I dont want to go off-topic here but I can assure you the anecdotal evidence I have for op-ups being affected by meal pre-selection is unfounded. If you're Gold, meal preselection shouldn't hurt. The FA's simply said to me "do you want your X meal from Y brought up?"

hmm...thats nice to know. Has it happened several times? The fact they've started giving the vegetarian option to all special meal orders for the "light meal" is annoying though. A roll with lettuce and two slices of cucumber is a joke!

Also i've noticed for the main meals the special meals lack some of the stuff the normal meals get, like the piece of chocolate and other minor things.

The piece of chocolate is gone from the regular meals too. Noticed this last week. They did have anytime cup noodles which I don't remember having seen before.

The problem is that those classes vary depending on where you fly from, fare buckets offered from various points on the network vary, and that there is no way to know your fare bucket without using something like expertflyer.

Thanks folks... as per original post I have got the complimentary stayover in DXB... apparently flights from NCL to AKL are all eligible ... and the advice given as to what and where to go once I get to Dubai is very gratefully received. I had been thinking of going into Dubai for a few hours, but I dont land until 12.30 am, and as much as the thought of a cocktail or two in Barasti appeals I think I will be better off getting a good nights sleep before the long journey the following day.

As for the food, I eat everything and anything, but I certainly wont be able to go 10 hours without anything, so large snack bag it is!

So at the moment my plan is

* Check in online 24 hrs prior and try for exit seats

*Get to the airport 3 hours prior, and try again for exits seats if unsuccesful online ( at least I will be able to make good use of my lounge pass.. courtesy of my bank)

*Enjoy the comfort of the hotel in DXB

*Board to AKL via BNE nicely rested and just enjoy!

For all you FF out there you probably think I am fussing over nothing, but I like to have things clear cut.. But really looking forward to it, 2 weeks today I wll be on my way to NCL ready for my epic journey

Thanks again for all the advice, and I forgive those "going off topic" as at least it brought the post back up

PP xx

PP

I'm looking at your NCL-DXB flight on ExpertFlyer, and while not totally accurate, it is somewhat representative of the load.

One alternative strategy you could employ (and I have done this multiple times) is request a row in the middle towards the very back of the cabin. There is logic in my madness. Most frequent travellers hate the back of the cabin but if you can snag a centre row of 4-seats, you sit like this:

D E F G
X X X X

You sit in E and then you put your laptop bag in G (with the seat belt thru the handles)

When you check in at NCL or DXB, ask the check-in agent how full the flight is (also keep watching the seat map on EK.com and ExpertFlyer).

If he/she tells you the flight is not full, ask for a row towards the very back (or pre-select a seat via the seat map function on MYB).

That way, you end up with the entire row for the whole flight. I've never once had someone try and sit in the row. I reckon you can nearly have as comfortable a sleep lying across 4 seats in Y as in J (I said "nearly").

The load on the A380 flight the next day looks quite full, and I couldn't tell from your post which flights you were on out of DXB to NZ.

Good luck.

See how you go...

one of those U shaped neck pillows is also really useful for long haul flights. i have an inflatable one for easy storage, and also the inflatable ones tend to be firmer and give more support to your neck than the stuffed ones.

i never knew how much difference it would make until my cousin passed me one during a flight!

definitely a good comfort item for flights above 6 hours.

Thanks Eightblack... As far as I can make out its a 777-330ER not the A380 im flying DBX - AKL, my flight number is EK434 and departs 10.35am

I'll certainly consider the sitting at the back idea.

I employ this strategy religiously.

However I did once have a grumpy old guy brazenly sit on my legs on an MH flight. About 2 hours in, he decided he wanted more space, went for a wander, and saw me lying there. We made eye contact, and he just stood there staring, presumably hoping I would volunter to sit up. I closed my eyes, as I had been up for some 30 hours and was trying to fall asleep. Next thing I knew, he sat down on my legs. As you can imagine, I was really surprised.

It's hard to know what to do in a case like that. If he had asked nicely, I would have shared the space. I didn't want to start a big fight, because that's just hassle the flight crew doesn't need, and even if you think you have "justice" on your side, you never know how the authorities will see it.

I settled for the somewhat ridiculous passive-aggressive approach of taking off my socks and "accidentally" massaging his lap with my toes every time I shifted positions, until he gave up half an hour later. As a grown man in my 40s, I felt really childish at the time, but it was strangely satisfying too!

I recently flew JFK - DXB - SIN just 2 weeks ago with seafood meal selection and I remember having the chocolate. Shame they removed it.
I did like the cup noodle option as it was a 'request anytime throughout the flight' selection. But I did not try it though.


I thought you can't make seat amendments on the day of the flight itself?
I remember trying to check the seating arrangements a few hours before my flight but the system would only show my following flight. So now I make any last minute changes the night before.


That is seriously creepy! I would have been really annoyed, especially since I'm really irritable whenever I'm awoken from my sleep abruptly.
But better to feel childish than to relinquish your precious space!

You can select a seat online during online check in which is upto an hour or so before the flight. Sometimes when the flight is full though, they won't let you do this.

I am with you in trying to get a seat row, this is my tactic as well. However, frankly, we have to admit that nor have we actually bought the seat(s) nor do we have any other right such as "first come first serve" to occupy space.

Imagine he comes from a seat which is occupied with a neighboring seat while you are having the seat row with four seats for yourself. Each one could take the outer seat leaving one seat free next to you. Albeit you will not able to lie flat, this is just fair.

What I can see is that he behavior is very weird, in fact childish. But at the same time, you have no right so occupy the row (unless you paid for it)

+1 ..

Done this many times on the LH A343 and old LH744 and it works many a times.. sometimes i also just do a cursory walk on the plane to see which middle rows r completely empty and just go there and sit as soon as I see the flight gates close