IAMORGAN

I have no experience of the Marhaba transfer service - I'd be surprised if Kenya Airways would let a Marhaba rep check in bags without the OP being present but I stand to be corrected.

8I would recommend getting the Marhaba arrival bronze package - its cheap and is basically fast track immigration. Especially if you're on the evening BA arrival, Dubai immigration can get busy and you might wait for 45 minutes. With Marhaba you probably won't wait at all and max a few minutes. Even if the BA flight is say 45 mins late you should still be able to make the connection as Kenya check in desks close 60 mins before departure. So that's what I'd do.

KARFA

Many people use the term on here when the itinerary is not on a single ticket - I see examples of this on FT nearly every day - it is nothing to do with taking any one at there word.

Dave Noble was reasonbly asking the question - and as it turned out very good that he did since it is very relevant to the advice given.

Prospero

Three hours is definitely enough time but it won’t be a pleasant experience - marginally less objectionable than root canal treatment, well maybe

Expect to retrieve your bags 45-60 mins after the BA flight arrives which should leave sufficient time for them to be checked in at the Kenya Airways counter.

Process at DXB is:
Train from Concourse D to T1 > immigration > baggage reclaim > customs > check-in > emigration > security > train back to Concourse D.

sammyg901

I don't have direct experience at Dubai either - but I think the OPs scenario is exactly what this service is aimed it - if it was one ticket then the bags would be checked through in most scenarios. May be worth checking with them if KQ is an airline that would accept luggage from them.

I have done it before in other airports no problem. It usually works something like Marhaba (or yourself) going to a transit desk or someone taking your passport to KQ check in and getting you checked in and getting the tag, and then going and physically finding your bag, retagging it and putting it into the departures stream

OutOfORD

I have just sent an inquiry to Marhaba regarding my specific flights (thanks for those that made that suggestion). I will be sure to report back with the response I receive. Even if they can just speed up the immigration process I think that would be a big help, right?

I am inexperienced with how the processes work when transiting from an international flight to another international flight. If Marhaba is able to sort out getting my bag rechecked on the Kenya flight, do I still need to go through the immigration and customs process?

Thanks again for the replies.

rashadik

I travel to DXB quite regularly, immigration clearance always about 45mins-1 hour and luggage wait has never been less 1 hour for me. I would be a bit twitchy with 3 hour gap between flights. If you can go with hand luggage only would be quite nicely doable and some time to chill in a nice lounge

OutOfORD

When you say 1 hour for luggage, is that from the time the flight lands or the time you begin waiting for your luggage?

Unfortunately, this is a 3 week trip, so hand luggage won't be possible, unless I can carry on a 90L duffel...

Thanks for the information!

windowontheAside

Whenever I've had to wait a long time in immigration, I haven't had a long wait for luggage. Normally it's there already. I'd be surprised if it's a further wait.

LTN Phobia

This topic has been moved from BA forum so that those with experience of DXB can advise the OP accordingly, and because it is not a BA-specific query.

LTN Phobia
Moderator: BA forum

sharp5flat9

The Marhaba transfer service works well. For AED300 they'll intercept your bags and re-tag for the onward flight. You just need to go to an airside transfer desk to collect your onward KQ boarding pass. It mainly serves the many nationalities connecting at DXB who cannot enter the UAE without an advance visa.

I agree that it's not essential: in many, many arrivals I've never taken more than an hour to pass immigration and collect bags, even when arrivals has been rammed. May be worth the money for peace of mind alone though, but if the BA flight is seriously delayed, all bets are off and you're at the mercy of KQ.

OutOfORD

Thank you for the response.

Yes, at this point it looks like I will book the Marhaba baggage transfer service for, as you said, peace of mind as well as for simplicity and protection against minor delays.

Thanks all for your responses.

OutOfORD

I just wanted to follow up on this. Everything worked out just fine using the Marhaba service. The inbound flight arrived a few minutes early and I was met at the gate, escorted to the baggage transfer counter, then the check in counter for my onward flight, and within about 30 - 40 minutes everything was done and I was ready to head to the gate with lots of time to spare.

Thanks again to everyone who responded.

TheMadeTraveler

I haven't heard this 'Marhaba Service' before. How much did they charge for this service?

Suppose, if you didn't take this 'Marhaba Service', how much time would you have waited to head to the gate?

LondonElite

http://www.marhabaservices.com/engli...ces/meet-greet

OutOfORD

As you will see at the link provided by LondonElite, Marhaba is an organization offering various forms of arrival, departure and transfer services like meet and greet, escorting through lines and procedures, etc. They also operate one or two airport lounges which you can pay for or access using Priority Pass (I would guess that there may be other ways to access these as well).

The service I used, after contacting them, was called "Transfer Service and Baggage Identification". They charged AED 300, which I think was around 80-90 USD.

Using them, I didn't have to go through immigration and customs, nor did I have to retrieve and recheck my checked luggage. I remained "airside" and was escorted to the front of the line at the desk where they process the baggage retrieval as well as the separate desk where they processed my check in for the onward flight and rechecked the bag onto that flight.

With a 3 hour span between arrival of the inbound flight and departure of my outbound flight, this process was completed with about 2 hours to spare.

Had I not used the service, it is my understanding that I would have had to clear customs and immigration (a process that I had heard can take a long time, even at my late night arrival time), and wait for my bag to reach baggage claim (another process that I have heard can take a long time). Finally, I would have to check in landside and go through security, which I was unsure about with regard to how long it might take.

I was told (in this thread) that I probably would have made it through all of that in time for my next flight if there were no delays on the LHR-DXB flight, but knowing that delays happen and not wanting to be anxiously rushing through an airport with which I was unfamiliar, I decided to book the service offered by Marhaba. And I feel that it was well worth the cost. I was met at the gate and everything was handled by the Marhaba representative until she explained exactly where my next gate was (she even offered to take me all the way to the gate, but I told her it was unnecessary).