Hello everyone, if I'm going to start my B,Z and SA report... I should start with my Amazing Emirates business class flight. They always deliver! Love this airline,-
By the way Emirates & Delta are teaming up- so hold on to your Delta milage..
my First stop, for 2 days... Dubai!, my almost 2nd home.
Got to see the new Museum of the Future, The Frame Building, The Opera House, Tea at the Burl Al-Arab and did some shopping- not much, I was good.
The Museum of the Future is Amazing! I hope Tauck adds it to the Dubai Visit, it is worth seeing it.
You can buy tickets direct from their website, you do need appt.- book ahead it is super popular. Be aware that Trip-Advisor bought Viator and there is a lot of Fake sale tickets.-
Mil...Awesome start to your trip. Keep posting when you can & ENJOY!
What Emirates aircraft did you fly? Was it a A380-800/suite?
I must confess Qatar has truly raised the bar for me. I traveled to Athens and the Greek Islands over the last two weeks. I flew United Polaris Business Class-which I prefer and which usually provides a very good experience. I was disappointed. The service was ok but the food left a lot to be desired. To be fair, perhaps it was due to the European destination. All I know is that I was constantly comparing it to the Qatar flight (food & service) and United Polaris was coming up wayyyyy short. The food in the first class cabin to/from New Orleans to Newark was also just meh. The food and service in the Polaris lounge was very good. The Gulf States airlines certainly understand service
I flew Aegean Airlines within Greece. They are a share-code partner with United so all my perks applied. The Aegean Lounge in Athens is large and was very nice. It is new and the seating still has the new leather smell.
BTW--My Greece trip (Athens, Mykonos, Santorini) was FABULOUS - Non-Tauck tour; therefore, I will not discuss.
On my Egypt: Jewel of the Nile tour right now. The meet and greet is in 1.5 hours.
The Qatar business class lounge in Doha was nice ( stopped by on the way here ), but not as nice as the Turkish Air business class lounge in Istanbul. That Turkish Air lounge in Istanbul is still the number one lounge that I’ve visited.
The Qatar Q-Suites were wonderful, but like all “lie flat” seats they need a couple more inches to comfortably accommodate someone 6’6”.
I haven’t flown Emirates so I can’t compare. Qatar Air is certainly making a big deal out of being voted the number one airline for 2022.
mil, when I first looked at the photo of the etched glass, I thought they were bar drinking glasses or laboratory biological samples of stuff (or samples of alien life )
It looks like Dubai has really grown skyward. There is much more there now than when I saw it during the Gulf War. Is it open to visitors and have you been up in the Burj Khalifa? It is straight off the cover of a science-fiction book.
AlanS...my traveling mate was flying from Boston on Delta. Disappointment on both ends. The Delta and Virgin lounges in Boston were at capacity and could not accommodate her and the Swissport lounge in Athens left a lot to be desired.
I tried to be a good friend by offering to compromise using my Priority Pass to get us in a lounge together; however, all of the Athens lounges had notes posted on the doors indicating the Priority Pass couldn't be used at the time--probably capacity issues. The Aegean Lounge was not crowed. It was a very nice experience.
PureLuxury Boeing 777-300 ER , great plane, but I do love the A380.the bar on the 2nd floor is divine.
AlanS, Dubai sure has developed in every direction...The city is beautiful, traffic horrible like anywhere in the world.
I did the Burj Khalifa, The Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque, The Ferrari world, Emirates Palace, Dates market, the Heritage Village, desert safari w/BBQ dinner, sand board and camel ride and the Souks all on my first trip to Dubai-Abu Dhabi.
On my 2nd- did the Burj Al-Arab for dinner, the souks for 2nd time (love to buy their spices), the beach, The View, The Miracle gardens, Aquarium, mall of Emirates, Dubai mall etc..
My 3rd time I repeated some sites, it was my mom's first time in Dubai.
I have not flown Qatar, but I will someday, I heard it is really good.
MikeHenderson Hi.
if you have any question or would like info on Dubai- more than Happy to give you some, please PM me.
You are flying Emirates to Dubai on your way to? or are you staying in Dubai.
Have a lovely day.
Mike, try and Google and old online article from the “Departures” magazine what the Emirates stewardesses have to go through for their training. The article is quite old but I do not know if it still is true to date. It was a very impressive long article and a good read. Their hair has to be in a specific bun, they have to go to beauty school, they have to wear Spanx, they have to wear a specific shade of red lipstick. They change their uniforms frequently. When we flew Emiriates, I was able to converse with a stewardess that confirmed how intense their training is. Other airlines could learn a bit or two from them.
