Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - I'm reaching my limit with Gulf Air. Possible jump to EK.

Get a middle seat dmm-bah and upon checkin I'm told they can do nothing as their system is locked and all seats filled. In my ff preference it says aisle. On my return I also get a middle seat and have to change it upon check in again.

Both times I try and login for online check in but that fails.

Supposed to leave at 3 10 pm today dxb-bah and I get a email this morning saying they are leaving now at 230 pm. I'm like what? I call the call center and they confirm this, which I said I can't remember when a flight is leaving earlier.

I have to now cancel my plans I was going to watch a movie and come back to the hotel and make the 310 but now I can't make it.

I get to the airport and look at the board it and it says delayed until 330! I'm pissed and the checkin agents don't know anything as they are contracted.

I get to the lounge and now it says it isn't delayed anymore as I did some shopping at the airport and couldn't get squat from the lounge for they are now having last call.

Get on the plane and we don't leave until about 420 sitting on the airplane for an hour. I land and now my connection is also delayed 45 minutes bah-dmm. I don't get access to the lounge as a silver/gold unless flying falcon gold because of the lounge renovation either. It isn't worth the BS hassles for me anymore I'm feeling. I'm going to see how much more EK is for the routes I use GF for although I know GF has a better network as I can drive across the causeway and fly direct from BAH instead of catching a connection to DXB for EK. Although if I can get a status match for my UA 1k to EK gold I'm going to seriously consider that.

I would see EK or any other gulf airline is infinitely better than GF. When looking at fares to/from USA, GF almost always pops up as the cheapest option (USA-Europe codeshare with AA) and yet I have never booked it.

If you live near BAH, however, and only fly routes on GF's network, it would be hard to justify moving to another carrier that requires a connection everytime

I get to the lounge and now it says it isn't delayed anymore as I did some shopping at the airport and couldn't get squat from the lounge for they are now having last call.

...

I don't get access to the lounge as a silver/gold unless flying falcon gold because of the lounge renovation either.

So you do get lounge access as Silver/Gold in Y at outstations but not at GF's own hub? :rolleyes: :D

I know it makes sense, what with the Dilmun lounge being so overcrowded and all, but still - they could have come up with *something* for their elites. Like hand out vouchers for coffee or something. Wouldn't have ruined them... :rolleyes:

If you live near BAH, however, and only fly routes on GF's network, it would be hard to justify moving to another carrier that requires a connection everytime

Yep this is the prob for me. No fan of GF, but so many more time options and direct flights when you live near BAH, it's hard to avoid.

Yep this is the prob for me. No fan of GF, but so many more time options and direct flights when you live near BAH, it's hard to avoid.

Correct. It will be tough to justify and if EK doesn't give me a status match I may stay with GF because of my proximity to BAH and the GF network, which is pretty good.

So you do get lounge access as Silver/Gold in Y at outstations but not at GF's own hub? :rolleyes: :D

I know it makes sense, what with the Dilmun lounge being so overcrowded and all, but still - they could have come up with *something* for their elites. Like hand out vouchers for coffee or something. Wouldn't have ruined them... :rolleyes:

Yeah this sucks and makes you scratch your head doesn't it?

I "switched"at the beggining of the year from EK to GF, best move i ever made.

BAH great to transit in (see previous post) was Gold after a few months, almost always get bumped if in Y, get to use the first 2 rows if on long haul and on J.

Have often asked to use my miles to upgrade in the J lounge at BAH (when we could access it) and was told, no need, here's a J class boarding pass anyway! (full flights).

Am loving my experience with them. I find their flights ridiculously cheaper than EK.

I have rocked up, 8695 Loyalty points this year. Another 305 and i am gold for life! ;)

I "switched"at the beggining of the year from EK to GF, best move i ever made.

BAH great to transit in (see previous post) was Gold after a few months, almost always get bumped if in Y, get to use the first 2 rows if on long haul and on J.

Have often asked to use my miles to upgrade in the J lounge at BAH (when we could access it) and was told, no need, here's a J class boarding pass anyway! (full flights).

Am loving my experience with them. I find their flights ridiculously cheaper than EK.

