Air travel is becoming increasingly commonplace in the modern world. There will be few of us who have not flown before and nowadays,many more of us are involved in those long hauls to the Far-East and "Down-Under" that only 20 to 30 years ago were still very much an adventure.
Mediterranean charter flights are now something resembling a sausage machine - cram you in at this end, pack you neatly in rows and churn you out at the other as fully processed holiday makers - an experience to be dispensed with as quickly as possible, over and done with in as short a time as possible! Those flights to the other side of the world though, can involve journeys approaching 24 hrs and it is extremely important to choose a carrier that makes the whole thing not just bearable but hopefully enjoyable. If two whole days of an all too brief holiday are spent just travelling there and back, why not fly by an airline that treats it`s passengers like humans and not cattle - That is why I can safely recommend "Emirates" to you all.
Just last month, we flew Emirates from Manchester to Mumbai and back with a transfer in Dubai, their "home" airport and after our first four flights with them, I would not hesitate to use them again whenever possible. In order though to justify this commendation, you need a few facts, figures and observations on our journey.
Routes, Prices and Fleet
Emirates have a growing fleet of up-to-date Boeings and Airbuses that service their expanding operations covering N.America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Far East and Australia/N.Zealand. Currently 3 U.K airports have their departures, Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham. You can find lots of their fares heavily discounted, especially on the routes to the Indian Sub-continent and to Dubai itself. Our flights cost £463 each, including taxes. It will really pay to shop around, especially to Asian owned small travel agents as they seem to get a lot of good deals.
A lot of fellow travellers we spoke to were 2nd or 3rd time users of Emirates, flying to Pakistan, India, Thailand and Auckland (NZ). Enough said!
Check-In!
The departure time from Manchester was at a reasonable time - 7.45pm, meaning that there was plenty of time to get checked in without being rushed. They advise that it should be 3hrs prior to the flight and even then, the queues were very long for economy class but even so, the lines were whittled down quite speedily by the staff on duty. Amazingly enough, they were very pleasant and seemed pleased to complete the formalities. A real change from other airline staff in my experience! They are fairly lenient with the baggage allowance, speaking to other passengers who were quite a few kilos over. Hand luggage is 7kilos and again, many passengers appeared to bend this allowance both in weight and size.
On our return from Mumbai, we were overweight by quite an amount but the check-in guy just shrugged his shoulders, said that lots of passengers were taking too much on the flight and accepted our bags ! The hand luggage wasn`t even looked at, never mind being weighed as it is on most planes.
The Flight
Boarding was efficiently done, starting about 30 minutes prior to departure. A selection of newspapers, dependent upon your destination, were positioned just outside the entry door ready for you to grab and then onto the plane. At least four attendants were waiting to guide you in the correct direction, all smiling and appearing friendly (Air France, take note!). More were rushing up and down the aisle, helping to stow hand luggage and sort out problems.
The main economy cabin seating is arranged 2-4-2. Never more than one person to disturb if having to get out of your seat. Overhead bins seemed to be more spacious than on other craft and they were swallowing an enormous amount of gear!
So you`ve found your seat and now to explore and investigate.
Legroom - pretty average, not the best but certainly not the worst I`ve come across. Adjustable headrests, foot-rest and lumbar support in addition to the normal seat control made seating much more comfortable. A small LCD monitor was embedded in the back of the headrest in front of you with a control handset stashed neatly just below it. This handset also doubles as a satellite phone for those really important people who want to impress those around them and you can phone out at the rate of $5 a minute. No doubt very important for those who have forgotten to cancel the newspapers.
The Entertainment
The small TV/monitor negates the need for the pantomine of the attendants demonstrating safety procedures as when everyone is seated and take-off imminent, a video is shown in Arabic and English informing you about it all. A TV/Radio magazine is there for you to make sense out of the hand-set and the wealth of entertainment available. The controls for this can be not only via the aforementioned handset but also using the touch screen facility on the monitor. There is enough choice to satisfy all ages, tastes and nationalities. On our flight to Dubai there was the opportunity to watch 3 complete movies out of an impressive selection of Hollywood, Bollywood, Arabic and Chinese ones. Sub-titles were also there for you to select in a range of languages. Didn`t fancy a film? Many different TV programmes from comedy to sport to general interest were on-line. Audio? About 20 channels of music catering for all tastes. And the kids? Sixteen games were there to keep them amused. Some computer type - remember Tetris? Also a few for the older generation as well as one which was interactive with any other passengers playing!
Three TV channels were devoted to the journey and the planes position. One displayed a flight map, giving present position, height, speed, time elapsed from take-off and estimated time of arrival. Two more were linked into downward and forward facing cameras. Very good on take-off and landing and at 41000ft with a clear sky. Not so good when the sky was covered with cloud though!
The Food
A small menu card was placed in each seat to inform you of the fare on your flight. I found the food to be of exceptional quality for economy, substantial, hot and tasty. A choice of vegetarian or two meat meals could be eaten. All drinks with the exception of champagne were free. And as much as you wanted! The tea was actually drinkable for once. The cabin crew appeared to be on the go all the time, rushing backwards and forwards, quick, efficient and courteous. Always smiling (again, Air France, take note!).
Disembarkation
What more can be said apart from the fact that you get off amidst the general melee of other passengers? Well, the flight attendants were all lined up to give you a friendly farewell, hope you enjoyed the flight and to see you again. Automatic but said with a warmth lacking in some other carriers. I was quite impressed by the cabin-crew, smartly turned out with nice subdued uniforms and obviously well trained in customer care.
Overall impressions
Brilliant. Really pleased with the whole airline. Would have no hesitation in using them again or in recommending them to others. It is no wonder that they have won so many awards over the past few years. They are well deserved.
And What Else?
Stop overs in Dubai are on offer at a very cheap rate - from about £30 a night. Also Emirates have a frequent flyer programme called Skywards, based on the number of miles that your journeys have taken. These add up to gain up-grades, free flights or hotel accommodation. Full info can be found on the Emirates web-site, www.emirates.com. This site is a wealth of information but deserves another opinion all to itself ( I am not going to write it either!).
Well, that`s it folks. Already planning our next trip to India! And flying Emirates!
More details
Class flown most frequently
Economy
How often do you travel with this airline
First time
Where did you book
Travel Agent/Tour Operator
Safety
Very safe
How well does it cater for disabled people
Don't know
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