Dubai Airport is a great airport for shopping in. Like the whole of Dubai, shopping is taken very seriously, and there are no shortage of bargains to be had. 200 cigarettes work out at about £7. I also bought Cuban cigars cheaper in Dubai than I could buy them in Cuba! (About £30 for 25 Romeo & Juliet)
Even the simple things in the airport are cheap - a can of pepsi cost me 1 dirham - about 17p.
You can also buy some traditional gifts - cashmere scarves are a bargain, and the gold in the airport is reasonable - but not as good as the gold souks!
I looked at digital cameras as well - but found they were cheaper here in the UK (at least the ones I looked at) - and you also run the risk of being charged import duty and VAT when you land in the UK if you get pulled over at customs.
Security is very tight at the airport - make sure you have no metal on at all - they will strip you off until you go through the detector without setting it off!
If you are not flying business class expect to be waiting up to 1 hour to get through passport control (my flight landed just after midnight and 3 flights had arrived just before ours). Flying Business Class gives you a Priority Ticket to get through passport control.
Also beware of once you are through passport control and go to collect baggage. The custom is to remove your bag from the carousel to allow you to locate it easily. If you dont see your baggage immediately on the carousel, have a look at the side where it will most likely be neatly stacked.
Also beware of people offering to carry your bag - they dont carry very far (sometimes only 20 or 30 yards) and charge you for the privilege.
Despite the negatives, the airport is a great place and certainly nowhere near as bad as some of the other airports I have seen in the world!
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Advantages: An Airline that provides excellent service and (for economy) comfort levels. Without question the best airline I have flown on Disadvantages: None I can think of.
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