Hi,

Flew recently A380 BNE-DXB and FRA-DXB, both in J. Both flights were parked to my surprise at a remote location and we had to take the bus to the terminal.

First I thought that this is really annoying and inconvenient and kind of spoils the whole experience. Usually I only know these type of bus transfers from smaller planes but not from long haul wide body flights. Never seen this with an A380 (both flights were full!).

In retro-perspective, however, I think its great. First it was winter and the air was nice and fresh (18C). Second you could take some great photos from the plane (told me and others off though, lol). J buses are quite comfortable with seat for everybody, so no big deal.

And most importantly, there are different buses that drive you directly to you next departure terminal. So no hiking trip and train ride through the massive Dubai terminal complex. Just get off the bus, though security and straight into lounge. Very relaxed indeed.

IMO, I now prefer the bus over a direct gate position. Anybody has a similar or different opinion/ experience?

Happy to be proven wrong, but I just have a hunch you might be unique in preferring remote stand + bus versus direct boarding. Certainly I can't ever recall coming across anyone with similar taste !

But welcome to FT - and in particular the (fairly lively) Emirates sub-forum ^

Happened to me last Sept. Travelling from DXB to BKK in F. Tried to board the bus but was told to sit down and wait. Bus took off and another bus turned up for FC only. Had the whole thing to myself. Very blingy...

Depends entirely on the gate location - landing at C7 for an A10 departure and I'd really prefer the bus from a remote gate directly into A bus arrivals

Hi Coffee drinker and welcome to the EK forum. Pleased to see you here and if you're not a seasoned EK flyer, you will find a wealth of information and experience here to help you along the way. We're a fairly friendly bunch so ask away and don't be shy in sharing your Emirates experiences.

Personally I have only had one remote stand for boarding since I started flying EK. I wasn't overly impressed with the whole procedure especially since flying in F, being called to the gate (A7) and being told to wait because the F bus wasn't there yet to take us to the aircraft. I know, first world problems and that but having to wait 20 minutes wasn't exactly the experience I was expecting including the scrum to get to the door to get on the bus only to be told to wait in the waiting room again. Having said that, the F bus was very nice. On the drive to the aircraft, a couple of comments were made by other pax that they thought we were driving to GLA with what felt like an airside tour of the whole airfield.

Some people like remote stands,some people loathe them. They sometimes have the benefits of an easier transfer, and sometimes making the transfer process more cumbersome but YMMV.

Anyway, welcome aboard once more.

Safe & Happy Travels

S

I always disliked the remote stands before, until my recent experience.

On Friday night I flew into gate C5 on an A380 from LGW - no upper deck boarding. The walk to arrivals took ages! woke me up after the flight!

C3 and C5 are the furthest possible gates you can get! All the gates at the end of Concourse C, on the Dubai side, are all closed and are a building site at the minute.

Then on Monday morning, arrived at DXB for my flight to BKK on an A380 - to see I was departing from C5.... seriously!?!?! Making is even more annoying, the moving walkways were blocked off from about half way down C, so I had to walk at normal speeds! haha

I would have much preferred this to be a remote stand and got a bus to somewhere slightly easier!

Hopefully my return journey keeps me around A and B - not a C fan!

Imagine it's August. You have just had an 8 hour flight in Y. It's 3am and you're knackered. You just want to go home and into bed. Slowly you plane taxis past the A terminal, then B. C terminal is your last chance. You pray for the plane to turn left at the end of C to park Dubai side. Your heart sinks when it doesn't and it drifts past D. You turn towards Sharjah and keep going.

Eventually it stops. You get out and onto the bus enjoying the odours of your fellow passengers while being cleansed by the 100% humidity. It's peak time and the bus gets stuck behind the other busses and cargo and catering trucks. Your journey back to the terminal takes 20 minutes. You realize your bags will take an eternity to arrive at the carousel. You count the number of empty gates where your plane could have stopped. You wonder how despite spending more than $20bn and having three terminals to itself, Emirates still has to remote stand.

You wish you had taken QR instead. Then you remember the carnage that is HIA transfer security. You collect your bags and head toward the exit. Naturally the customs guys randomly choose you for an additional X-ray. You head toward the taxi stand. Lo and behold a textbook example of poor design planning and inefficiency results in a 15 minute queue for a cab. The cab driver is one of those who can't maintain a set speed and accelerates and then brakes, accelerates and brakes for 30km.

You gt home and swear you will never fly EK again. And then you remember you have a flight to RUH later in the week and you realize DXB is not so bad after all.

the bus is the worst. 95% if the time i fly to Lusaka i have to take a bus. The worst was last august when it was 47 in Dubai on one of my arrivals. Many times has been high 30s. just brutal.

and they are always delayed. and they dont let you board until the very end so you have to wait while all the econ load in the ...... secure waiting area.

HATE the bus. probably 15x in 2016 for me. brutal.

Just had to disembark at a remote stand from the A380. It really is a nightmare at peak time as the bus ride is painfully long. Also, the glares you get from the Y pax as they are held back by the crew doesn't help. Would rather be straight off the plane and into the terminal rather than climbing down all those steps and taking the bus.

My heart sinks when I land and instead of coming off the runway we taxi all the way to the end past all the terminals and its like..bus time

Thanks for the welcome.

Same here, always hope I don't get a hard stand but sometimes just bad luck, and in none of those cases was it comparable or better than a gate position, usually just a complete pain with a bus trip that took ages (and even if you do transit to C, it is still a hypothetical assumption that it saved the A to C trek, given that you don't know where the a/c would have docked had there been a gate; anyway, I am prepared to take my statistical chances on that one). My highlight was last year when we landed just at the tail end of a huge downpour (luckily a rare occurence) and total chaos ensued: reached the terminal an hour after the aircraft had parked. Also fine for me to cope with it when I have to but, e.g., I always feel sorry for the elderly pax struggling down the steps (starting at the A380 upper deck) with their hand luggage, especially at the height of summer...

I'm okay with the bus on arrival if not pressed for time. Generally saves a long walk.

Departure, will never enjoy it.

its always the same flights - looks like Haneda is still a bus - why? Its 9 hours flying!

Saving you from DVT, naturally