Transit in Abu Dhabi & Ethiad

[kolinkins]

Originally Posted by adrenalin john

I used to love flying. Then I hated it. Now I just hate airports, and don't always hate the flights. I quite like the fact no one can call, text, e-mail etc.

Airports stop flying being the pleasure that it should be.

[kolinkins]

Originally Posted by CallMeBernard

Singapore Airlines is to me, (very very) slightly better. But not by much.

Not experiences it. Thought Cathay may be better, but having experienced it I was underwhelmed (still a good flight, but not Emirates level). And the less said about Virgin and BA the better....

[Oisin]

Originally Posted by CallMeBernard

Singapore Airlines is to me, (very very) slightly better. But not by much.

Yes, like Singapore but you get an extra two inches leg room with EK and I'm six foot two. Changhi a bitter airport than DXB. Emirates is a rip off of Singapore Airways. Actually Dubai is a rip off of Singapore.
All the top Asian carriers are head and shoulders above the European and Australasians who are way better than the North Americans. You can see why the North Americans go to such desperate measures to keep Middle Eastern carriers out. Cheaper and better.

[Oisin]

Originally Posted by adrenalin john

I used to love flying. Then I hated it. Now I just hate airports, and don't always hate the flights. I quite like the fact no one can call, text, e-mail etc.

Flew in and out of Abu Dhabi International to London Heathrow. Airports were a pleasure at both ends. Heathrow is a far nicer experience than it was although clearing passport control when you are departing is still a pain.

I live thirty minutes from DXB. I have a egate fingerprint card which gets me through passport control quickly. Emirates lets you drop of your baggage on a machine without ever interacting with a person or a queue. I can leave home and be in the lounge in under and hour.

Biggest problem with Heathrow is the lack of runway space. You spend ages circling just to land. Really short minded to claim they won't build a third runway for environmental reasons. Air traffic won't just go away because there isn't a third runway at LHR the business will just go elsewhere. And aviation is one of the only industries doing something about emissions. The new generation of planes and engines are massively more environmentally efficient than the ones they replaced.

[Polish Pete]

I usually do the Blighty run with Cathay, Singapore or Malaysia (Not recommended).
Looking at doing Asiana next time and take in a night in Seoul. I`ve heard rave reviews about them. Also Korean Air have good bargains for Oz to UK flights.
Singapore were easily the best and I had a midnight 9 hour stopover in the Airport which was great. They have quiet sleeping areas and its a great airport.
Cathay are good and I`ve flown with them the most. New shell seats are bit tough to handle, but I love transit via Hong Kong Airport.

This is the first time we`re doing the UAE route as we`re flying to mother-in-law in Dublin and they fly direct from Abu Dhabi. No additional change in London.
This may be a weird "and me being precious" question but how are Etihad with food quality and wine/beer on the plane?
We`re flying back from Abu Dhabi to Sydney on a code share flight with Virgin.

Agree about US carriers. When we lived in Bermuda had to use them for trips to States. Terrible service , although I didn`t think Continental were too bad.