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Trip Report LHR-DXB-SYD-OOL-SYD-WLG-AKL-WAIHEKE-AKL-SYD-DXB-LGW



 
 
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 05:41 PM
Howard Long
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Default Trip Report LHR-DXB-SYD-OOL-SYD-WLG-AKL-WAIHEKE-AKL-SYD-DXB-LGW

Folks

o 27 Feb 22:30 EK006 LHR-DXB, Duration 6:45, 777-300, FC

The airline kindly supplied a Merc SL to take us from home to Heathrow.

Emirates use the United First Class loungs a Heathrow which was thankfully
quiet. You have to know to ask for Champagne (Moet NV White Label), though.

For the first time I've ever seen at Heathrow, there was a separate jetway
used for the coach and premium cabins. Boarding was swift with almost no
delay.

Once on board, a drink of your choice (few would say no to Dom Perignon
1995) and Arabic coffee with dates are offered prior to takeoff.

FC seats in the 777s are the old ones which slope to about 150 degrees.
Enough for a doze, but uncomfortable for some serious shut eye.

Service was very slow indeed for a night flight. I would have expected them
to make an effort to rush out dinner for those who wanted it, but it took
about 90 minutes before dinner arrived. After Champagne with feta cheese &
olives, I took the grilled scallops as a starter and they were miserably
small. The low calorie main course (stir-fried beef) was surprisingly
excellent.

I was given no wine menu. When I asked what white wine there was, I was
surprised to only be offered one Australian oaked Chardonnay. Turns out they
had a Burgundy Chassagne Montrachet too. 1994 Bordeaux red was excellent, as
was the Napa Valley Cab Sav and Taylors 1997 Port. The Dom Perignon 1995
Champagne on offer was awesome. Strange to have two oaked Chardonnays and
two full on reds. I might have expected a wider selection, but what there
was was truly superb.

FAs failed to answer the call button when used.

All in all I was a little disappointed for my first Emirates flight
primarily from the lack of comfort and service.

o 28 Feb 10:15 EK412 DXB-SYD, Duration 13:55, A340-500, FC

With a very short connection at DXB (one hour), and waiting for the long
transit security line, there was no time to relax and take in the delights
of the FC lounge. Boarding was swift, again with separate premium and coach
jetways.

Two of the four crew in FC were on their maiden flights in the aircraft.

The new FC on board the A340-500 is excellent, with completely horizontal
flat beds and your own 'suite' with electrically operated sliding doors,
massage seats and an IFE system to die for. Well, it would be if it all
worked. My sliding doors didn't close, the massage system didn't work, and
the IFE system had to be rebooted on a couple of occasions. When it was
rebooting, a passenger in the next cubicle was stuck inside and had to
struggle to open the doors.

The gadgetry held some excitement although it's still rather buggy. There
was an engineer on board to try to fix things, although he was limited in
what he could achieve.

The individual IFE screens are huge - I'd say 19". They need to be, as when
the seat is reclined your head is over 6' away. They suffer some reflections
when the ambient light is high, although this is a minor irritation as most
of the time the windows will be shut. There was a fantastic selection of
films etc. Even on the 50 hours or so I spent in these seats I was not short
of things to watch. There is also a (chargeable) option to send email and
SMS messages from your seat. There are satellite downloaded live news
headlines available on screen, although the content is very limited. The
forward and downward cameras are interesting especially when coming in to
land. The IFE system was on throughout takeoff and landing.

Food service is available on demand in FC, although it can be slow to start
off as everyone tends to order on takeoff anyway. The food selection was the
most extensive I've ever seen on board any aircraft. I started with caviar
plus the usual accompaniments. Then I had a spicy lobster and argula salad
which was nothing short of spectacular, and has to be one of the best meal
courses I have ever had in the air. The main course was oven roasted lamb
loin, which was tasty although overcooked to the usual airline standard.

Wine selections were as per the first flight. Dom Perignon 95 was on free
flow for the 14 hour flight and I lost count of the number of glasses I had
in an attempt to fall asleep. However after barely a couple of hours sleep I
woke up again to find that I was being offered some flat stuff, so they
opened up another bottle for me. The lack of sleep was more because I was in
the wrong time zone than due to lack of comfort.

Service was always responded to promptly and I was encouraged to use the
call button rather than take a wonder to the galley. There is a 'bar' area
at the galley although it is nowhere near as convivial as that found on
Virgin's upper class. It seemed to be permanently filled with odds and ends
of the various meal services rather than somewhere for passengers to stretch
their legs and take a drink. Indeed, most of the time it seemed to be
populated by off duty crew on vacation. As the FC galley is at the front of
the aircraft, I would highly recommend taking the last row of FC to avoid
the continual noise from the galley.

I took the mixed grill breakfast which was good except for a totally over
cooked steak, and that a veal sausage is not the best replacement for a pork
sausage. There was a unique fish hash which I'd certainly have again. Carrot
juice was a welcome option on the menu.