OurTravels34 Hi
Yes! everything is true- the lipstick is made specially for Emirates- their uniforms get Dryclean by the company- pick up at headquarters, they are 100% customer oriented- and they do have a supervisor once a month rotating different routes, making sure everyone is right on procedures.
The airline service is great, always on time- no pilot shortage and no lost baggage. Also, great cocktails and gourmet food
@mil - Thanks. I may have some questions for you. If so, I'll PM you. I'm doing a Regent cruise from Istanbul to Dubai. I fly Turkish air (787) to Istanbul and Emirates (A380) back home from Dubai. Both non-stop.
I won't get to see the Turkish Air lounge in the Istanbul airport. People have said such good things about it that I'm sorry I'll miss it.
@OurTravels34 - I found the article in Departures Magazine. I'll read it soon. I know JAL used to have some stringent requirments for stews - height, weight, education, languages, etc. A lot of young women wanted that job because they felt that they'd meet successful Japanese men. There used to be a saying in Japan that if a young woman was not married by age 25, she's spoiled Christmas cake.
MikeHenderson Hi, more than happy to help. I want to fly Turkish Air too, now they have a direct flight Seattle-Istanbul, so as soon as the Blue Mosque is open, now under renovation... I will jump on the plane for a week escapade.
See article:
The Blue Mosque is undergoing major renovations until 2024 so it is all covered in scaffolding so you cannot see anything on the inside. So, the allure of the blue mosque doesn't exist.
I forgot to mention that if you fly business class on Emirates, they have a towncar service that didn’t cost anything that picks you up and delivers you back to your home within a certain mile range. We did take advantage of that.
Yes, you can see the car (black Jaguar and the chauffeur in last picture.) will pick you and drop you off at each end of the trip, both in Dubai & at Home. 25mile range
I’m appalled at the sexist nature of anything like that still happening on an airline. Stewardesses, not heard that for a while either. Flight attendants is now the norm. Just saying. It would’t be allowed on a US airline.
British, if anyone knows me, and of course no one on the forum does, I didn’t mean to offend. I could have also mentioned the word, steward or flight attendant but I didn’t. Stewardess, steward, flight attendant; it doesn’t really matter to me. Sometimes I text faster than I think. I doubt Emirates makes the men attendants wear Spanx, etc and I was only referring to the article in the magazine. No harm done. Sometimes, the ole fashioned ways suit me fine.
Mike - You are going to have a wonderful time on the Emirates flight A380. It has a great bar and the seats have seat belts. Food is outstanding. However, the Emirates lounge in Dubai is not comfortable in my opinion. The Qatar lounge in Doha is much nicer.
Our travels, just making a general comment in these Me too times. I’ve found the old fashioned ways get people into trouble, even though old fashioned seems right to our generation. My kids often point out that we now live in different times and what we did and said is no longer relevant.
Yes, no need to apologize. When we go on American Airlines flights the flight attendants often look downright messy, but rules should be equal for both sexes or to be totally correct, anyone who is a flight attendant…yes, they should all wear lipstick.
Comments
my First stop, for 2 days... Dubai!, my almost 2nd home.
Got to see the new Museum of the Future, The Frame Building, The Opera House, Tea at the Burl Al-Arab and did some shopping- not much, I was good.
The Museum of the Future is Amazing! I hope Tauck adds it to the Dubai Visit, it is worth seeing it.
You can buy tickets direct from their website, you do need appt.- book ahead it is super popular. Be aware that Trip-Advisor bought Viator and there is a lot of Fake sale tickets.-
So glad you started your review Mil!
Mil...Awesome start to your trip. Keep posting when you can & ENJOY!
What Emirates aircraft did you fly? Was it a A380-800/suite?
I must confess Qatar has truly raised the bar for me. I traveled to Athens and the Greek Islands over the last two weeks. I flew United Polaris Business Class-which I prefer and which usually provides a very good experience. I was disappointed. The service was ok but the food left a lot to be desired. To be fair, perhaps it was due to the European destination. All I know is that I was constantly comparing it to the Qatar flight (food & service) and United Polaris was coming up wayyyyy short. The food in the first class cabin to/from New Orleans to Newark was also just meh. The food and service in the Polaris lounge was very good. The Gulf States airlines certainly understand service
I flew Aegean Airlines within Greece. They are a share-code partner with United so all my perks applied. The Aegean Lounge in Athens is large and was very nice. It is new and the seating still has the new leather smell.
BTW--My Greece trip (Athens, Mykonos, Santorini) was FABULOUS - Non-Tauck tour; therefore, I will not discuss.
Safe Travels!
