TEX277

Background

I decided that it would be nice to take my uncle on a First Class trip. He had taken care of my elderly grandfather right up until his recent passing. It was also both he and my grandad that took me on my very first overseas trip back in 1983 to visit our family in Australia. He had turned down similar offers of mine in the past due to the fact that he needed to be there for Grandad. This time, he was opted in. So I booked the trip for late July/early August and began to make the ground arrangements. The tickets were a Miles & Cash award redemption from bmi costing 30000 miles and around £350 each. Despite having to buy a return easyjet flight (£53 each) and one night in the Frankfurt Airport Holiday Inn Express (£45), we saved £60 and 10000 miles each by starting in Milan rather than from London. This would also allow us a day to sightsee around the Milan area.

Route: LGW-MXP
Flight: EZ5291
Depart: 07:15
Arrive: 10:15
Aircraft: A319
Class: Economy

31st July


Another early start as we left home at 05:15 for the coach to Gatwick South Terminal. The queues at Easyjet check-in were minimal and we soon had our BPs in hand and heading towards security. But not before stopping at Travelex to collect our pre-ordered currency (through Avis/BA for the best rate AND BA miles)! A couple of friends from my time at Travelex were lurking in the background and burst out when they heard that I was there to collect my money. We had a chat for a couple of minutes and one of them informed me of his BD award itinerary that he booked the day before (SLC-SFO-JFK-FRA-LHR should anybody be interested). He had explained the BD credit card situation to the other chap, how had swiftly applied for a card only with his fiancée. Their plan is to use them for award tickets to Japan for their honeymoon.

We were through security and into the departure lounge after a 10 minute wait in the queue. Realising that sun lotion could well be a good idea for Dubai during August, I stocked up in Boots. My uncle had spotted the ‘Best of the Best’ stand that was displaying some 911 derivative beside a Ferrari F430. I was glad that he took an interest in the Ferrari as it allowed me to drop into the conversation that I had booked a afternoon session at Thruxton racetrack where I will be driving the Ferrari F430 and a Porsche Cayman. I had only booked it the day before and was so excited by the prospect, even though the date is still nearly 3 full months away.

Boarding was through Gate 90, that I did not realise until quite late on was for access to the remote stands. I have had some car and bus transfers out to remote stands before but this one was just about as remote as you could get. The bus drove from the gate in the South Terminal, around the outside of the North Terminal, around and past the apron and then continued further on. My uncle made some quip about ‘I thought we were supposed to be flying to Milan’ and it was easy to see why. Eventually we arrived at the aircraft and took our seats.

The plane was quite full (around a 90% load factor) and the third seat in our row was taken by another passenger so that my uncle was stuck in the middle (not that if minded). Unfortunately the ‘wrong’ runway was in use for the location of our remote stand and we had to taxi all of the way back to the South Terminal to access the runway.

The flight passed with very little incident. The turbulence over the Alps was a lot less severe than I usually experience and my uncle dozed most of the way there.

A trip to Bellagio on Lake Como

Once we had collected our bags and cleared customs, we spotted the AVIS desk. We were upgraded to the next class of car. We had paid for the small Fiat Punto but received a Fiat Brava instead. The larger boot allowed us to store all of our bags in it rather than having to leave some exposed on the back seat.

After stalling the car a few times on our way out of the airport, I was soon into my stride at the wheel of this left hand drive diesel car. Despite cruising along at around 110kmh on the Autostradas up to Como, it took nearly two hours to reach Bellagio. This was due to the long windy road through small villages, large cars and trucks on narrow streets and just one inadvertent ‘excursion’. The later was decidedly my fault!

We eventually found a parking space and then spend a couple of hours walking around Bellagio’s cobbled streets, enjoying the splendid views over Lake Como and grabbing a bite to lunch (Pizza – what else!?) Time began to catch up with us and so we headed straight back to MXP once we had topped up the tank. I was quite surprised that after 3 hours, driving around 110 miles, the top up only cost €10! The car was accepted back by the AVIS rep and we headed to LH check-in.

