Every Airline I've Flown, Ranked Honestly (from a Mauritian)

For most people, flying is a means to an end.

For Mauritians, flying is a life skill. When you live on an island four hours from the nearest continent and twelve hours from most of the places you want to see, you learn a lot about airlines. You know which cabin crews smile. Which meals are actually edible. Which airline lets you sleep. Which one crams three rows into space that should hold two.

Over about fifteen years of flying, I've flown ten. Some I loved. Some surprised me. One I still hesitate to name kindly. Here they are, ranked honestly, from favourite to least.

1. Emirates

Extraordinary, even in premium economy.

The one everyone talks about, and rightly so. The service is a different category. The food is a different category. Even the way the crew walks down the aisle feels choreographed. Nim and I did a Christmas Eve flight to London with them, and it remains our benchmark for what long-haul can feel like. We came off that plane saying "we only want to fly Emirates from now on." Every flight since has confirmed it.

(Full story of the Christmas Eve dinner in an upcoming article.)

2. British Airways

Underrated. Everything simply works.

We fly a lot of European carriers, and BA remains one of the pleasant surprises. Clean. Efficient. Professional in a way that isn't cold. The crew has that particular British calmness that puts you at ease before the plane even moves. Nim and I have loved every flight with them. Connections through Heathrow, once you learn the terminal, are smooth. A firm favourite.

3. Air Mauritius

Patriotic pride, and it holds up.

Home carrier. I've flown MK short-haul, long-haul, day flights, night flights, holidays, work trips. The service isn't flashy, but it's warm. The meals are decent. The crew feels like people you might know. And the second the plane touches down at Plaisance, you know you're home before the door even opens. That counts for a lot.

4. South African Airways

Surprising, in the best possible way.

I had lower expectations going in and came off pleasantly surprised. The service was warm, the cabin better than I expected, the food actually good. It's an airline that doesn't get the international press it deserves. If you're going through Johannesburg often, especially now with an Africa-heavy travel life, SAA is a reliable pick.

5. Norwegian Air

Modern and quiet.

Nordic minimalism at 30 000 feet. Clean cabin. Little fuss. Efficient boarding. Nothing exciting happens on a Norwegian flight, which is exactly the point. You get where you're going, on time, without drama, and you feel a little more Scandinavian for having done it.

6. Vueling

Perfect for two hours.

Spanish low-cost with just enough personality to not feel low-cost. For a short European hop, Vueling is exactly right. Cheap, punctual, the colour scheme is loud enough that you never forget you flew them. Would I do six hours on Vueling ? Probably not. Would I do Barcelona to Rome ? Every time.

7. Air Austral

Fine. Predictable. Nothing more.

Two experiences with them, both Mauritius-Réunion-France and Mauritius-Réunion. Both correct. Both without a story. Air Austral is the kind of airline you don't complain about and don't rave about. It does the job. Sometimes that's all an airline needs to do.

8. EasyJet

Efficient orange chaos.

You know exactly what you're signing up for. Big orange logo, packed cabin, tight seats, boarding you have to fight for. But the flights leave, they land, and the price is right. EasyJet is what it is, and if you don't try to make it more than that, you leave the flight fine.

9. Ryanair

Special. But you take it anyway.

Ryanair is its own genre. The seats don't recline. The airport is often forty minutes further from the city than the "real" airport. The crew have a specific kind of speed that comes from having done this same flight seven hundred times this month. But for the price you paid, complaining feels unreasonable. You knew what you were getting.

10. Corsair

One bad flight. One good one. A comeback.

Corsair is my complicated one. My worst long-haul experience ever was with them, post-COVID, on the way to Portugal. Five hours stuck in Réunion. A meal I still don't want to describe. An airport that switched off the lights around us while we waited.

But I gave them a second chance later, and the second flight was completely different. Attentive crew. On time. Warm meal. It reminded me that post-COVID was hard on every airline, and sometimes a bad flight is just a bad moment, not a bad company.

I wouldn't call them my favourite. But I don't put them on my "never again" list either.

(Full story of both flights in an upcoming article too.)

The One I Haven't Flown Yet (But Want To)

Etihad.

I've had every chance to book them and haven't yet. But every time someone I trust flies them, they come back with the same review as Emirates. Same class of service, same food, slightly less crowded flights. Next on my list.

The Real Answer

Airlines are not as different as we sometimes pretend they are.

Most of the time, the difference between #3 and #7 isn't really the airline. It's the day. The crew. The weather. The one flight attendant who noticed you were tired and brought you an extra water. The one who didn't.

But over ten airlines and fifteen years, patterns do emerge. Emirates keeps showing up. British Airways keeps quietly delivering. Air Mauritius keeps bringing you home. And Corsair keeps reminding you that one bad flight isn't the whole story.

Fly enough, and you stop rating the plane. You start rating what happened on it.

Some flights are meals. Some are naps. Some are the story you tell for years. The airline is only the frame. What happens inside is up to you.

Bon vol.