I have rocked up, 8695 Loyalty points this year. Another 305 and i am gold for life! ;)

8695 in a single year?? wow!! how many trips have you taken?!:cool:

I will also likely abandon GF, even if it means transit through AUH/DOH/DXB for mid-range international flights. My otherwise relaxing vacation to Sri Lanka last week became a total stress on both ends due to GF. Here's how:

On the outbound from BAH, tried to check in 24 hrs ahead but couldn't due to a website problem. Knowing GF tends to seriously oversell flights to Asia/S Asia, called GF office, who assured me it was no problem, just to be sure to check in in person at least 1.5 hours before. Tried throughout the next day to check in online just in case, to no avail. Arrived at BAH 3.5 hours early to be safe. Despite early arrival to check in, flight was already oversold and my friend and I put on standby. (These were promo flex fares, but not the bargain basement fares sold by the local GF offices and travel agents.)

The 'sweet' end of this is that after a bit of arguing at the desk, they put us in the last two empty seats in business. Nice gesture and pleasant flight, but didn't make up for the stress of not being sure we would get to CMB in time for our prepaid tour arrangements.

Fast forward one week. Went online to check in for return flight. Again, website not working so called GF. They had same answer as before, but I refused to take no for an answer this time given previous experience. Due to CMB check in procedures, we knew we couldn't check in in person more than 2-3 hours in advance, so called customer service every 2 hours almost all night long as there was no way we were going to be stranded in CMB an extra day due to an oversold flight. Finally, one agent we spoke with agreed to contact Amadeus (the backend of the web checkin for GF) with the details of our specific website issue (instead of previous agents who told us to just check in in person). Tried again in morning with no luck. Finally, 4 hours before flight in the evening, I was able to check in online from my Blackberry in the middle of nowhere as we were heading to the airport. Still, when we arrived to physically check in, we were told the exit row seats we selected on check in were no longer available and we had to be reassigned, yet flight was full. It took the (Sri Lanka Airlines) counter agent a good 15 minutes and help from 2 colleagues to finally confirm our seats and get us on the flight.

This kind of uncertainty just isn't acceptable for long international flights.

I will also likely abandon GF, even if it means transit through AUH/DOH/DXB for mid-range international flights. My otherwise relaxing vacation to Sri Lanka last week became a total stress on both ends due to GF. Here's how:

On the outbound from BAH, tried to check in 24 hrs ahead but couldn't due to a website problem. Knowing GF tends to seriously oversell flights to Asia/S Asia, called GF office, who assured me it was no problem, just to be sure to check in in person at least 1.5 hours before. Tried throughout the next day to check in online just in case, to no avail. Arrived at BAH 3.5 hours early to be safe. Despite early arrival to check in, flight was already oversold and my friend and I put on standby. (These were promo flex fares, but not the bargain basement fares sold by the local GF offices and travel agents.)

The 'sweet' end of this is that after a bit of arguing at the desk, they put us in the last two empty seats in business. Nice gesture and pleasant flight, but didn't make up for the stress of not being sure we would get to CMB in time for our prepaid tour arrangements.

Fast forward one week. Went online to check in for return flight. Again, website not working so called GF. They had same answer as before, but I refused to take no for an answer this time given previous experience. Due to CMB check in procedures, we knew we couldn't check in in person more than 2-3 hours in advance, so called customer service every 2 hours almost all night long as there was no way we were going to be stranded in CMB an extra day due to an oversold flight. Finally, one agent we spoke with agreed to contact Amadeus (the backend of the web checkin for GF) with the details of our specific website issue (instead of previous agents who told us to just check in in person). Tried again in morning with no luck. Finally, 4 hours before flight in the evening, I was able to check in online from my Blackberry in the middle of nowhere as we were heading to the airport. Still, when we arrived to physically check in, we were told the exit row seats we selected on check in were no longer available and we had to be reassigned, yet flight was full. It took the (Sri Lanka Airlines) counter agent a good 15 minutes and help from 2 colleagues to finally confirm our seats and get us on the flight.

This kind of uncertainty just isn't acceptable for long international flights.

that was a very troublesome experince. I don't blame you for loss of faith in such performance. I usually wouldn't go with GF for long-haul flights.

