Which is the best airline for economy flights?

FLYING internationally can at time be trying — grumpy stewards, bland food and tiny seats. But it doesn't have to be that way. We compare three economy offerings to find the best.

United Airlines

FLYING internationally can sometimes be an experience you'd rather forget — grumpy stewards, bland food and tiny seats.

But it doesn't have to be that way, you just need to know who to travel with.

We've done the hard yards for you and reviewed the economy class of three airlines on international flights.

Airline: United Airlines

Route: Sydney to San Francisco

Plane: Boeing 747-400

Departure scheduled for: 4:20pm

Takeoff: 4:35pm

Class: Premium Economy

Seat dimensions: 21C (aisle) had noticeably good leg room and a decent seat recline. The seat pitch (distance from one row to the next) was 86.36cm, the width 43.18cm and the recline 12.7cm.

Service: Polite, professional and there were regular offerings of meals, additional snacks and drinks.

Meals: Basic cheese pasta with tomato sauce, a bread roll and a simple lettuce salad for lunch. For breakfast, fresh fruit, yoghurt and a croissant. Complimentary tea, coffee, water, juice and soft drink. Alcohol to be purchased.

Entertainment: Instead of TV screens in the backs of seat headrests, there were three screens mounted on the wall at the front of the Premium Economy cabin. The centre screen was large and two outer screens were medium-sized.

This entertainment arrangement worked better than I had expected. There was a good selection of new-release movies (e.g. About Time starring Rachel McAdams), documentaries and TV shows, and they were played at appropriate times around meals and sleep. However, if you were seated in regular economy, you would have wanted to be at the front end of what is a larger cabin so you had a decent view.

Toilets: Small but clean

Extras: Nil

Note: I was pleasantly surprised by the experience of flying with United on a long-haul flight. Although I had been worried about not having my own TV screen, it wasn't an issue and given the cheaper flight costs compared to other airlines, it's inconsequential on a Sydney-US leg.

* The writer travelled as a guest of United Airlines.

United Airlines

Airline: Fiji Airways

Route: Nadi to Sydney

Plane: A330

Departure scheduled for: 9am

Takeoff: 9.13am

Class: Economy

Seat dimensions: 27F middle row. The economy seat pitch on-board the A330 is between 78.74cm-81.28cm, with a width of 53.34cm and recline of 19.05cm.

Service: The staff were friendly, smiling and professional.

Meals: Breakfast was an English muffin with scrambled eggs, diced smoked chicken and tomato relish. Complimentary non-alcoholic drinks are available with alcoholic beverages to be purchased separately.

Entertainment: There were 21 TV shows available to watch but only three were complimentary. There were 11 movie choices but only one was complimentary. It cost $FJ10 ($5.93) to access the movies, and given the short flight you would only have time to watch one.

Toilets: Standard and clean.

Extras: Nil.

* The writer travelled as a guest of Fiji Airways.

Fiji Airways.

Airline: Air New Zealand

Route: Sydney to Queenstown

Plane: A320

Departure scheduled for: 8:20am

Takeoff: 8:45am

Class: Economy

Seat dimensions: 23C (aisle) had a seat recline of 5.08cm and a pitch of 76.2cm.

Service: Very friendly, personable and relaxed.

Meals: Snacks to be pre-purchased when booking or bought on-board on the Seat & Bag ticket. Complimentary water handed out in cups, and complimentary tea and coffee. Other cold drinks and alcohol to be purchased by credit card (cash not accepted).

Entertainment: There is a very limited complimentary entertainment service that includes TV shows, music and games. It costs $NZ10 ($9.50) to access movies, an inflated cost given the short length of the flight.

Toilets: Basic and clean.

Extras: Hard-boiled lollies offered prior to landing are a nice touch.

Note: Despite checking in online before arriving at the airport, I was still required to check-in at a kiosk and line up to drop off baggage. The rectangular setup of the kiosk area (as opposed to a line of kiosks), and the fact some kiosks were not printing boarding passes correctly, caused confusion among passengers. There was also very limited assistance at check-in due to understaffing.

* The writer travelled at her own expense and reviewed the flight anonymously.

An Air New Zealand plane at Queenstown Airport. Picture: Michael Thomas