New Flight Route

[poshglasgow]

Out of interest I live near London and have tried everything, except Emirates via Dubai. So this last trip i flew Emirates returning to UK today. Im not sure I will use them again. Let me explain why.

On the way out the layover was 1.5 hours. I thought this a little short but it was in their timetable. Anyway they met the aircraft with a bus and transferred us directly to the BKK flight, but it was tight.

The return flight today was a 3 hour lay over so I thought no problem. Well it was really except...
a) they seem to use remote parking for all arrivals at Dubai and from landing to arriving in the terminal was an amazing 55 minutes! An A380 carries 500 odd people and this aircraft was full. Therefore, it needed no less than 10 buses to get everyone to the terminal, and the drive took 15 minutes.

b) The next flight departed from a different terminal and this required a lot of walking and then a 10 minute train journey.

c) we went through different security checks 3 times for some reason. Middle East?

It seems to me that Emirates with its 100 A380s and 150 odd other aircraft has already outgrown the Airport in Dubai.

It all worked out but the hassle has made me think twice about them.

Next time I'm thinking of Qatar, who I have used before, but using their new route from London to Doha to U Tapao, which starts soon.

Id be interested to hear how you get on justaguy!

I've never been consistent in my choice of airlines when flying to Thailand from London. One year I may choose to stay on the aircraft from London to Bangkok (Thai, Eva etc) and then the next year I may choose to break the journey (Emirates), which is useful if you have a screaming baby all the way from London to Dubai. I do find Dubai airport a real chore. One year I changed in Mumbai when flying JET - NEVER again!! Ghastly.

I am at an age now, in my prime, where I want to get on the plane and stay on the plane until I reach BKK. I usually get stuck into the pre-meal beers, have a couple of red wines with the meal, a brandy with the coffee, another beer or two to help me totally relax and dream of the pleasures that await. I begin to re-draft a novel to pass the time and, having failed to edit beyond five pages, I fall asleep for about four hours.

The only reason that I sought to jump ship in Dubai (you know, that gay-friendly country where the car park at the airport is awash with abandoned cars, the drivers having 'legged it' before they get nicked for sliding into debt) is to escape the token screaming baby (each flight is duty-bound to supply at least one).

Also on the radar of horrors is the 'last to board the plane' out of breath female backpacker (I like the aisle seat) who curls into the shape of an Easter egg on the seat beside me, her legs tucked under her fanny. She then seeks to wrap herself in a rug while sporting a 'nil by mouth - do not disturb' warning around her neck, announcing the fact that she's taken something marginally more potent than ketamine to while away the remaining hours. She surfaces as breakfast is placed on the trays of those who do not sport 'bugger off' signs. She blinks, smiles, looks around her, uncurls her legs and attempt to crawl across my tray, her bloody earphones still attached to the socket and her seat belt still around her waist with the gripping force of a hungry anaconda!
"Hi, sorry, may I, sorry, eh, I just need to, eh...."
"Look, I don't care if you pole vault me, just get into the bloody aisle without upsetting my breakfast or catching my neck in your earphone wires and you may want to unbuckle your seat belt if you want to make it to the 'lavvie'. "
"Ah, yeah, thanks, sorry, I just need to......"

And now .. I understand from my techie sister that I can buy earphones (with a universal adapter) that will cut out baby bawl and surrounding noise. Brilliant!!

From now on, I am not changing planes: it's just too bloody stressful.