8695 in a single year?? wow!! how many trips have you taken?!:cool:

Plenty! Minimim one return, (4 flights) per week, usually 2, so 8 flights.

By the end of this week, this year i will have taken 20 flights!

Gives you an idea!

[QUOTE=Down_the_back;17769665]Plenty! Minimim one return, (4 flights) per week, usually 2, so 8 flights.

By the end of this week, this year i will have taken 20 flights!

Gives you an idea![/QUOTE

It got me thinking, i pulled up my statement, i have done 122 flights in a 12 month period. in a mix of J and Y, (over 3 hours per flight in J)

[QUOTE=Down_the_back;17769665]Plenty! Minimim one return, (4 flights) per week, usually 2, so 8 flights.

By the end of this week, this year i will have taken 20 flights!

Gives you an idea![/QUOTE

It got me thinking, i pulled up my statement, i have done 122 flights in a 12 month period. in a mix of J and Y, (over 3 hours per flight in J)

wow! I'm traveling Y one trip each weekend (4 a month) KWI-BAH, and that's aside from my work's trips! I'm getting gold this weekend, but I don't know about if I can reach life status ;)

Get a middle seat dmm-bah and upon checkin I'm told they can do nothing as their system is locked and all seats filled. In my ff preference it says aisle. On my return I also get a middle seat and have to change it upon check in again.

Both times I try and login for online check in but that fails.

Supposed to leave at 3 10 pm today dxb-bah and I get a email this morning saying they are leaving now at 230 pm. I'm like what? I call the call center and they confirm this, which I said I can't remember when a flight is leaving earlier.

I have to now cancel my plans I was going to watch a movie and come back to the hotel and make the 310 but now I can't make it.

I get to the airport and look at the board it and it says delayed until 330! I'm pissed and the checkin agents don't know anything as they are contracted.

I get to the lounge and now it says it isn't delayed anymore as I did some shopping at the airport and couldn't get squat from the lounge for they are now having last call.

Get on the plane and we don't leave until about 420 sitting on the airplane for an hour. I land and now my connection is also delayed 45 minutes bah-dmm. I don't get access to the lounge as a silver/gold unless flying falcon gold because of the lounge renovation either. It isn't worth the BS hassles for me anymore I'm feeling. I'm going to see how much more EK is for the routes I use GF for although I know GF has a better network as I can drive across the causeway and fly direct from BAH instead of catching a connection to DXB for EK. Although if I can get a status match for my UA 1k to EK gold I'm going to seriously consider that.

I'm slightly confused why you would even bother with a DMM to BAH flight at all. Unless you're traveling on the weekend, you can get from BAH to Al Khobar in 1.5 hrs or less. DMM airport is atrocious and I try to avoid it like the plague now. The 300 SAR for a car service across the border from Al Khobar to BAH is a much better experience than the security & immigration nightmare that is DMM. Also get access to the Dilmun lounge in BAH with *Gold.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but can any seasoned Gulf passengers explain what the seating arrangements are in Falcon Gold. Are all the seats the same or is it still the case that the first 2 rows are sleeper seats and the other seats are lie flat i.e not 180 degree beds. I am booked on BKK - BAH and BAH to LHR in December 2013, both flights are down as A330.

Thanks

Sorry to hijack this thread, but can any seasoned Gulf passengers explain what the seating arrangements are in Falcon Gold. Are all the seats the same or is it still the case that the first 2 rows are sleeper seats and the other seats are lie flat i.e not 180 degree beds. I am booked on BKK - BAH and BAH to LHR in December 2013, both flights are down as A330.

Thanks

I've been going on the A330 (already was on a one last night!:) ) and the first two rows are indeed the sleeper seats and I think they are in the configuration of 1-2-1. You get those for paying full-fare J class. Otherwise, you would get stuck with the typical lie flat seats in the configuration of 2-2-2.

I'm slightly confused why you would even bother with a DMM to BAH flight at all. Unless you're traveling on the weekend, you can get from BAH to Al Khobar in 1.5 hrs or less. DMM airport is atrocious and I try to avoid it like the plague now. The 300 SAR for a car service across the border from Al Khobar to BAH is a much better experience than the security & immigration nightmare that is DMM. Also get access to the Dilmun lounge in BAH with *Gold.

