Flight Detective’s Top 10 Posts of 2017

As 2017 comes to an end, I thought it would be a good idea to look back on my Top 10 posts over the year. There are over 300 posts to choose from and I am pretty pleased with those that came out on top.

Virtually all of my most popular posts are flight reviews, which makes sense as it’s my raison d’être. All the posts in the Top 10 list received in excess of 10,000 views (and some far, far more) which is very satisfying to me. Without further ado, here’s the list.

10. How Spectacular is Qatar Airways 787 Business Class?

In August, I headed to Australia the long way and took advantage of a decent flight deal to fly Business Class on Qatar Airways. The flight from Stockholm to Doha was on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

With a nice crew, good food and a comfortable seat I was very happy with the whole experience. Qatar continue to have good deals out of Stockholm so it is something to keep an eye on.

9. Revealed: Secret British Airways Registration Meanings

The people at British Airways have an interesting way of selecting the registrations for their aircraft. I had long heard about the meanings behind the letters.

Happily some noodling around online filled in most of the information so I presented it in the above article. Looks like it’s not just me who was curious about that.

8. Review: Business Class Doha to Auckland on Qatar Airways

In April I took the longest flight in the world, which is the Qatar Airways flight between Doha and Auckland. It turns out I really like flying for a long time in Business Class.

The fact I was able to book the flights for a steal – just €1,375 for Pisa-Doha-Auckland-Doha-Frankfurt – added to the joy. An excellent flight and I love the Boeing 777-200LR Business Class seats. So spacious!

7. What Is The Worst Thing About The Boeing 787 Dreamliner?

After flying on several flights on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, I found something I didn’t really like. It’s not something I had seen mentioned before, so being the shy sort I took it upon myself to do so.

Do you have any idea what it is that warranted a whole post? A hint is the fact that I like to see out. You’ll need to have a look at the post to find out.

6. What’s Upstairs Like On A British Airways A380 In Club?

Not a lot of aircraft have an upstairs and before I had flown upstairs, I had always wondered what it was like. Both the Boeing 747-400 and the Airbus A380 have a feature on the upper deck that you don’t get flying downstairs.

Though British Airways has a fairly dense Club World configuration, it is still very spacious. To me, having lots of space is one of the most important things when flying.

5. How Incredible is the New Qatar Airways A350 Business Class?

April saw my very first flight on the Airbus A350. Originally I was supposed to be on an Airbus A330 from Doha to Berlin but due to schedule changes I managed to get the flight switched to Frankfurt.

Much to my astonishment, I absolutely loved it. The aircraft feels right and the Business Class seat is a complete winner. I really like flying with Qatar Airways.

4. Review: Cathay Pacific Premium Economy

Premium Economy is the perfect cabin for people who don’t have money to burn but want to have a modicum of comfort. Cathay Pacific do it really well, especially if you sit in the bulkhead row.

I’m a fan of the food, the seat, the colour scheme and especially the crew. Not once have I had a bad experience flying on CX and I wish I could fly them more. The flight is from 2016 but the post continued to be popular all year.

3. Is American Airlines Domestic First Class Worth Paying For?

Another post from 2016 that really came into its own is this one on American’s domestic First Class. I took a number of flights with them and combined them all into one post.

As I’m a oneworld alliance frequent flyer, I always fly American when in the United States. Hopefully they will harmonise the product at some stage as it is is a bit schizophrenic at the moment with the various cabin styles.

2. How Insane Is Your First Time In Emirates Business Class

One of my friends flew Emirates in late 2016, upgraded to Business Class and wrote me a long e-mail about it as he knows I’m interested in that sort of thing.

His e-mail was so great that I asked him for his pictures and adapted it into this post. It went viral immediately when it was posted in January and turns out to be the second biggest article of the year. Thanks Judge Gee!

1. Review: British Airways World Traveller Plus

I remember specifically that I really didn’t enjoy writing this post back in the middle of 2016. It was one of the posts I wrote before Travel Update launched and I recall it was a slog.

Interestingly, it turns out everyone else really liked it and it is the number one post of 2017. I daresay it has helped a number of people decide on whether to buy World Traveller Plus on British Airways or not.

Overall Thoughts On The 2017 Posts

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed looking at this list of my top 10 posts for 2017 – I try my best to make them an enjoyable read. Some take quite some time to put together, especially the ones with lots of pictures.

Cross fingers I can keep things fun and engaging for you in 2018. Thank you – as always – for taking the time to read my musings and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Mark Kent via Wikimedia Commons.
British Airways 747 image by Aero Icarus from Zurich, Switzerland via Wikimedia Commons.
ANA Boeing 787 image by BriYYZ from Toronto, Canada via Wikimedia Commons.
Qatar Airways A350 image via Qatar Airways.