Trip Report Of Emirates: Bangkok To Istanbul

[Levent]

This might be interesting for people planning to travel to Dubai or on to Europe with Emirates.

On 31 December I travelled from Bangkok via Dubai to Istanbul, with Emirates Airlines. These were my first flights on Emirates. The flights were operated by a 777-300 from Bangkok to Dubai and an Airbus A330 from Dubai to Istanbul.

When I arrived at Bangkok’s Don Muang airport on the 30th at 22.30, the Emirates check-in area was packed with what appeared to be Chinese Muslims travelling to Jeddah for the Hajj. There were a number of counters for flight EK385 at 01.20 and my flight, EK419 at 02.20. There also was a special counter for the Hajj-passengers. First I thought it might be an extra flight, but apparently they all boarded the plane leaving at 01.20.

Check in went very smooth and I got my boarding passes for Dubai and Istanbul in no time. I also got the seats I had reserved, 17A on the 777 and 9A on the A330.

After some walking around in the terminal I headed for the gate and saw that flight EK385 was boarding, which had come from Hong Kong. Not much later they called the passengers for my flight, which had started its journey homewards in Auckland.

I read many stories about the 3-4-3 layout on Emirates 777’s. I found that there was plenty of legroom, and the width of the seat was ok, I think. However, there was nobody seating next to me, so that might “improve” the experience. But, no matter what, the ICE Personal TV system was fantastic. Everything worked as it should, and I managed to fight back my sleep to have a go at the 500+ channels. Well, actually I stuck to a few episodes of Star Trek and some gaming (Blackjack, Yahtzee and Tetris… very addictive…) We got breakfast about one and a half hour before landing.

The triple seven’s cabin is very quiet. I was sitting next to the engine, and even during the powerful take-off the noise level was more than very reasonable. The stars on the ceiling, part of the mood lighting, are a nice feature in the cabin.

After landing we parked near the maintenance hangars and were taken by bus to the terminal. I had nine hours to go till my second flight, and had booked a room in the Dubai International Hotel, in the terminal, for a six-hour block. I was surprised to be awaited by an employee of the hotel at the entrance of the terminal. Then again, I guess they should provide that service given what they charge!

After getting some sleep at the hotel I surfed the net for a while in the business centre and then headed for the McDonald’s. The passengers for my flight were already being called to the gate one hour and fifteen minutes before departure. Again everything went smoothly and we departed on time. After hitting some turbulence during the climb, we had a smooth ride all the way to Istanbul. I could clearly see Qatar, Bahrain and the oil fields in Saudi Arabia. The flight route took us following the Iraqi border, over Jordan and Syria into Turkey, and via Ankara and Bursa to Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport. The flight again was excellent, with very good food. I reckon economy class was only 35% full. The difference with the 777-300ER: a slightly wider seat, less legroom and a smaller PTV with less channels to choose from. If Emirates pushes ten-abreast sitting in a 777, I wonder why they didn’t put nine-abreast seating in the A330? Not that I’m complaining: I prefer the Airbus layout, as long as I have a window seat.

It was lashing with rain and close to freezing temperature the evening of my flight back to Dubai on 10 January. We boarded on time but had a half hour delay because of the bad weather, and the wings had to be de-iced. The flight itself was excellent again. This time the plane was almost full, mainly Turks going to Dubai to spend their “Bayram” holiday there.

I had arranged a stopover package with Emirates when booking the ticket, and was awaited by a representative of the travel organisation at the airport. I got a transfer to my hotel in a Cadillac! The next day I picked up a rental car for the three days I would be there.

I checked in at 07.15 for my flight back home on the 14th. It almost went wrong there. I had placed my suitcase on the conveyor belt, and before the girl did anything the belt started to move and I saw my luggage disappear, with no tag! They printed a tag anyway and gave me the receipt. Someone ran after it to find it and put the tag on, but it wasn’t until I saw it appear in Bangkok that I knew my suitcase had been found and had made it onto the flight in time…

After passport control I had to go through a second security check, which took ages. I don’t understand why though, because before check in you have to go through it as well and only passengers are allowed through to the check in area. Unnecessary extra delay in my opinion.

Boarding was by bus gate, and the flight itself again was excellent.

All in all, despite the ten-abreast seating in the 777, Emirates has taken the number one position from Singapore Airlines in my list of preferred airlines. Although I suspect that a lot has changed at SIA as well since I flew with them in 1994.

[asanee]

Although I suspect that a lot has changed at SIA as well since I flew with them in 1994: nee knul, valt reuze mee, no dear, flew AMS/SIN/BKK 2 days ago, both legs on a new 777, with 3-3-3 layout. was even better as EK, whicH I used last year for a return ex DUS, so am able to compare recently. Also with stopover in DUB 1st way (never been, INCredibly busy due to some shopfestival, not half as cheap as I thought, slept 1 half night at airport, as it took nearly 3 (drie!) hours to get luggage of plane on arrival.... Also SQ's internal playscreen is miles, millions better as that of EK in what it offers. Though I intend to sleep mainly. Sat beside a SQ's freight-plane captain, who had some interesting stories and knew of things to come. Both planes 10%* full in eco though.

Paid just 89 EUR=taxes only for the return on SIN, had 2 times lounge access too [with my notyetarrived THAI-ROP GOLD-star ALL. card, print out of statement was enough

IF you like these (boring, I think) stories or want to pass time: www.flyertalk.com has loads of it, plus many good tips on getting the bestout of milage/freq.fly-plans etc.

[AsiaWolfie]

i always like to read travel experiences like this, though its not much common on the Thaivisa board, u can indeed rather find it at flyertalk and such websites. If choosing a middle-east-airline, then Emirates is certainly a good bet, though a little overrated in my eyes....

and as you mentioned: too much of a transit annoyance in Dubai (and pricey if u book a hotel !)..... what was the reason that u didnt choose the non stop BKK-IST flight of ur home countrie's national carrier ? I know TK is not a 1st class airline, but I was flying them 3 times in 2005 from my home town in Germany to BKK ( no need to go to FRA cause they fly from almost every airport in Germany), and especially the non-stop IST - BKK flight was a good experience on a pretty new A-340 (if only they would serve a decent hot meal instead of that horrible could platter as a supper soon after take off).

Edited January 31, 2006 by AsiaWolfie

[Levent]

what was the reason that u didnt choose the non stop BKK-IST flight of ur home countrie's national carrier ? I know TK is not a 1st class airline, but I was flying them 3 times in 2005 from my home town in Germany to BKK ( no need to go to FRA cause they fly from almost every airport in Germany), and especially the non-stop IST - BKK flight was a good experience on a pretty new A-340 (if only they would serve a decent hot meal instead of that horrible could platter as a supper soon after take off).

Actually I think Turkish Airlines is a very good airline, and is becoming better. Where ten years ago West-European carriers such as KLM and Lufthansa were among the top of the world, they have become worse and other carriers such as Turkish Airlines and Middle-East carriers are taking over their thrones. Turkish Airlines is taking delivery of new aircraft now, including Airbus A330's with a personal entertainment system in economy class as well.

The reason I didn't choose TK was that they were more expensive than Emirates (although the difference is minimised by the extra expenses during the stopover) but the main reason is that I wanted to spend a few days in Dubai, and Emirates offer that possibility without any extra ticket costs. They also offer stopover programmes for Dubai which are much cheaper than arranging everything yourself.