Route: MXP-FRA
Flight: LH3891
Depart: 19:45
Arrive: 21:05
Aircraft: 737-500 (If not a -300!)
Class: Business

I was concerned that when we had left home, BD had yet to ticket our award reservation. Having read the horror stories that some have had with BD failing to ticket their award, I thought it may be prudent to PM Diamond Club and ask her to make sure that all is well before we turn up at check-in. There did seem to be some minor complication at check-in but I do not think it was to do with ticketing. The agent checked me in for the whole journey (ie next day flights FRA-ZRH-DXB) but along checked my uncle in as far as FRA so that we could get our baggage back there. We had walked away from the check-in desk and I decided to sort out my hand baggage. It was then that I realised that my sun lotion (2 x 200ml) was in there!! I was soon back at check-in asking the LH agent to take my sports bag that contained nothing but the lotion. I am fully expecting the interior of that bag to be redecorated in a creamy white colour by the time that I see it again!

Once through security we headed directly to the LH Business Class lounge (I think we could have got into the HON lounge but I have been in it before and thought that it is way too small). I typed up my report whilst sipping water in the hope of losing the headache that had began to bother me soon after departure from Bellagio.

We took a slow walk down to gate A3 to see a queue of passengers forming before boarding had commenced. A few minutes later boarding began and we quickly took our seats (3A&C). My uncle was trying to raise the tray that occupied 3B until I explained to him that it was there for a purpose. He continued that form well into the flight – he saw ‘Lufthansa sell old aircraft seats’ written in the in-flight magazine and asked ‘what does that mean?’

The flight was only 1 hours in duration and included three drinks services and a meal. It is quite remarkable that by the end of the first day I still have not touched a drop of alcohol. I think that may well change tomorrow at the FCT and in LX F. Once the meal had been delivered we began trading food. He is quite peculiar about the food that he eats. In fact he had eaten very little all day as he could not find much that was suitable to him. So I received his continental meats and traded by jam tarts, cheese and half of my bread rolls.

Crossing the Alps for the second time in one day was marked by a total absence of turbulence. The flight went quickly and we were soon on the ground taxiing to our remote gate. During the taxi, a voice introduced himself over the PA system as the third pilot on the flightdeck. I thought that was weird especially on a 737! Anyway, he went on to say that he had been overseeing today’s flight and the landing that the First Officer had just performed had upgraded him to Captain. There was a spontaneous and rather lengthy round of applause throughout the cabin.

Baggage reclaim was extremely quiet. Waiting at our carousel with us was just one other person. We had all caught the same bus back to the terminal and I had even visited the gents, yet still only one other. Strange! They all must have been travelling with hand baggage only or were connecting. Our three bags came off second, third and fourth!

Overnight at the Frankfurt Airport Holiday Inn Express

We called the Holiday Inn Express and within 20 minutes the shuttle bus pulled up to transport us to the hotel. Unfortunately, upon check-in we asked for reservations on the shuttle back to the airport but were informed that all of the early shuttles were full and the best they could offer was the 08:30. Our flight is due to depart at 10:45 meaning that we would have less than 2 hours in the FCT!!! Perhaps it is not such a bad thing. It will give my uncle the opportunity to have breakfast at the HI Express that will be more to his liking than the ‘fancy’ food at the FCT. Strange to think that we are related by blood isn’t it!

1st August

The hotel shuttle was full with us and just one other party. They were dropped off at T2 before the driver headed to T1 for us. Spotting the FCT I asked the driver if he would mind dropping us off there. He kindly agreed and dropped us off right outside the ground floor.

Route: FRA-ZRH
Flight: LX1071
Depart: 10:45
Arrive: 11:50
Aircraft: Avro RJ100
Class: Business

Within minutes were had left our checked luggage with the PA, cleared security and found an empty table in the dining area.

