cgtechuk

Hi All,

Got a bit of a question for you so bear with me,

Looking to book a holiday to the middle east next year and for the life of me I cant make my mind up lol.

Looking also for advice on flight timings in relation to getting the best of the experience. Dates are pretty set in stone.

Purely leisure traveller if that makes any odds lol and GCH

Abu Dhabi

AUH only has one flight a day with the return at 1am from AUH and outbound being a day flight. Done W on this route before and quite liked it but thought the sleeper service was a bit of a waste other than a bed to sleep in

LHR => AUH in W 787 both directions £500
LHR => AUH in J 787 both directions but r/t flight is Sleeper Service - £500 + 44000 Avios

Dubai

Dubai is a night flight out due to the connection and a day flight back. I suppose I could even do J on the way out on the overnight and F on the way back? The 747 rotation is removed by the time the return is scheduled so only 777 on offer.

LHR => DXB in J - 747 out | 777 back ~ £1k
LHR => DXB in F - 747 out (1A and 1k already taken) | 777 back ~ £1k + 36000 avios


Part of me is saying that £1k r/t in F is a steal to DXB and I should just take it but then there is the sensible head that says for half that I can fly W (Or Upgrade to J) or mix it up.

I only have till tonight when the sale ends to come up with a plan so any advice / thoughts would be very welcome

BA6501

How about out to AUH in W, back from DXB in J or J UUA to F?

cgtechuk

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately it makes the price jump by about 300 if you open jaw I think this is because the sale covers wt+ to AUH and J to DXB

Also open jaw stops me booking it as a backup holiday with a deposit which is key lol. That sound have been the best of both worlds though

1Aturnleft

I'd book AUH. For personal reasons I prefer AUH over DXB as a holiday destination. Less bling without any loss on quality of product and a fraction of the price. From a BA flight viewpoint, you're guaranteed the Boeing 787-9 so you have the most up to date W/J product and IFE. You cannot guarantee this to/from Dubai especially if you opt for a 777 operated flight. Yes AUH is a sleeper service in J on the return so this will maximise the sleep time on that late departure. If you decide to upgrade using Avios you can also breakfast in the arrivals lounge at T5 as opposed to on board.

Frequent flyer 101

I'm really not a fan of AUH airport. The lounges are terrible. The same as priority pass and at 1am every lounge was completely full, standing room only. No fasttrack security/immigration, no real fasttrack boarding (usually becomes a scrum). I'd go DXB just to avoid that.

I think the optimum is to buy a W flight to DXB and UuA the outbound J. Although, as you said, £1k is a steal for F. Maybe do that.

FWIW, taxi costs around 350 AED (£70) from DXB to AUH and presumably vice versa. Little bit more from downtown Abu Dhabi. Figure an hour and a half, give or take.

sunshinebob

Or Muscat? Never been but Oman is supposed to be really lush with a very relaxed non bling vibe. I have a booking there next January next year in the Al Husn - its an adults only Shangri La property.

No idea how the prices stack up but there is plenty of (787) award availability and some particularly nice hotels from my little insight.

tomparskate

£1k is a good price but for the 747? Im not sure..

It would still be very careful, I know you are probably loyal to BA but Turkish Airlines has had some great deals from LHR to Dubai via Ist in Business?

corporate-wage-slave

Yes Muscat is something of an antidote to Dubai and having been there many times I would certainly recommend it. There is a good range of hotels there, which cater for different markets quite well, so it's particularly important there to choose your hotel carefully. But there are plenty of things to see and do outside hotels. One can also perhaps look at Salalah for an even more relaxed vibe, and it's usually very good value. The downside is the slightly annoying entry procedures into Oman, normally it only takes 10 minutes or so, but on occasions it can take longer; and the lounge in Muscat is fairly basic. Not much wrong with it, there is plenty of space, but it's some distance behind the top lounges in the region.

NA-Flyer

Can you explain how did you get this figure!?

baileysserpant

Dxb airport easier however Oman is fantastic. Currently sat in zighy bay which is superb and you fly into Dxb. Been to Oman numerous times and Al Husn is excellent for the price. Although adults only they do now allow children to stay at the hotel but they cannot use the facilities. Hence I am in zighy bay with my 2 year old. Flew first out on the night flight and we will be cw back.

clarkeysntfc

TK is a bit crashy for my liking.

cgtechuk

I did like the trip on the 787 it was a really nice flight we did last year in W but the sleeper aspect really puts me off, I haven't heard great things about the pre-flight dining for AUH so from someone who can sleep in Y that is the only thing putting me off but the price does keep it appealing it's half the cost of J but an extra 17k avios for the pair of us so not terrible. Optimum would be if they put the 787 back on DXB lol.

We would hire a car anyway so the journey between the two locations is less of an issue to be honest. The £1k F is a very attractive price and would be nice for the TP's if the avios fairy is kind lol. The lounges do put me off as a leisure traveller it's part of the experience at least in DXB in F I can use the Concorde Bar FWIW.

I am confused by the 747 comment is this not regarded the better F out of the 777 | 747 or am I wrong I was under the impression that all the F cabins were new F?

Not loyal but this trip will be a contribution to the renewal for Gold for my wife and I.

We did look at Muscat but it doesn't appear to be in the sale so prices are a little on the steep side for us but we did really fancy it for something different.

Wozza2404

When I fly to the UAE with the family I tend to do F out of LHR so we get the CCR access and the wife gets to pre-book the spa. I tend to try and get the 12:30 departure, however, as I don't tend to value F over CW too much on the shorter overnight flights; I'd rather keep the 80k Avios each way. The Marhaba service used to be a nice addition to flying F to DXB but this has been enhanced away.

I fly back in J from DXB as I don't consider the CCR bar worth the extra 80k Avios for the 4 of us to fly F. Plus it's generally an overnight; see above.

AUH is good for the 787, but as has been stated above the lounge at AUH is really poor, and the airport is generally really chaotic at that time of night. That being said, immigration should be quicker there than at DXB.

All that being said, £500 is two tickets to Bubblicious brunch and a night at pretty much any JBR property. So if you're prepared to make the sacrifice on the seat, you can reward yourself with far better food and a lot better booze in DXB than you'd get on board.

travelwithross

As someone who lives out here, here are my two cents.

AUH airport is far easier to get through immigration and also security. The BA flight arrives at a good time for immigration, with most people on the BA flight using the automatic passport barriers - you'll be through within 5 minutes tops. Same on your departure, if you use the Business Class/First Class dedicated security lane, then you'll be through security in less than 5 minutes as well. There is also much less walking than having to schlep to Terminal D at DXB. The gate enforces a very strict F/J class boarding policy before all the hordes.

Now, the lounges. I don't use the normal terminal at AUH - I use the VIP Terminal thanks to my Mastercard Platinum (if you have one, you can use it too) however, in the past when I did use the normal lounges, they were fine, but yes, quite busy. However, if you think the BA DXB lounge is any quieter, then you're wrong. It's always full to the gunnels. And, the CCR Bar there is crap. It's always full as well. The way I would describe the BA DXB lounge is a bucket and spade lounge for those with money (full of kids and self pompous parents).

787 is far better in J/F than the 777 or 747.
787 is also far better in W than the 777/747.

P.S. Good luck driving here - get used to people not using their indicators, no real lane management, and tailgaters - It takes a bit of getting used too!

Wozza2404

I like it when there's a bit of rain and the roads get a bit damp. It's like playing real-life Mario Kart.