Dubai Airport – Anyone with Experience?

http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/destinations_offers/special_offers/special_fares/special_fares.aspx

Some great offers there, unfortunatelty most only go up to mid June.

Cheers Dan, I’ll take a look.

UK residents don’t require a visa for the UAE, Dan. (Well you’re issued one at the airport, so no landing cards etc. are required)

So even though you’re flying from outside the UK it shouldn’t be a problem.

Just a quick thought, with a 7hr connection would it be possible (allowed?) to fill out the 96hr visa forms, queue up for immigration, get a new stamp in my passport and then head back through security? Sounds a bit sad but it’d kill a couple of hours which would otherwise be spent doing nothing!

Well I’m all booked! Turns out I’ve had to go for the 7 hr connection after all, as I wanted an extra day in Bangkok and the 2 hr connection wasn’t available if I stayed an extra day.

So I’m flying LGW-DXB-KUL on 777-200/777-300 10th October, going to spend a couple of days around Kuala Lumpur and then a week in Vietnam. Then after a couple of nights in Bangkok I’ll be returning BKK-DXB-LHR A380/A380 22nd October. All for £393, not bad at all!

Mr Creosote, I booked direct on Emirates.com. It took a little playing around with various dates but in the end I found loads of results around this price.

http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/destinations_offers/special_offers/special_fares/special_fares.aspx

Some great offers there, unfortunatelty most only go up to mid June.

The key is getting a cheap flight from the UK – sometimes the onward flight can be as little as £10. (Booking in one go)

That’s a great price. Where can I find that, please? Looking for a flight to BKK soon. Ta.

http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/destinations_offers/special_offers/special_fares/special_fares.aspx

Some great offers there, unfortunatelty most only go up to mid June.

£393 is a fantastic price to Bangkok. I was stung for £560 with them last year! 😮

I think they only apply though if you’re in a particular Economy booking class (and I doubt £393 rtn is going to be in one of those classes!)

That’s a great price. Where can I find that, please? Looking for a flight to BKK soon. Ta.

My word, I joined onyl to ask a question about ejector seat for work, but I actually came through DXB just last week – I even checked the planes in and out, not something I’d done on any of the 40-odd flights I’ve been on lately – bit of a nasty cramped time on an (I think)A340-500 on the way in, superb flight back to LHR on a 777 of some kind. Emirates both, as ever with them the service was professional but somewhat grudging 😉

Dubai airport, though – I had a 7 hr stopover too, pretty boring, beers (yes, you can drink, for god’s sake dont leave the bar with it) from 26 -40 Dirhams, and the space itself I thought clean and quite nicely laid out, but not as nice as, say, Kuala Lumpur.

Thanks for the input everyone. I actually have a 5 hr connection on the outbound which I think will be bearable, I’ll still be feeling fairly fresh and can kill most of that time on the internet and having a little walk around.

I think I have decided though that on the inbound I will go for the 2 hr connection, meaning only one flight on the A380 and the other being a 773ER. After sweating it out in South-East Asia for 2 weeks I think a 7 hr connection would be a bit too much, and after all one flight on the A380 is all you really need!

Dan,

T3 is a great looking building but apart from a ‘few’ shops nothing different to any other terminal for a layover. The airport does have free internet (which is common in the Middle East) but doubt that can keep you satisfied for 7h.

If I were you i’d go for the 2h option. The new cabins look fantastic too (777) – I think they’re slightly different on the 777 to the A380.

Sam

and 34″ leg room on the 773 really can’t be frowned upon either

I don’t recall the legroom being a problem, however, whereas the majority of airlines operate their 777s in a 3-3-3 or 2-5-2 configuration, Emirates uses 3-4-3; a 747-like configuration.

EK moved over to T3 in stages starting at the end of last July i think! They were fully moved in by December allowing all EK flights to operate in and out.

Wannabe Pilot: I’ll Enquire with the EK Ticket desk tomorow at work for you see what the deal is with the stopover.

That’s interesting T5, I’ve heard some amazing things about them. The food menu’s look great and 34″ leg room on the 773 really can’t be frowned upon either, that’s almost biz-class on short-haul European carriers!

Lukeylad, I’ve heard about those stopovers. I think they only apply though if you’re in a particular Economy booking class (and I doubt £393 rtn is going to be in one of those classes!)

I flew to Bangkok last year with Emirates and had a two hour stop on the outbound and inbound journeys. If as lukeylad says, terminal changes have happened, then it will no doubt be a pleasant connection. When I was there, I was extremely disappointed though. The terminal was rammed full of passengers, there were far from enough seats and it wasn’t particularly clean! Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi really puts it to shame!

I must say, I was also disappointed with Emirates as an airline, and I would probably score them 2 out of 10 for comfort on the 777s.

Every flight for EK now operates in and out Terminal 3 at DXB, Bit like T5 at Heathrow but better organised. However! During the night is when the airpor is at is Busyiest! Over a space of 6 hours the Entire EK fleet pass’s through the T3 so that can only tell you how many flights will be going in and out. Did you know you can book a hotel through EK for your Transfer? 7 hours is classed as a long Transfer, EK will get you to your hotel and your luggauge will be tagged through to its final destination, aswell as you been checked in for the connection.