Thunderroad

Not sure which is the best forum for these questions, but this seems as good as any, so please bear with me. Anyway, next year my wife and I will vacation in the Seychelles sometime between May and September. We have award tickets on BA that we plan to use to get to the Middle East, then plan to fly on to SEZ (i.e., Male, Seychelles) on Emirates, Etihad or Qatar, preferably converting Starwood points or AA miles (on Etihad, for which AA-EY redemption options are supposed to open by the end of this year) to fly business class to and from SEZ. So my questions:

1. If I take a chance on booking the BA flights to AUH now, in hopes that I can later redeem AA miles for AUH-SEZ-AUH, how much of a hassle would it be to get back and forth from AUH to DXB and back by land in order to fly EK if I can't end up redeeming the AA miles on EY? (Or conversely, if we get as far as DXB on BA, how much of a hassle would it be to get from DXB to AUH and back by land to fly EY to SEZ)?
2. If we simply shell out the money to fly to SEZ from the ME, any recommendations on which of the three airlines is best in economy, and whether getting an exit row seat (for the good leg room) is possible?
3. In terms of converting miles or points for business class award tickets, any recommendation for which of the three is best in that regard for getting to SEZ? I've flown EK short-haul in C and found it fine, and am under the impression that EY to SEZ would be inferior for that destination, but any further thoughts on this would be great.
4. I've been to Dubai but my wife hasn't. Neither of us have been to Abu Dhabi or Doha. Given that our BA tickets would be different from the onward flights to SEZ, I think we might want to spend a night in D, AD or D going both ways, so that if there is a delay on the BA or connecting airline flight it doesn't screw up our plans. I assume that Dubai has the most going on, but are the other two worthwhile places to stop over briefly (even in the summer heat)?
5. How are the airport hotels at the respective cities, whether for overnights or for spending the day between connections?

That's about it for now. As you can see, there are some moving parts with these plans. If folks think I'm missing things or should consider other options, I'd welcome any advice beyond what I'm asking about. (I'm aware that BA also flies to Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa and that we can connect on to SEZ from there, but award flights to Mauritius are very hard to get, I'd rather not go through Nairobi or Joburg just to stop over for a night, and at least for the Joburg connection there's no way I could get an award ticket on to SEZ).

Thanks for any advice!

ung1

Hi - welcome to the EK forum.

1. If you are flying EK/ EY on award J tickets, they both have chauffeur pick up from anywhere in the UAE, and travel time between the cities is about 2 hrs, so don't worry about that.

2. EK is easy to get exit row seats as long as you check in early. I would be looking at what aircraft are flown on the routes. QR and EY fly narrowbodies on some mid haul routes that personally I would want to avoid. Statistically QR has more leg room on average.

But keep in mind that flying out of the home market will be very expensive. EK fares to MLE for ex. in Y can be AED 5,000 while CMB (same region, same flight length) can be AED 1,800. So you might fly to DXB then connect via DOH on QR (note that the regular terminal in DOH is supposedly terrible, but the premium terminal is very nice).

3. Again, I would look at what aircrafts are being flown. On EK you're likely to land up with an A330/340 which aren't fantastic in terms of hard product. If you're able to get QR's new J seats I'd be inclined to go for those. Service wise it's a bit of a toss up really among all of them.

4. Dubai definitely has the most going on. Abu Dhabi has a lot of cultural projects in the works (Louvre, Guggenheim) which are supposed to open around 2012, so might be worth a visit. Never been to Doha.

5. In Dubai there's lots of hotels outside (nearby) the airport that are very affordable. Not sure about the others, but cabs are cheap and travel times are short either way.

Thunderroad

Wow, thanks for the prompt and extremely useful reply. A couple of additional questions for clarificaiton re the above, if you don't mind:

Re #1: Just to confirm what you already made pretty clear: Are you saying that if we're staying in Dubai but flying back and forth to SEZ from Abu Dhabi on a J award ticket, we could get a free chauffeur transfer both ways between the two cities? I ask again because I'm both shocked and impressed.
2. I'm a bit less clear on this. Are you saying that on a paid fare, a connection to get to SEZ in Y (or J, for that matter) could be cheaper than flying non-stop?


