they gave me some of the best vintages I've had!
^
I actually considered flying through India just because the airline selection is so much better. But it's a bit of a hassle...I would have to get 2 Indian transit visas, in addition to the Pakistani tourist visa that I need anyways...not to mention the 10 hour layovers in Bombay each way...
I think I've decided to take Thai from JFK. The layover in Bangkok is just 3 hours outbound...and I take a stopover on the return and visit one of my friends in Bangkok (thankfully I don't need a visa to visit Thailand). It's a longer trip, but I like the service on Thai...