When taking a short flight from bah-dxb I check both Dmm and Bah. I don't drive to Bahrain and would be taking a taxi each way. I do drive to Dmm and tolerate the immigration. I just got the egate card and the only time I have used it thus far it didn't work. I also pick up some extra tier points on the Dmm-Bah to maintain silver for lounge access when I use GF.

For longhaul to anywhere outside the middle east (except the USA which I use UA) I will take EK.

Thus my airline usage is as follows:

ME-USA United
USA to anywhere United
ME-ME Gulf Air (or EK depending on price/schedule)
ME- anywhere but the USA Emirates

When taking a short flight from bah-dxb I check both Dmm and Bah. I don't drive to Bahrain and would be taking a taxi each way. I do drive to Dmm and tolerate the immigration. I just got the egate card and the only time I have used it thus far it didn't work. I also pick up some extra tier points on the Dmm-Bah to maintain silver for lounge access when I use GF.

For longhaul to anywhere outside the middle east (except the USA which I use UA) I will take EK.

Thus my airline usage is as follows:

ME-USA United
USA to anywhere United
ME-ME Gulf Air (or EK depending on price/schedule)
ME- anywhere but the USA Emirates

The only reason that me and many others are not taking the United KWI-BAH short haul trip is their excessive security procedures and inspection, which is a huge turnoff for everyone at BAH and KWI. Many families would complain of their obsessive security inspection and we went through the same.

The only reason that me and many others are not taking the United KWI-BAH short haul trip is their excessive security procedures and inspection, which is a huge turnoff for everyone at BAH and KWI. Many families would complain of their obsessive security inspection and we went through the same.

Well I know they have alittle more security but when you have SWU's to upgrade to business for a relatively cheap coach price then that is the airline for me.

I've been going on the A330 (already was on a one last night!:) ) and the first two rows are indeed the sleeper seats and I think they are in the configuration of 1-2-1. You get those for paying full-fare J class. Otherwise, you would get stuck with the typical lie flat seats in the configuration of 2-2-2.
On my two recent flights LHR/BAH/LHR we were allocated 8 A&C in the 2nd cabin as we were not Full Fare. Seats OK but they were day flights-outward in A340 the AVOD did not work so we were offered personal players,return in A330 it did work. Seats old,miss aligned trays but outward the food, chef,wines and service were very good. Return on the A330 was awful-no service,no drinks until food and I ended up asking the purser whether we were flying Saudi Arabia,Kuwait or Royal Brunei. He asked why- and I pointed out we were dry!
Thinks perked up after that but I got the feeling that it was the first time the FA's had served up front as they acted like YTS's. Very disappointing.
Incidentally, my sectors operated by Privatair were superb-new aircraft,attentive FA's and really good food and wine-just like old GF.

Well I know they have alittle more security but when you have SWU's to upgrade to business for a relatively cheap coach price then that is the airline for me.

You know, the good thing about UA is their quick upgrade and low cost at the check-in counter. I was the last one to arrive to the check-in counter for UA at KWI (I was hurried off even in the security procedure at the counter) and they asked me for I want to switch to business class for 50 bucks!! I pulled out my AMEX right away lol

You know, the good thing about UA is their quick upgrade and low cost at the check-in counter. I was the last one to arrive to the check-in counter for UA at KWI (I was hurried off even in the security procedure at the counter) and they asked me for I want to switch to business class for 50 bucks!! I pulled out my AMEX right away lol

Was this KWI-BAH I assume?

Was this KWI-BAH I assume?

yep, I couldn't find the same offered on BAH-KWI. BTW, does anyone know that if its possible to pickup the UA boarding pass at BAH transit zone? I'm coming in from MCT and then transferring to UA981 to KWI, and have around an hour for connecting and was wondering if I can pickup my pass there.

yep, I couldn't find the same offered on BAH-KWI. BTW, does anyone know that if its possible to pickup the UA boarding pass at BAH transit zone? I'm coming in from MCT and then transferring to UA981 to KWI, and have around an hour for connecting and was wondering if I can pickup my pass there.

