Over the past three decades of owning his own tour agency, Dennis Bunnik has travelled to more than 100 countries and taken more than 700 flights.
And as a self-confessed aviation geek, he’s a fountain of knowledge when it comes to planes.
According to Dennis, who’s amassed 139,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel @DennisBunnikTravels, it’s worth upgrading if you’re flying long-haul.
Having ‘turned left’ on almost half of his trips, he tells The Australian that’the best business class flight is definitely Qatar Airways and its Qsuite,’ in part thanks to the quality beds and comfortable seats.
Passengers in these private rooms also benefit from plenty of space, on-demand dining (so no set mealtimes) and fast Wi-Fi, along with ‘little touches like in-flight pyjamas’ and Diptique toiletries that provide the cherry on top.
However, at over £3,300 for a one-way business class fare from London to Doha, compared to as little as £430 for the same journey in standard, it’s quite the price jump.
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Dennis’s top long-haul travel tips
- Always wear loose comfortable clothing
- Drink plenty of water
- Never go to the bathroom with bare feet
- Take a change of clothes in your cabin baggage so you can have a shower in the airport lounge during a stopover
- Make sure you pack charging cables, a laptop and a good set of headphones in your hand luggage
Thankfully, if you’re going economy, you can still shop around to choose the airlines with the best amenities.
In Dennis’s view, the best options for international economy are Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar and Qantas, as all four carriers ‘do international well’.
‘You need a comfortable seat, a good entertainment system and attentive crew, so you’ve got snacks and water available,’ he adds.
When he reviewed the Emirates Premium Economy cabins in the retrofitted four-class A380 aircraft, Dennis had a lot of positive things to say.
For starters, he called the seats ‘beautifully designed’, offering plenty of legroom and the chance to recline. Then, after being given a hot towel and a glass of fizz, he locked into the ‘excellent’ entertainment system, which he claims is ‘without doubt the best in the sky’.
‘It’s in the area of in-flight dining that Emirates premium economy really shone,’ Dennis adds, noting how his meal was served on Royal Doulton china with full size cutlery.
For a midway option between business and economy, he adds that this carrier is ‘well worth considering’, especially for long-haul flights ‘where a little bit of extra comfort goes a long way.’
A recent survey by YouGov also highlighted Emirates as a top carrier for inflight food, finding that 84% passengers rated its snacks and drinks positively while 85% were impressed with the meals.
Qatar Airways, which was named the world’s best airline in 2024, was second on the list with 83% of respondents giving the snacks a positive score and 82% saying they were pleased with its inflight meals.
Virgin Atlantic rounded off the top three with a 74% score for drinks and snacks along with 73% for with meals. And in terms of UK airlines, British Airways topped the ranking with 61% and 63% of passengers giving positive ratings for snacks and meals, respectively.
It does even better when it comes to inflight meals with positive scores from 63 per cent of passengers.
Only 21% of Ryanair passengers were happy with the snacks and drinks they had on board, while 41% considered its offering to be bad.
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