We were first off the plane at Sydney, but the airport was obnoxiously humid
while we waited for our bags. An airline supplied limo greeted us and
whisked us away.

o 1 Mar 09:35 QF832 SYD-OOL, Duration 1:00, 737, BC

Check in was smooth although I didn't like the look of the lines at the Y
class check ins.

We went into the Qantas Club which was busy but not so bad you couldn't find
a seat.

Flight was fairly uneventful, food was mediocre (a couple of filled bread
rolls and a chocolate donut).

o 5 Mar 13:30 QF847 OOL-SYD, Duration 1:00, 737, BC

Check in was immediate. OOL (Coolangatta, Gold Coast, QLD) is a small
airport.

Qantas Club was busy but again no problem in finding seats. Food offered
there looked surprisingly appetising insofar as lounge food goes.

There was a cyclone ready to hit, and getting to the plane was an event in
itself as there are no jetways at OOL.

Food on board consisted of cold beef slices with noodles and chilli sauce,
and it did need the sauce. Also a small piece of cheese and three pieces of
dried apricot.

o 6 Mar 09:30 QF047 SYD-WLG, Duration 3:10, 737, BC

This should have been two segments, EK412 to AKL and then QF4039 to WLG.
Dubai had been fogged in, so the EK412 never arrived. Emirates had called me
up the night before to tell me, and put me on an Air NZ flight in J class.
They still sent a limo to pick us up.

I checked on OAG and found a QF flight direct to WLG with availablility in J
and got them to put us on that instead - far more convenient, plus I got the
tier points on my BA account. Emirates staff at check in were ready for us
and could not have done more to help out. An unbelievably high level of
service was provided even considering the unexpected flight changes.

As my companion did not have a OneWorld Emerald card, I went to the Qantas
BC lounge and after lining up for five minutes I was told to go to the FC
lounge as my BA Gold would let us both in there. I'm sure they make the
rules up as they go along. Still, at least there was no line to get in
there. I couldn't tell the difference between the BC and the FC lounge other
than it was more sedate and there was more room.

On our way to the gate from the lounge, over the PA they stated that the
flight was 'closed', so we ran over there only to find it wasn't even half
boarded yet. I guess the Aussie idea of a closed flight isn't the same as
mine. They were still boarding passengers over fifteen minutes later.

There was a surprisingly good food and beverage service for the three hour
flight including four choices of main course for only eight passengers.

Individual video players with a choice of video were supplied, as well as
the main screen IFE presentation.

o 7 Mar 15:05 QF4038 WLG-AKL, Duration 1:00, 737-300, All Economy

Checked in with 25 minutes to go at the business check in. For some reason
Qantas do not pre-allocate seats. Despite it being a full flight and the
lateness of check in, I was offered exit row seats together for the three of
us I'm guessing because of my OneWorld Emerald status.

From there it went down hill. I was charge $2 for a Diet Coke. The snack on
offer was a small minced meat pie which was awful.

o 10 Mar 13:00 Charter Wieheke-AKL, Duration 0:10, Cessna 206, 6 seater

Rather than struggle with baggage to the ferry from Waiheke Island, I
chartered a flight for the princely sum of NZ$190. This proved to be well
worthwhile. Ten minutes after taking off from a grass strip, we landed at
AKL in our tiny plane with a Singapore Airlines 747 lining up behind us.

o 13 Mar 19:10 EK413 AKL-DXB, Duration 18:40, A345-500, First Class

AKL demanded an NZ$25 passenger charge on the way out. Customs and
immigration was required on the way out and there was a line. I incorrectly
assumed I'd be able to use the Express line, but no: this was only for
premium Air NZ and Qantas. The Emirates lounge wasn't too bad. Warm and cold
snacks were available.

Boarding the flight was smooth with no delays. A full dinner service was
provided for the three hour stretch over to Sydney where there was a
stopover for an hour.

The stopover in Sydney was a disaster. All passengers must deplane and go
through security with all their carry on belongings only to reboard almost
immediately. Temperature and humidity was again very high. The line at the
single x-ray scanner was too small and there was already a long line to
negotiate, all in humid heat.

The lounge used by Emirates in Sydney was the United lounge, which was
nothing special at all.

Re-boarding was fairly smooth. I asked for some pyjamas when still on the
ground which confused them somewhat, although I'm glad I did as I was ready
for a change after the humidity of SYD.

After yet more Dom Perignon, Arabic Coffee, dates and canapees another
dinner service was offered. I took a Smoked Salmon and Crab parcel for
starters which was superb. They'd run out of Lobster Thermidor so I settled
for an Asian Braised Beef Rib which was OK. I then had a very generous
cheese plate followed by a truly remarkable fruit plate. Champagne had been
left open and had run flat again, so they opened up a new bottle for me.

The IFE behaved itself very well, and I was never short of something to
watch. All of my seat functions worked including the massage, the doors and
the screen in between the adjacent seats. I took in about eight or nine
hours of sleep on this segment on the lie-flat beds.

