On most global airline rankings, a few elite airlines reign supreme. In recent years, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines have duked it out for the top spot. That pair of long-haul carriers are on top of their game, especially in premium cabins where they can dial the experience up to the max.
In this story I compare Singapore and Qatar on the basis of seats, service, food, drink, entertainment, amenities, and the ground experience at their respective hubs. And at the end, I do my best to crown a champion. That last task was tough, because it ended up being a VERY close fight.
Whether you’re a seasoned road warrior, an aspirational fancy flyer, or you just like pictures of pretty planes, you’ll enjoy this story. So click / scroll below and read on!
Flying is usually part of a larger trip, but there are some occasions where aviation IS the main destination. Think airshows, aviation museums, aircraft factories, and the like. Included in that category are the select few hotels out there that are major AvGeek sights in their own right. We’ve written about a few of them, like LAX’s H Hotel and the Excel Hotel at Tokyo Haneda. But maybe the biggest name in the game is the TWA Hotel at New York JFK International Airport.
We wrote about the TWA Hotel in a pair of stories back in 2019 — one about the hotel itself, and one about the TWA Silver Wings reunion held there. We had a blast during that visit but didn’t actually spend a night at the hotel. Making a return for an overnighter was on our to-do list, and recently we got a chance.
Join us as we put on our HotelReporter hats and explore everything that this one-of-a-kind terminal-turned-hotel has to offer. We’ll walk you through the highlights, including Eero Saarinen’s architectural masterpiece, exhibits on TWA’s golden age, a rooftop pool with a runway view, and a bar onboard a real Lockheed Constellation.
Read on, and then decide if this place earns a spot on your personal to-do list.
SAS returned to Seattle on May 21, 2025, to begin 5x weekly service between Copenhagen and Seattle after a six-year hiatus
With much fanfare, a turret salute from SEA airport firefighters, and plenty of pastries, SAS Scandinavian Airlines resumed it’s Copenhagen to Seattle service after a sixteen-year hiatus using Airbus A350s on the route.
SAS has a long history in Seattle, having inaugurated service to Europe back in 1966, becoming the first carrier to directly serve the Pacific Northwest from the Continent. The Port of Seattle had a publication named the “reporter,” which ran a three-page cover article about the new service in the October 1, 1966 issue.
Pages from the Port of Seattle Reporter, with an article of the 1966 SAS inaugural flight between CPH and SEA
That service ran from 1966 to 2009, when it stopped due to a downturn in passenger traffic due to the global recession.
Therefore, the May 21, 2025 return was something of a triumph for the airline. The event felt buoyant, like a genuine celebration.
Let’s be honest: window seat views are the best part of flying. We try to include plenty of photos in our stories. But did you know we have a YouTube channel with videos of some great inflight moments?
We’ve got takeoff views! We’ve got landing views! We even let some new airport terminals get a moment in the limelight. All in all we’ve got plenty to keep an AvGeek like you entertained.
In this story we’re compiling some of the more recent highlights from our channel. Those include an upper-deck A380 takeoff in Australia, views from both ends of the world’s longest flight, and a full-length feature on the world’s best planespotting hotel.
Two years ago, I got to experience the world’s longest flight, Singapore Airlines’ route between Singapore and New York. It was a big item to cross off my AvGeek to-do list and the experience itself was a blast. Since then I’ve been wondering how I could ever top that flight. In the end, there was only one way: flying the route in the opposite direction (which has a longer average time aloft) and in more style. After biding my time for a while and snagging a lucky booking, I got the chance.
When I flew from Singapore to NYC in 2023, a stiff tailwind helped us make great time: under 17 hours aloft. Flying the return route to Singapore would be a full two hours longer. Even for an AvGeek, the idea of over 19 hours onboard a single flight was intimidating. I was honestly worried that partway through this marathon of a flight, the magic would wear off and I’d get bored.
Well, I was completely wrong about that. It was a LONG flight to be sure. But between the comfy seat, beautiful views, wide array of entertainment options, and signature Singapore service, it was a blast from start to finish. I also got to learn about the unique features that make these ultra-long-haul services tolerable (and even fun!) for passengers onboard.
Read on for the full scoop on this one-of-a-kind route. We hope the walkthrough will help you decide whether a flight this long is worth your time.
