Dear all, have anyone an experience with departing from MLE on Air France 9.10 am flight after staying in Conrad?
Got a tickets for that flight and checked with Conrad, can they arrange the transfer so early. Got an email that they “can still arrange seaplane transfer, however, the guests will be brought to the airport atleast 3 hours prior to their departure flight schedule as a standard procedure, hence, around 6 AM”.
My god - 6 am! Its seems stupid to fly there so early - possibly we have to depart at 6 am Rangali time 🤯 even without the breakfast.
We are in business, my idea was to check in like 1 hour before the departure - will it work in MLE?
Any advice, please?
- Was anyone lucky telling Conrad that they want to take a later seaplane? Or Hotel is strict with this 3 hours rule?
- Should I tell them that we are on a later flight from MLE to arrange a later seaplane transfer? Any risks?
Appreciate any advice and any ideas.
Not been to Rangali, but am a sometime veteran of Maldives holidays so can maybe help..
Seaplanes aren't on-demand taxis but don't run at scheduled times like buses either - it's more like getting a coach transfer to/from your resort. The flights are organised by the seaplane company depending on passenger numbers, locations and their departure/arrival times at MLE. Sometimes they stop at multiple resorts, which obviously adds to your journey time if you're being picked up first.
Pre-Covid it used to be the case that international flights were quite clustered (several departing 9-10am then 11.30-1ish) so if you happen to be on a 10am flight you'll probably be leaving the resort on the same seaplane as guests on a 9am flight. Male airport is always busy in normal times, and I've queued for at least 20 mins at a biz check-in desk before. Business class cabins are often full.
The 3hr time they've given you won't be fixed - you won't usually know until the day before departure what your exact flight time will be, for the reasons above. I imagine they are just pre-warning you that it will be an early start.
Assuming Rangali time is +1, a 6am departure would "feel" like 7am, if that's any consolation! Seaplanes only fly during daylight, so it's unlikely to be earlier than that. And while I haven't stayed at Conrad, every other Maldives resort I've been to has offered early breakfast access for early departures.
I wouldn't stress about it as you can't do much to influence it. Just go with the flow and enjoy a rare glimpse of the Maldivian sunrise! Hope you have a great time.