EK2206
Dep: DXB Dubai Terminal 2 08:00 13th October 2022 (local time)
Arr: EVN Yerevan 11:15 13th October 2022 (local time)
Flight duration: 3 hours 15 minutes
Seat: 11E Cabin: Economy
Operated by: flydubai (A6-FEW Boeing B737-8KN)

I booked my flights to/from Yerevan on flydubai as an Emirates codeshare, which seemed to get me a slightly better deal on hold baggage than if I’d gone direct. Although advertised as a low cost airline, Ł405 in economy doesn’t strike me as particularly cheap for a return four months out. But the comparison to my previous leg was never going to favourable, and this was by far the most agreeable arrival time of the options I’d considered for getting to Armenia.

It did however mean quite an early start in Dubai, and I ditched my original plan of walk, metro, shuttle bus in favour of a pre-booked Uber from the hotel to DXB’s Terminal 2. This is a small but modern terminal separate from the main complex, and dedicated almost entirely to flydubai operations. Arriving at 5:30am, it took me less than a quarter hour to deal with check-in, bag drop, border control and security.

Once airside, seating seemed a bit limited, sandwiched between the shopping / food area and the dozen gates – which all lead you to buses rather than having direct aircraft access. There were a few indications that I was somewhere different from the airports I normally frequent: a prayer room in the bathroom; an absolutely packed smoking room; someone sat next to me wandering off with a friend, trustingly leaving their bag, passport and phone unattended.

Gate formalities began at 7:15, although having waited for the second bus rather than join the initial scrum, it was half an hour later before I actually got moving. I imagine we were waiting for one last passenger, but they never made it… after a long tour of the airfield - dominated by vast A380s – I took my seat on today’s aircraft at precisely our scheduled departure time of 8am.

Normally a window seat fan, for this 3+ hour economy stint I preferred the aisle, and managed to secure 11C in advance. In 11B was a mother with a lap infant, and it soon transpired that 11E was her partner, who I foolishly agreed to swap with. Nothing against my new companions – I chatted for a while to Mr 11D, a tour guide from Saudi Arabia who had travelled to many places I haven’t and collected plenty of souvenirs along the way. But economy just isn’t that spacious to begin with, and the middle seat felt particularly cramped without a wall to lean on or the aisle to spill into.

I had expected a short-haul flight on a 737 to be boringly familiar, but there were some differences there too – most notably that lifejackets were stored overhead! Over 200 flights in, it’s still important to pay attention to the safety briefing…

The catering situation was unusual – it seems that some, but not all, economy tickets entitled you to a meal; there was also a buy on board option. Having booked through Emirates, my ticket did include food – but it was of course delivered to my original seat, where the new occupant was happy to try and claim it. Fortunately staff were also checking names, and realised that he was not me. Here’s the hot breakfast I received - possibly my first time eating a chicken sausage! There was also a vegetarian option, something chickpea-based.

Otherwise, there is not much to report – there were seat back IFE screens, but they were inoperative. Instead, you could access films, TV shows and the moving map on your own devices, but WiFi was even more expensive than my BA long haul flight so I stuck to my podcasts.

At 10:50 we started our descent, to wonderful news of 14°C temperatures awaiting us. Twenty minutes later there was some sort of cabin spraying procedure, and at 11:20 we landed – not particularly softly – just five minutes behind schedule. Brits don’t need a visa for Armenia, so after a short queue, immigration was straightforward (although my beard was apparently a cause for some concern). Some days after leaving London, I was finally where I actually wanted to be – Yerevan!