I joined my uncle in enjoying an English breakfast before continuing solo into the Smoked Salmon, continental meats and a medley of cheese. This was washed down with three glasses of the Rosé Champagne whilst he stuck to a English Tea. We sat idly eating, drinking and chatting away before deciding to retire to the seating area. After a quick stroll we realised there was not a great choice of locations to seat as most were occupied. Fortunately, just before we sat down our PA informed us that it was time to board.

Exiting the lift on the ground floor, we were reunited with our passports and introduced to our driver. She led us out to the waiting car. This time we had been allocated the Porsche Cayenne S and enjoyed the long ride out to yet another remote stand affording some good views of other aircraft parked up. We were the first to arrive at the aircraft, a Swiss RJ100, and paused to take a couple of pictures of the aircraft and car.

Finally the announcement was made that all passengers were onboard and we were thankful as the seat between us remained unoccupied. This was a short 35 minute flight yet a meal was served. I was not hungry after the meal inside the FCT but my uncle had capacity to spare and tucked in. I thought that he mixed in quite well on this Frankfurt-Zurich flight particularly when he began reading the Financial Times that he had been given by the crew!

Route: ZRH-DXB
Flight: Lx242
Depart: 12:45
Arrive: 20:50
Aircraft: A330
Class: First

Deciding that it would be wasteful to leave the unopened bottle of water that he had been given behind, he took it with him into the terminal and attempted to get it through security. Both I and my wife had explained to him many times on numerous occasions that liquids/gel/pastes in containers over 100ml are not permitted through security. The message had not got through and he explained to two separate security personnel why he should be allowed to take it through. I felt sorry for the queue behind but thought that perhaps the experience would make it a little clearer to him. They kept the water but that did not stop him on the Dubai flight from complaining to me that they should not have taken it off him as he was given it on a flight and obviously it was just water. I reminded him of the many times he’d been told ‘No liquids etc in containers larger than 100ml’. “But they gave it me on the other flight!”

We used the Business/First line to jump the lengthy Economy boarding queue, pausing briefly to get a picture of the Swiss A330 that would transport us in style to Dubai. We were greeted onboard and led to our seats (3A &D) and my first impression was that they looked like an earlier version of the new Thai F seats. They had a similar shaped shell and the electronically moveable ottoman but looked like they had seen a fair bit of use over the years. My uncle’s reaction to the seat was almost priceless. His eyes were bulging out of his face and he asked me if all of this area was his!

The cabin filled up to capacity with the late arrival of a family of 5. I was a little concerned at first by the two youngest children but they behaved themselves and were quite pleasant. To be fair I even profited by the young seatmates presence. One of the crew handed the kid a Swiss A320 jigsaw puzzle. Now I am a bit of a sucker for airline branded freebies (remember the LH FCT branded rubber ducky from my around the world trip?!) and asked that if they had any spare then I just know that my nephew would love one. She gladly handed one to me. Now please let the record state that I did not lie to her to get one of these. My nephew would indeed love one…it is just that he has a snowflakes chance in Hell of prising it away from me!

To my absolute amazement my uncle joined me in a pre-departure glass of Champagne. Even more amazingly, but rather disappointingly for me, he polished off all of his appetisers that I had my eye on!

Once we were at a safe altitude the crew began their service by arranging the beds for those passengers that wished to sleep. Once they were taken care of, the meal service began. We were addressed by our names that I firmly believe contributes to the premium class experience and something that I had missed on our trip to Hong Kong with Qatar.

We were taken great care of by the crew and they catered to my uncle’s request to have the chicken option but without any other accompanying trimmings or sauces. A nice touch to the in-flight dining was that they had added a strawberry mousse and an additional chocolate both of which had the outline of the Swiss flag to commemorate their National Day.


The food was quite good and we both enjoyed it. I had to sacrifice half of my main meal to ensure that I was able to attack both the cheese plate and dessert. I requested a glass of the dessert wine to accompany and again to my surprise my uncle had a glass too. He is usually a tea-total and I began to worry that I may have to carry him off the plane if he continued.

