airline info please

[kumimonster]

i'm looking at airlines for a long haul flight
(Athens to Christchurch, New Zealand).

united arab emirates
anyone flown with them before?

i'd be taking a flight from
athens to dubai (long layover - 8+ hours)
then dubai to sydney with a stop in bangkok.
then finally over to christchurch.

otherwise, for only 100 euro more, i can do athens to dubai, then change with a direct flight to sydney and an hour or so wait before heading off to christchurch. this sounds a lot better!


i'm also looking at another option with qantas
again a long haul, but since the option is mostly between british airways and qantas, i'll most likely stick to BA if i have a choice between the 2 for the main part of the journey.
this would mean flying to london beforehand which isn't too appealing to me, unless necessary.

---

any other ideas or suggestions with other airlines heading EAST from Athens rather than NZ via the LAX route?
obviously avoiding any of those countries were it's prolly not a good idea for US citizens...

Comments

[snakesinspace.livejournal.com]

I went from Vienna to Dubai to Thailand and back again on UAE. Their baggage restrictions are quite restrictive and depending on where you are leaving from (such as Austrian Airlines running the UAE desk in Vienna) they were going to try and charge us 30 USD per each kilo we were over.

Other than that it was fine, the people were very nice and Dubai is one of the easiest airports to get through and one of the nicest places I have ever wandered around for a few days.

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

well, so far this trip is looking like a quick week in NZ
since the OZ portion isnt getting settled soon enough.

so far, it's athens to dubai (arrives at 1120 pm)
then a 10 am flight out of dubai to sydney then to christchurch.

so i've quite a few hours to spend in the dubai airport.
no time to actually visit the city though.

i'm not planning on bringing much
but i guess i should ask, and wonder, if i'll have any problems with the contents (fetish latex stuff, no actual sex toys though )

and maybe i should limit the porn on my carry on too

[snakesinspace.livejournal.com]

We were just there at the end of 2006, we went there from the Skin Two ball.

If it is clothing you should have no troubles, especially since they will probably check it through to your end destination. While still a Islamic place, the UAE is rather forward thinking and I found it to be very comfortable (this is not to say that porn would be a welcome thing).

The airport is nice, not enough seats though. They did not ask us any questions when going in or going out. The airport itself is a bit of a mall with so much shopping it is a bit amazing, but given that Dubai is a shoppers paradise I should have expected it.

You can find the entertainment schedule for your flight here:

http://www.emirates.com/usa/TravellerInformation/Inflight/InflightEntertainment/Overview.asp

Dubai is not a dry place, it is open to tourists and the like drinking. I do not drink so I cannot speak of the quality or availability on the flight.

Emirates is part of the Star Alliance network so if you join that you can tally up miles.

We were only in Dubai for a few days, went over to the Burj Al Arab which was rather nice for a visit. It is easy to get around, from the hotel to airport it was about 20 minutes. Theoretically with a ten hour layover you would be able to step out to a nearby mall or the shopping streets (maybe the one with the skiing inside). But being in the airport there is enough to not get horribly bored.

[derleiermann.livejournal.com]

If you have to choose between Emirates and Qantas, go definitely with Emirates, it's way more comfortable, even BA is more comfortable than Qantas, at least that's my experience flying to Sydney.

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

too bad i cant collect BA miles on emirates though!

plus, really, in the end, i'd save money using emirates
this way i wouldn't have to deal with going back n forth to the flat in london and dealing with luggage on the tube!

plus, qantas doesnt fly out of athens, which would mean getting into frankfurt (or london)

[derleiermann.livejournal.com]

So you really need to get Emirates then ;)

My Australian ex-gf only flights on them to come to Europe, and when I went to Sydney I used both BA and Qantas (one for each flight) and BA was way better quality-wise than Qantas, the bad thing is that they did Singapore->London direct (14 hours flight).

So yes, get Emirates and tell me how it is, everyone have been saying wonders about them.

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

yeah. plus, flying to london from athens is 4 hours out of the way
i'm already looking at about 20 hours + of travel (not including layover time).

i think emirates will have to be it
since really, after such a trip, settling down for a rest is going to be nice instead of having to worry about the next portion of travel (in my case, getting back to athens)

[derleiermann.livejournal.com]

Are you staying the night in Dubai? Normally Emirates do that, and they take you to the hotel in a limo and back, the hotel normally is quite good as well.
Yeah, it's a better way of traveling indeed.

