Flights, Dubai

The United Arab Emirates is such a rich country that the two largest emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have their own international airports, situated just 120 kilometers (72 miles) from each other and each has it's own airline, Etihad for Abu Dhabi (and is the national carrier) and Emirates for Dubai.

Although Etihad is the National Carrier, Emirates Airline is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,000 flights per week from its hub at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport, to more than 130 cities in 77 countries across six continents. Emirates is one of the most sucessful legacy airline carriers in the world (since it is heavily subsidized by the government) and has the third largest in terms of passenger volume and is not a member of any airline alliance such as Sky Team or One World or Star Alliance. Emirates operates an exclusively wide-bodied aircraft fleet, composed of three aircraft families: the Airbus A330/A340, Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777.

Emirates has one of the best cabin of all the airlines of the world and their ICE entertainment system is top notch.

Emirates by far is the best airline I have flow to date. Liz and I flew Emirates from London To Dubai and then onward to the Seychelles. The airline was ontime, the FA's were friendly and attentive, the food was good and the personal entertainment systems had great selections of movies and TV shows. Our flights with Emirates were very pleasurable and I can't wait to fly them again.

If you are thinking about saving money by splitting out your trip, you make take the Tigerairways flight from Singapore to either Chennai or Bangalore, then the Airarabia flight from Chennai or Bangaore to Sharjah. Sharjah is the Emirate next to Dubai, you may take the taxi from there.

Flew 4 sectors with them, all Economy. Tried the airline as plenty of folks had sung their praises. SIN-DBX (Boeing 773), DBX-CMN (Airbus 332), CMN-DBX (Airbus 332) and DBX-SIN (Boeing 773). The airline certainly optimises the space on the planes, going for a 3-4-3 configuration on the 773 and a 2-4-2 on the A332. Packed to the brim with minimal seating space and leg room. Comfort for the passengers seems to be the last thing considered.

Only had the chance to try the latest inflight entertainment system "ICE" on the last leg. Despite the bigger PTVs, the shows are not up to date compared to Emirates competitors.

Food in Economy was average, hardly meeting the great stuff compliments I have heard.

Service among FAs was uneven, despite having an impressive crew that can speak more than 7 languages on the last flight. Hardly see any FAs during the flight; most of them preferring to hide at the back chit-chatting. When asked for a blanket as my seat was missing one on 1 of the flights, the FA returned with one and a nonchalant stare plus "OK?". What happened to manners?

Certainly did not leave up to its glittering image.

Dubai is becoming one of the world’s main hubs for air traffic. The main driving force is Emirates, the airline of the emirate of Dubai. This airline has become a global player in the recent years and has always some good offer for flights to Dubai. If you are flying with Emirates via Dubai to any other destination, it is easy to plan a stopover of two or three days in Dubai.
The airline has flights from most of the large airports in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. As of 2007, flights to the Americas are only offered from New York, Toronto, Houston and Sao Paulo. The service of this airline is known to be among the best in the world. Even economy class passengers can enjoy better meals and more entertainment than on the classic carriers. Emirates has a perfect safety record with no hull loss since its founding in 1985.

I have travelled to Dubai from Cairo and Khartoum. It goes without saying that travelling by Emirates is the best way to fly because of their up to date aircraft and friendly service.Having your own private screen is better than trying to see the overhead screen.
But, I had no complaints to make when travelling by Egyptair either. My most interesting trip was by cargo plane, sitting in a small compartment behind the cockpit. No windows, no service, no seat belts, and just a huge empty space in the body of the plane where normally passengers would sit.
On arrival in Dubai there is a long passenger conveyer track or walk to the immigration area; though arriving from Khartoum we had a long bus ride [almost an hour] to get to Immigration. There the queues are quite long , unless you have a fasttrack card, but once at the desk there is no problem if you have a visa or are travelling on a passport that allows free
entry. Nowadays anyone can have 96 hours without a visa. My British passport gives me 60 days.
The luggage may have arrived on the carrousel, or come soon after you reach it.

The prices we found for Emirates airlines were excellent, several hundred dollars below other quotes. The seats were very comfortable, with a 2 - 4 - 2 layout in the economy section. In flight entertainment was outstanding. Each seat is equiped with it's own screen for viewing movies, television or games. There is also a huge variety of music to chose from. Meals were actually very good, with huge portions served.

I had only two complaints.

First is that almost the entire flight from New York City to Dubai (and back) were spent with the cabin lights off. It felt like we were flying in a cave.

Second is that the weight allowance for checked bags is on 20 kgs (44 pounds)!! That's not much! Overweight charge up to 70 pounds is $25 per overweight bag.

Emirates Airlines is the national carrier for the U.A.E. and is one airline that I frequently use when I travel around these parts. The Dubai-based airline boasts of many destinations, a modern fleet and world class service. Most of the aircrafts are quite new, especially the long haul and the ones for major destinations.

The entertainment onboard is also first class, offering the latest movies & other entertainment. However, I was on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Vienna and the TV didn't work at all on my 6-hr journey

The online booking facility is also easy & convenient to use. The frequent flyer program is called Skywards and it's quite good in terms of earning & spending miles.

Frankly, I prefer an asian airlines e.g Malaysian Airlines or Singapore Airlines because they give better service & hospitality

Emirate Airline is becoming one of the largest airlines in the world and it is linking east to west through its many hubbs. It is rapidly expandding into new area in SOuth and North America