The meal service was not completed until we had passed Istanbul and I decided that I would listen to some music and lay down for a while. I think I may even have caught a little bit of sleep. I suppose that for research purposes I should have had a quick look at the in-flight entertainment, so apologies for that! Once I had grown bored of staring at the ceiling, I sat on my uncle’s ottoman and we spent some time chatting as the sun set and captured a picture of the aircraft’s wing.

The pilot did not fancy bringing the plane to a gentle halt and so applied plenty of brake. The kid in the seat next to me pulled one hell of a mock horror face! The walk from the gate to passport control was quite lengthy even with the assistance of several moving walkways. We flashed the fast track cards that we had been given onboard and only had a wait of around 1 minute to see the immigration officer. He was extremely friendly and after swiping my uncle’s passport asked ‘It is your first time in Dubai!’ My uncle confirmed that it was indeed, and the officer responded with ‘I hope it shall not be your last’! He swiped mine and asked the same. I told him that I had been before and we both realised that this was on my old passport.

We were the third and fourth people to arrive at carousel 10 which is the furthest away from the entrance. My uncle’s bag arrived after around 10 minutes of waiting. The vast majority of bags on the conveyer belt in this time were marked with priority stickers which was slightly reassuring. The major exception being that my bag did not turn up for around a further 15 minutes.

The Sheraton Jumeriah Beach Hotel

1-3 August

Exiting the terminal I spotted our driving holding a board with my name upon it. We introduced ourselves and he took the trolley and led us to the car park. The heat just hit us as we left the air conditioned terminal and entered into an alien climate. The most worrying thing was that the heat was this potent and it was 21:40. I am not particularly looking forward to discovering the daytime discomfort and am seriously contemplating spending as much time in the sea as the local marine life!

Soon we were inside the potently air conditioned cabin of the BMW X5 and speeding towards the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort & Towers Dubai. We had pre-booked the transfer at the cost of £15 through Prestige Chauffeur. Although the driver drove us straight to the hotel, pointing out various interesting buildings along the way, he had problems getting to the hotel as it looked like the entrance road had been sealed off. After an abortive attempt to access the hotel from the Hilton we returned to the usual entrance. We then realised that what looked like a one-way road coming out of the hotel was actually intended to serve two-way traffic! It was no problem though as we had no other plans for the evening and just enjoyed being driven around in a X5.

Check-in at the Sheraton was a bit disappointing as the guy did not really seem to have a clue. I should remember to avoid those wearing a ‘Trainee’ badge in future. I was also disappointed that after requesting a sea view room he handed over our key card without stating that it had not been possible. I asked him to confirm whether it was a sea view or city (i.e. construction) view and he stated city and explained that no sea views were available as the hotel was full. This was a lie as I have just checked online and a sea view room (amongst many others) with two single beds is available through the Sheraton website for the two night duration of our stay. The fact that our room is not even on the preferred floor did not go down too well either. At least we were finally granted a late check-out! We stayed for two nights and paid a rate of AED660 (around £90) including tax per night.

Hilton Abu Dhabi

3-6 August

We were greeted in the Sheraton's reception area by our driving who would be transferring us to the Hilton Abu Dhabi. I had pre-booked this service and had secured the BMW X5 from Prestige Chauffeur again at a cost of £50 for the 80 odd mile trip. Leaving Dubai and all of its construction behind we sped along the highway to Abu Dhabi. We both enjoyed the ride and were surprised by the relative absence of traffic between these two cities!

Upon arrival at the Hilton, I paused to capture a picture of the X5 before venturing into the air conditioned hotel. We were led to check-in were I noticed a sign informing Executive floor guests to check-in on the 10th Floor. I informed the staff member that we were booked in on the Executive floor and he escorted us over to the lift and sent us up to the 10th Floor.