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

do they do that if i fly normal people fares?!

it looks like an 1130 pm arrival in dubai
with a 10am departure to sydney ...

[derleiermann.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, yes! If you're forced by their schedule to stay in Dubai for the night they pay you a hotel room.

You should ask though, just in case.

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

well the limo and hotel looks certain for first and business class
for the flight i am going to get
its about 1300eu for normal people
2400 for biz
4500 for first

hmm
i think i wont need that limo

hah

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

oh and look
on the emirates site
they just happen to own a bunch o hotels too!

[derleiermann.livejournal.com]

I think you're getting your hotel indeed ;)

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

i dont know that person
:p

[gumboot.livejournal.com]

Hi Kumi,
Have you ever used: mobissimo.com
It aggregates information from most every airline to show multiple routes, airlines, etc. I found great trip route to osaka, jp from atlanta, ga earlier this month that shaved nearly 8 hours off my flight/wait time both ways. Good luck with that.
Coming to Atlanta any time soon?

Genevieve
(G) Bartel

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

usually, i look at a variety of sites like that
but in the end, i always go directly to the airlines to handle the actual bookings.

i usually feel more secure in dealing with the actual airlines.

heh.

no atlanta for me anytime soon!
:(

i had a blast during my last visit though!

[sleek-imager.livejournal.com]

Emirates is definately a quality airline (the name is just "Emirates", the "United Arab" bit forms the name of the country). And the great circle route ATH-CHC pretty much overflies DXB anyway! (The stop in Sydney would take you a whopping 75 miles or so out of your way -- on a 10,000 mile flight; mind you, Melbourne is even better, at only 4 miles off the circle).

The snag with Emirates is that you'd basically have to forgo some 21,000 miles.

One point to consider may be a "round the world" thingy: ATH-CHC-SFO-ATH; these usually aren't priced "easily" on-line, althoung "oneworld.com" does have something on those fares. Maybe it wouldn't work well this time around, but it's worth remembering the next time you have commitments in NZ, South Africa, New York and Peru... (heh -- like you're going to get off your greek island anytime soon!)

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

losing the miles really bites my ass
i guess i'll stick 'em on my united airlines mileage program.

i looked at the oneworld site, and well, i'm not up for a round the world trip this time!

i did check out new zealand air and they also have something like that
with extra day lay over offers (one or 2 days) in singapore or hong kong, etc, but that doesnt interest me at this point.

yea. i want back to greece
tho at this time, i've already started packing.
leaving the island tomorrow for athens, then a flight to tropical london.
:\

so far, it's all about Emirates looks like.
flying back to london to get over to NZ just doesnt make sense.
a lot of flights out of london to oceana...
too bad the sterling is so damn strong!!!
the almighty dollar my ass!

[sleek-imager.livejournal.com]

Yeah... here's a way to think about it: you can _buy_ 19,000 BA miles for $550 (AA miles are a few bucks cheaper). So is the extra flaffing around worth $550? (Or, put another way, would avoiding the hassle be worth $100, $200, $300 or more?) And suddenly the missed mileage opportunity doesn't always look so bad!

(It sucks from an elite-qualification standpoint, since you can't buy that, but I don't think your current travel patterns tend to do you much good in that area -- lots of point-to-point-to-point hops with low-cost-model airlines).

[kumimonster.livejournal.com]

right now, with my flights to athens, i've been able to avoid easyjet since BA and olympic fly there at more convenient times. plus, the slightly higher fares are worth it for the just about 4 hour flight.

also, especially during high travel periods, there's not much difference in price! i'll take the miles, thank you!



as far as flaffing about...
well, even though i'd love to take BA over there, emirates is a lot more convenient. after calculating the fares and expeneses... well
Emirates looks very appealing! maybe it wont be so bad to stick the miles on my united plan. i think i'm adding some more united miles with the trip to hawaii coming up.
maybe someday i'll be able to use them.
i just hate that i've been working hard on the BA mileage and now this comes and sticks it up my nose.