About a couple of hours prior to landing I took breakfast which was
excellent, including a spectacularly fresh and tasty fruit plate, a Gruyere
omelette with spinach, red peppers and rosti potatoes, and some rather dry
toast. They have a toaster on board but it doesn't really seem to make the
freshest of toast. Tea service was once again excellent.

At DXB I took a shower and a change of clothes, and then discovered the joys
of the spacious Emirates First Class lounge, which must surely have the best
food I've ever seen in any airline lounge. There was a full selection of hot
and cold breakfast items as well as sandwiches, filled rolls, fruit, a full
cheese board... the list goes on. Champagne was Veuve Clicquot NV, not quite
up to BA's First/Concorde lounge which supplies various assortments of
vintage Champagnes such as 1988 Tattinger blanc de blancs and Pommery Louise
1989. Clearing of finished crockery was fast but without fuss. Probably the
best airline lounge I've ever been in.

o 14 Mar 07:55 EK015 DXB-LGW, Duration 7:45, A345-500, First Class

Lining up at the gate was a free for all except that half way down the
jetway the FC passengers (all 12 of them) could branch off. This was of
limited use as despite reponding to the final call, the line at the gate was
still at least fifteen minutes long. There was no separate BC jetway.

This turned out to be exactly the same aircraft that had come from Auckland:
there was a pen mark I'd noticed on my seat, and it was at the same gate I'd
arrived at two and a half hours earlier. Interestingly, the sliding door of
my travelling companion no longer closed correctly. There's something
strange going on with all those electronics.

Sadly no pyjamas were available on this flight, although it was a day
flight. BA FC always have pyjamas available whenever the flight is. A pre
take off Champagne and Arabic Coffee and dates again were available while on
the ground.

Once we took off, plenty more Champagne was being offered and I settled for
my third Dinner of the past 24 hours. I settled for the caviar with
traditional accompaniments, always something I enjoy. The Arabic Mezze was
very tasty. The Lamb Rack looked great but the meat was too over done for my
tastes. The same wine selections were available as previously: I took the
Dom Perignon 1995 Champagne, a 2001 Chassagne Montrachet Burgundy and the
1994 Domain de Chevalier Bordeaux.

Landing at Gatwick we were able to watch the IFE all the way in to landing,
watching the landing and taxiing fromt the onboard cameras. I fail to see
the grounds of the recent upset of local residents at Gatwick who complained
about their privacy being invaded. The quality of the pictures make it
impossble to make out anything more than objects like cars or buildings.

There was a line for the limo pick up at LGW but it cleared in five minutes.
For some reason they did not have my booking, but despite this it was dealt
with efficiently.

I would have no problem in recommending Emirates FC on the new Airbus
A340-500. It has seriously upped the ante in premium air travel. My
dicounted ticket price LON-AKL-LON with a stopover in SYD was GBP3,900, less
than a fully flexible BC fare LON-NYC. Restrictions we changes after
starting travel were free, GBP50 before travel, cancellation charge GBP50,
so hardly a reason to purchase a full fare.

http://www.bloodboil.com/images/a345all250kbpsMpeg1.mpg 2.3Mb
http://www.bloodboil.com/images/a345all500kbpsMpeg1.mpg 6.9Mb
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http://www.bloodboil.com/images/img_2259.jpg

Many more food pics at http://www.airlinemeals.net in the next few days.

Regards, Howard


  #2  
Old March 23rd, 2004, 08:08 PM
jrk011
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Posts: n/a
Default Trip Report LHR-DXB-SYD-OOL-SYD-WLG-AKL-WAIHEKE-AKL-SYD-DXB-LGW

"Howard Long" wrote in message ...

Thanks for the trip report. Made me a bit envious. And hungry.

That's the way to travel, if one can afford it.

jrk01
  #4  
Old March 29th, 2004, 12:35 AM
Steve
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Default Trip Report LHR-DXB-SYD-OOL-SYD-WLG-AKL-WAIHEKE-AKL-SYD-DXB-LGW


"Howard Long" wrote in message
...
Folks


Thanks for the report, Howard. I'll be doing a FC trip to Australia soon,
from North America and traveling eastbound as well. Thanks for your EK
report. I'll be flying on MH and I'll be sure to post a trip report when I
return.

Will be flying EWR-(DXB)-KUL with 777-200 equipment, 12 hour layover in KUL
and the following moring fly KUL-MEL on a 747-400. Returning out of BNE on
a 777-200 to KUL. 30 hour stopover in KUL and then catching KUL-(DXB)-EWR,
also on a 777-200.

Looking forward to it -- but my next overseas trip will be just short of two
weeks from now... doing SDF-DTW-BOS-AMS-BUD and return. All segments on NW
except AMS-BUD, operated by Malev Hungarian Airlines. As the weather should
be getting warm in central / eastern Europe, it sounds like it'll make for a
nice spring-time trip!

Overseas trip after that one will be SDF-DTW-AMS-LHR --- and I hear there is
an airline enthusiasts conference / meeting (or something along the lines)
that weekend around LHR (???). You know anything about it by chance, where
it is, or exactly what it is? Weekend of May 13/14/15/16... IIRC.

Steve


 




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