UK - Dubai Airlines

[Viperzs]

Morning ladies!

I'm going to be going to Dubai on October. Nothing new there for me, but what is new is I want to use someone other than Emirates. Their standards have slipped recently so I want to try someone else. Etihad prices are astronomical so they're out of the question, as are British Airways.

Virgin Atlantis Premium Economy doesn't look like it's worth my time as I will be flying Business Class.

Any suggestions, or is it just Emirates?

[tuffer]

Treat yourself, fly Gulf Air.......

[Viperzs]

tuffer said:

Treat yourself, fly Gulf Air.......

Haha, fortunately it's not a direct flight!

[tuffer]

Even better, you can get double the joy.

[bennyboydurham]

Qatar Airways very good in J class, but you're giving yourself another connection in Doha. Emirates is probably the best of the bunch flying direct.

[XB70]

I had avoided Emirates for the past few years on the basis of bad reviews and went with others on long-haul to Oz.

Earlier this month, I decided to give them a go as it worked out to be far cheaper than others and allowed me to meet up with a mate in Dubai.

Outstanding.

Yes, the 777 10 across seating is a pain as narrower but the seats themselves were great with ample legroom (I am 6'2 and in economy). The in flight entertainment was great.

Back on an A380: I will never again fly on anything else (if I can help it). Quiet, extremely comfortable, chargers and USB connections in economy (!), plenty of food and drink, toilets were constantly being cleaned etc.

I had been dreading the 14.5 hours from Sydney to Dubai leg (outbound was London/Dubai/Bangkok/Sydney) but it was fine.

I think they may have been paying attention to customer feedback and upped their game a bit.

[oilydan]

Business class on the A380 gets you to the bar/lounge area upstairs. The lounge at LHR is quite nice too.

[Viperzs]

Emirates certainly have good aircraft but the service just isn't what it used to be at all. I've flown 1st and Business with them a lot and standards have dropped. They have started loading the whole plane through business class and don't have the food available that you want. Or your secondary choice.

It's all the small things they're not getting right.

The A380 is certainly fantastic. I never thought I would have a shower on a plane!

[Viperzs]

Hi guys,

Bit of an update. BA seem to have dropped their prices so now I'm looking at flying with them from Heathrow.

I'll have to get a train down from York, most likely the night before, which I am happy with, as I want to try BA and fly on a 747.

My main question now is do BA provide a chauffeur car for passengers travelling Business Class? If they do I won't have to get a hotel close to LHR but if they don't I will want to be close in case of any problems on the underground.

Thanks

Tom

[thehawk]

How have they dropped? Most fellow travellers rate them highly over Etihad flying fro Australia to Dubai.

[Viperzs]

thehawk said:

How have they dropped? Most fellow travellers rate them highly over Etihad flying fro Australia to Dubai.

I haven't flown with anyone other than Emirates for over 10 years of flying to Dubai and they aren't what they used to be. Service in Business Class on the A380 is incredibly slow. I have had numerous fk ups with chauffeur cars being booked at the wrong time, or not being booked at all even after we have rung up and asked for them.

They have started boarding the WHOLE plane through business/first which is a disgrace. Food availability on the flights has got worse. My mum couldn't have her first OR second choice! The cabin crew aren't as good as they used to be. They keep putting untrained staff in Business and First so they don't understand, or cannot provide the service expected.

After all the issues I have fallen out of love with Emirates slightly which is why I want to try someone else if I can. It might still be the case that they are miles better than the rest, but they are certainly not what they used to be

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I went Emirates to Dubai for the Abu Dhabi GP. I found all aspects outstanding.

[thehawk]

Viperzs said:

After all the issues I have fallen out of love with Emirates slightly which is why I want to try someone else if I can. It might still be the case that they are miles better than the rest, but they are certainly not what they used to be

Well I think that is the case in general, all airlines seem to be dropping standards. That's why I've stopped flying Singapore Airlines. Several thousand pounds on a ticket in business and they 'run out' of the only meal on offer and replace it with a plastic wrapped foccacia that tasted worse than something from Starbucks.

[shirt]

BA over Emirates? Brave man. Flew DXB - LHR in BA business class recently and can't say it was as expected, even with the novelty factor for an economy pleb like me.

Quatar have a loya; following with people out here but you have to stop on Doha. Etihad, BA and Virgin are nowhere near as good as emirates IMO. that said. with etihad it is very much route dependent.

[Viperzs]

I wouldn't mind trying Qatar but I really don't fancy a stop over. I don't mind travelling down to LHR but a stop over is a different thing.

Interesting you say you expected more from BA Business. It certainly looks somewhat uninspiring.

I'm more interesting in BA now just so I can fly in a 747 which I haven't done yet!

[tezzer]

EK all the way for me, if I'm trravelling anywhere "east".

Great product, and they tend to look after me, got a 75% upgrade rate at the moment, book Biz, fly First.

[shirt]

Viperzs said:

I wouldn't mind trying Qatar but I really don't fancy a stop over. I don't mind travelling down to LHR but a stop over is a different thing.

Interesting you say you expected more from BA Business. It certainly looks somewhat uninspiring.

I'm more interesting in BA now just so I can fly in a 747 which I haven't done yet!

the stopover in doha will be 1-2 hrs max and you can just use their lounge so it'll be painless.

BA food was good but the atmosphere and staff on BA are economy no matter what class you fly in. i never took much notice of their strike action before but find me one who's worth a payrise and i'll be surprised.

[bennyboydurham]

shirt said:

the stopover in doha will be 1-2 hrs max and you can just use their lounge so it'll be painless.

Also worth bearing in mind that you get entry into the 'premium' terminal which is completely seperate from the main one and is very pleasant indeed. We flew to Muscat and even though we flew biz from LHR, our tickets for the DOH-MCT leg were marked 'First Class' so we could use the First Class lounge which has bedrooms if your stopover is longer than a few hours. They come and wake you in time for the flight - very nice!

[A1]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

I went Emirates to Dubai for the Abu Dhabi GP. I found all aspects outstanding.

Same here, been travelling for 3 years with them business class and amazing service, no problems at all.

I had to go China last week for a 24 hour business deal in shanghai so booked economy as business class was too much for a short thing and for the first time and I got upgrades 3 out of the 4 legs!

[ChasW]

Recently went business class on Qatar to Bangladesh. Quite impressed. Staff were attentive. The transit terminal in Doha is quite something. On the first leg of the return journey I had the whole business class cabin to my myself! Would use them again as I am thinking of a break in Muscat later in the year.