Upon the doors' opening, we took a seat at the check-in desk that greeted us. The chap working the desk checked us in quickly and inquired if we needed a twin room. I had a confirmation stating such but I later mentioned that they had no record of such a request. This was a non-issue though as he had a twin room available and soon we were on our way to room 1006. We waited for our luggage to arrive, chilled for a few minutes and then made the journey to the Executive Lounge in time for the complimentary evening drinks. Our stay here cost AED750 (around £100) per night including taxes and also a complimentary breakfast between 06:30 and 10:30, afternoon tea from 15:00 to 16:30 and evening drinks and canapés from 18:00 until 23:00!

I had four glasses of wine whilst nibbling on the food offerings whilst my usually tea-total uncle failed to finish his second. However, I was able to walk in a straight line back to the hotel room unlike my uncle who oscillated along the corridor!! After photographing him for posterity, I left him safely in the room and took a quick walk around the hotel and to the beach side of the road out the front of the hotel. There is a subway underneath the road that provides the opportunity of reaching the beach without becoming road kill. You can not actually see the beach area as you must gain admission through the Hilton Beach Club building that was closed by this time. However, a Porsche Cayman parked outside grabbed by attention and made the outing worthwhile. Our time in Abu Dhabi was spent eating and drinking in the Executive lounge, floating around in the sea or drying off beside it and shopping in the Marina Mall.

To be continued...

Gatwick Alan

Okay, okay, youve posted enough reports about first class travel now !!. Its done the trick ive booked a rtw in first next year.

Seriously, i always enjoy reading your reports.

More Champagne Sir?

Excellent as always TEX277!! ^^^

neilyork

Excellent, I have booked my car for dxb pick up, as a result of your link.

TEX277

Glad to hear it! It does look like I will be making my upcoming Bali trip my last report for quite some time. And that will be business class for HKG-SIN-DPS and economy for LGW-DOH-HKG!

Thanks for taking the time to read another one of my rather lengthy reports!! ^

Perhaps I should have negotiated a commission with them for FT bookings! I should point out that the prices that I paid were for the BMW 5 series but both were upgraded to a X5 upon confirmation. I am sure you'll like their service.

Genius1

Great report! Swiss First Class looks good.

lucky9876coins

AMAZING report TEX277! You write some of the best reports, IMO! Very entertaining, the perfect length, awesome descriptions, and great pictures! It was very nice of you to take your uncle on this trip, and can't wait to read about the return!

Also, the BMI program seems to be quite rewarding. Sounds like it's a very good rate you got for F!^

airoli

An enjoyable read as usual TEX277! Looking forward to the rest of it...This type of seat was in fact developed by the late Swissair and can be found in all LX F cabins. After a while of exclusivity, SR and LX started selling seat licences to TG and SA, so yes, those are the same seats (with updated IFE).

yow777

Great Report..I enjoy your TR reports alot! ^

HIDDY

Keep it coming TEX277.

Nice to see your Uncle enjoying himself. ^

LH738

Great report and pictures. I'm looking forward to read about the return.

Do you also have some pictures from the Hilton?

Steady-EDI

Another good one, TEX277! Looking forward to the rest of it. I'm hoping to return to that part of the world myself this coming winter.

I love the way you tacked on the Bellagio visit at the start - feels like the sort of thing I might do ^

TEX277

I am home now! I shall complete the TR tomorrow but in the meantime:

I did take photos of the Hilton in Abu Dhabi but regret to inform you that my nice little Olympus C480Z is MIA. It was last seen on the LH 747 just before landing in FRA earlier today. To make matters worse, I had not copied any further pictures onto my computer since the first upload. I am more upset over losing the pictures that were stored on the memory card than the actual camera. That can be replaced!!

It did seem like a bit of a waste just to sit around MXP and I have been into Milan before and was not too impressed at all. With a fondness for Vegas, it seemed like this was a must do. To be perfectly frank it was far better than either of us had imagined.

marbe166

Sorry to hear about the camera. You probably have already done this, but give Lost & Found in FRA a call, according to some reports in the M&M forum they are quite good at retrieving lost items.

Great TR, as always!

LH738

Uhhhh. I'm sorry to read about your loss.