YOu can pick up the boarding pass in the transit area. They have a staffed desk there provided it is within 4 hours of departure I believe. You can't miss it as it is straight ahead after the metal detectors.

YOu can pick up the boarding pass in the transit area. They have a staffed desk there provided it is within 4 hours of departure I believe. You can't miss it as it is straight ahead after the metal detectors.

Surprise! guess what? nobody was there!! I've arrived exactly one hour and 10 minutes before take-off and there was no one at the transit desk for United. Thank god that I've checked-in online and printed my boarding pass. Headed straight for the gate (still one hour ahead) and it was being called as "final call"!! Most of the employed BAH NAS (national aviation services) staff are not well-trained and there was chaos at the gate. The interrogating chap didn't credit my united printed boarding pass and he passed my passport to his colleague and plainly said "we have a one without a boarding pass, get him a one". I was staring in disbelief. There was two lines for inspection and searching and believe me, they almost striped the guy before me to his undies!

Surprise! guess what? nobody was there!! I've arrived exactly one hour and 10 minutes before take-off and there was no one at the transit desk for United. Thank god that I've checked-in online and printed my boarding pass. Headed straight for the gate (still one hour ahead) and it was being called as "final call"!! Most of the employed BAH NAS (national aviation services) staff are not well-trained and there was chaos at the gate. The interrogating chap didn't credit my united printed boarding pass and he passed my passport to his colleague and plainly said "we have a one without a boarding pass, get him a one". I was staring in disbelief. There was two lines for inspection and searching and believe me, they almost striped the guy before me to his undies!

Wow i can only assume that they closed that at a certain time but certainly 70 minutes before there should have been someone there. They always start the boarding process early there to facilitate the security procedures thus the final call is 30 minutes before it actually happens. I have walked into security as one of the final people several times after leaving the lounge (40 minutes before departure) and they are not close to closing the door.

Wow i can only assume that they closed that at a certain time but certainly 70 minutes before there should have been someone there. They always start the boarding process early there to facilitate the security procedures thus the final call is 30 minutes before it actually happens. I have walked into security as one of the final people several times after leaving the lounge (40 minutes before departure) and they are not close to closing the door.

unfortunately, some american travelers still think that since they're in Middle East region, then stiff rules and regulations don't apply here as bad as it is in the states. I've seen people losing their perfumes, soda cans, one guy had a bottle of sparkling water lol and there was this guy in front of me who carried a flashlight that exactly looked like the Jedi light sabre from Star Wars (swear to God)!!!

unfortunately, some american travelers still think that since they're in Middle East region, then stiff rules and regulations don't apply here as bad as it is in the states. I've seen people losing their perfumes, soda cans, one guy had a bottle of sparkling water lol and there was this guy in front of me who carried a flashlight that exactly looked like the Jedi light sabre from Star Wars (swear to God)!!!

I'm surprised is that the transit desk was not open when you went through.

Well honestly when you are traveling from the Middle East to anywhere else (except North America) you can take on much more. Going to Asia or anywhere else in the Middle East and they don't even pay attention to the scanners, metal detectors through security. I unknowingly had a pair of scissors in my carry on and went to Jordan, Egypt, Dubai and Thailand with them in my carry on before i cleaned it out and found them in one of the front zipper pouches. When I found the scissors I was like what the f??????

I mistakenly put them in my carry on instead of my luggage after a business trip in the hotel. That would never have happened in North America.

I'm surprised is that the transit desk was not open when you went through.

Well honestly when you are traveling from the Middle East to anywhere else (except North America) you can take on much more. Going to Asia or anywhere else in the Middle East and they don't even pay attention to the scanners, metal detectors through security. I unknowingly had a pair of scissors in my carry on and went to Jordan, Egypt, Dubai and Thailand with them in my carry on before i cleaned it out and found them in one of the front zipper pouches. When I found the scissors I was like what the f??????

I mistakenly put them in my carry on instead of my luggage after a business trip in the hotel. That would never have happened in North America.

a pair of scissors? they have confisticated my wife's small nail clipper (not more than an inch) and they called it "applicable security measures" lol yeah right