Recondite

Hey

I'm looking to book a redemption AUH > JFK in F very shortly.

There are two options;
EY 103 - 03:35am > 09:40am (arriving in JFK)
EY 101 - 10:15am > 16:20pm (arriving in JFK)

Are there any things worth considering with either of these - could one service be considered better than the other for any particular reason? By service, I mean lounge options, meal options etcetera. I know they say the First lounge is 24hr.. but does it truly mean that, or are services limited at certain times?

Appreciate any advice!

Thanks

P.s. should note that both flights are now an A380, hence the complication!

erik123

I much prefer the morning flight. The airport is much less crowded at that time and the flight is less prone to delays. Also, the 3:35 departure time (often later) sucks.

Dogmatick

Agreed much less likely to mess your body clock up and you're awake a lot to enjoy the experience. Should be solid meals on board to make up for the lack of any on the ground.

Oh new F Lounge tip, have your massage and 'old fashioned' then hop downstairs to the Prem lounge for food as the options are far better/wider !

How ridiculous is that !

SeeBuyFly

I claim that the 3:35am departure is better for one's body clock. I stay up until maybe 5am, and then sleep well on the plane; time passes. Upon waking I have slept for a good part of the US night. If the flight is late, great, I'm even better synchronized with destination time. On a 10am departure I wouldn't get much sleep, so the flat beds are less useful to me.

People who want to enjoy the experience will feel differently. Been there, done that.

DatBoi

The 10am departure is excellent for tackling jetlag. But I flew the flight in J, so what do I know.

Recondite

Thanks for the feedback, Erik. I kind of assume how busy the airport is is not an issue, though, as F will glide through all of that, right?

Thanks for the advise on the lounge, greatly appreciated! Ridiculous that that's the case.. maybe it'll change by the time I actually fly (talking next September!).

I do want to enjoy the experience, although kind of feel that the bed etcetera is part of the experience, so should be tried at some point (which makes that early departure tempting). Think sleeping for 6 hours would be acceptable to me.
It's a perfectly valid opinion - only asking specifically for F due to the services on offer

----

In terms of all of the body clock and jet lag comments, this isn't a *major* concern for me. I'd have been flying from Bangkok a couple of days before this flight, so figure I'll already be messed up!

DatBoi

Try to use the T3 prem lounge - far better than the T1 lounge (next to Al Reem).

Recondite

The First Class lounge is in T3, anyway Dogmatick recommended using the F lounge for the free spa treatment, then heading down to the Prem lounge for food, anyway.

DatBoi

What's the food like in the F lounge anyways?

Recondite

I have absolutely no idea - not flown F out of AUH, hence my queries in this thread

erik123

No - The check-in and lounge may be great - but ground service is lacking so you'll be the same as any business passenger and there are many at that time.

Dogmatick

It was amazing, absolutely 'first class'

Now it isn't, think Membury services on the Motorway in England - the day before a fresh set of sandwiches arrive

Recondite

What a wonderful review!!

Was just telling myself I would go for the 3am flight, as it saves paying for a hotel for an extra night in Dubai... then stopped at the last minute, thinking I'll go for the morning option.

Frankly, I'm yet to decide but plan to book tomorrow. Using points for Hilton's in NY and Dubai, so just trying to get the best value I can out of them

Dogmatick

Go on then, less of the suspense, what did you do !

DatBoi

The WA in DXB is a real delight, the one in NYC - not so much.