Anyway, thanks again!

mrtdxb

1. Yes, that is the case with EY and would also be the case vice versa with EK.
2. Fares from Dubai or Abu Dhabi are very high indeed. Flying via somewhere else (such as CMB) on separate tickets could work out much cheaper, especially in J or F.

ung1

Sure, no worries. As mrtdxb pointed out, EK and EY both have a UAE wide chauffeur drive for J and F. The only difference is that with EK you can use it on stopovers and in transit, whereas with EY it can only be used if AUH is your final destination.

If you end up purchasing Y tickets and need to travel between cities, EK and EY also both run a deluxe coach service (never used it but supposed to be good). EY's runs from their office on Shk Zayed road (right beside a metro station) and further down there's a pick up point at the Marina Mall (where EY has an outlet). In this case make the booking online from DXB (if you fly EY) and they include the free shuttle.

Non-stop options will invariably be more expensive, especially to these premium holiday destinations, and especially in premium cabins. Try checking some random fares on the websites and you'll get an idea.

ung1

I just tried for random dates mid august.

EK DXB - SEZ (Y) is AED 5k while EK DOH-DXB-SEZ (Y) is AED 3.5k. (Muscat is the same if you decide to do LHR-AUH-MCT) Also, it's an A340. Interestingly though, J is 9.4k vs. 11.4k (more expensive starting DOH).

QR DOH - SEZ (Y) is AED 3.5k while QR DXB-DOH-SEZ (Y) is AED 3.3k so a smaller difference. Also, as I guessed, it's an A319.

As for EY, even though SEZ is on their list of current destinations, I can't find it while trying an online booking.

I would strongly advise that you avoid QR like the plague if you want a 'premium' experience. Either book EK on miles or if paid, start in DOH or MCT based on which connections work better at DXB. Keep in mind though that there's no chauffeur drive at DOH or MCT.

Thunderroad

Again, this is very useful info, ung1. Thanks so much! And thanks too to you, mrtdxb.

I believe Etihad will start flying to SEZ in November, 4x/week.

Zol

EK do offer chauffeur drive in DOH for F & J (Unlimited distance within the state).

ung1

You're right - sorry - DXB and DOH are the only places in the ME where chauffeur drive is offered.

Thunderroad

And, if I understand you correctly, the chauffeur drive could take us from Dubai to AUH if we're leaving from AUH as well as it being our final destination, correct?

But as per ung1's post above, the chauffeur drive is also available for AUH, right?

Thanks again for all of the help!

ung1

If you are flying Etihad into/ out of AUH, yes.

Technically it is available to/ from DXB if you are flying EK. The pick up/ drop off can be anywhere in the UAE, including AUH.

QR001

Well it all depends on your pocket but comfort wise,both EK and QR have their positive and negative.If you want to be on a wide body i suggest emirates would suit you,but if its better in flight service you are after,QR has the advantage.Havent tried etihad so cant know.Qatar A319 is small but comfortable.

Thunderroad

Thanks again for the additional info ung1, and for your advice, QR!

QR001

most welcome.so what have you decided?

Thunderroad

Still figuring it out, as it's a moving target that also depends on BA F availability for both the USA-LHR and LHR-Middle East legs, and my wife's somewhat but not completely flexible vacation schedule. Likely I'll end up with DXB since we can do EK from there using Starwood points and if the EY option using AA miles (which I have more of and which might offer a better "exchange rate") opens up we can go that way. (This assumes of course award availability on either airline.) Also, even though we'll probably only spend about 24 hours each way in the transit city, I think my wife would get a kick out of quick visits to DXB.

I'll post the outcome of the Great Decision (FWIW, LOL).

Of course, if you or others think my calculations above are off-base or want to offer other info/perspectives, more input is always welcome!