As a comparison, the Swissport Executive (contract) Lounge (Delta/AF, etc.) in Athens was really sad (as was the one in Cairo
)
On my Egypt: Jewel of the Nile tour right now. The meet and greet is in 1.5 hours.
The Qatar business class lounge in Doha was nice ( stopped by on the way here ), but not as nice as the Turkish Air business class lounge in Istanbul. That Turkish Air lounge in Istanbul is still the number one lounge that I’ve visited.
The Qatar Q-Suites were wonderful, but like all “lie flat” seats they need a couple more inches to comfortably accommodate someone 6’6”.
I haven’t flown Emirates so I can’t compare. Qatar Air is certainly making a big deal out of being voted the number one airline for 2022.
Glad to know you arrived Sam, have a great time!
mil, when I first looked at the photo of the etched glass, I thought they were bar drinking glasses or laboratory biological samples of stuff (or samples of alien life
) 
It looks like Dubai has really grown skyward. There is much more there now than when I saw it during the Gulf War. Is it open to visitors and have you been up in the Burj Khalifa? It is straight off the cover of a science-fiction book.
AlanS...my traveling mate was flying from Boston on Delta. Disappointment on both ends. The Delta and Virgin lounges in Boston were at capacity and could not accommodate her and the Swissport lounge in Athens left a lot to be desired.
I tried to be a good friend by offering to compromise using my Priority Pass to get us in a lounge together; however, all of the Athens lounges had notes posted on the doors indicating the Priority Pass couldn't be used at the time--probably capacity issues. The Aegean Lounge was not crowed. It was a very nice experience.
PureLuxury Boeing 777-300 ER , great plane, but I do love the A380.the bar on the 2nd floor is divine.
AlanS, Dubai sure has developed in every direction...The city is beautiful, traffic horrible like anywhere in the world.
I did the Burj Khalifa, The Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque, The Ferrari world, Emirates Palace, Dates market, the Heritage Village, desert safari w/BBQ dinner, sand board and camel ride and the Souks all on my first trip to Dubai-Abu Dhabi.
On my 2nd- did the Burj Al-Arab for dinner, the souks for 2nd time (love to buy their spices), the beach, The View, The Miracle gardens, Aquarium, mall of Emirates, Dubai mall etc..
My 3rd time I repeated some sites, it was my mom's first time in Dubai.
I have not flown Qatar, but I will someday, I heard it is really good.
Thanks for your review. I'll be on an Emirates flight in mid-November. It'll be my first Emirates flight - I'm looking forward to it.
I'll also be in Dubai. Thanks for posting the pictures of some of the buildings. I'll try to see as many as I can.
MikeHenderson Hi.
if you have any question or would like info on Dubai- more than Happy to give you some, please PM me.
You are flying Emirates to Dubai on your way to? or are you staying in Dubai.
Have a lovely day.
Mike, try and Google and old online article from the “Departures” magazine what the Emirates stewardesses have to go through for their training. The article is quite old but I do not know if it still is true to date. It was a very impressive long article and a good read. Their hair has to be in a specific bun, they have to go to beauty school, they have to wear Spanx, they have to wear a specific shade of red lipstick. They change their uniforms frequently. When we flew Emiriates, I was able to converse with a stewardess that confirmed how intense their training is. Other airlines could learn a bit or two from them.
OurTravels34 Hi
Yes! everything is true- the lipstick is made specially for Emirates- their uniforms get Dryclean by the company- pick up at headquarters, they are 100% customer oriented- and they do have a supervisor once a month rotating different routes, making sure everyone is right on procedures.
The airline service is great, always on time- no pilot shortage and no lost baggage. Also, great cocktails and gourmet food
@mil - Thanks. I may have some questions for you. If so, I'll PM you. I'm doing a Regent cruise from Istanbul to Dubai. I fly Turkish air (787) to Istanbul and Emirates (A380) back home from Dubai. Both non-stop.
I won't get to see the Turkish Air lounge in the Istanbul airport. People have said such good things about it that I'm sorry I'll miss it.
@OurTravels34 - I found the article in Departures Magazine. I'll read it soon. I know JAL used to have some stringent requirments for stews - height, weight, education, languages, etc. A lot of young women wanted that job because they felt that they'd meet successful Japanese men. There used to be a saying in Japan that if a young woman was not married by age 25, she's spoiled Christmas cake.
MikeHenderson Hi, more than happy to help. I want to fly Turkish Air too, now they have a direct flight Seattle-Istanbul, so as soon as the Blue Mosque is open, now under renovation... I will jump on the plane for a week escapade.
See article:
The Blue Mosque is undergoing major renovations until 2024 so it is all covered in scaffolding so you cannot see anything on the inside. So, the allure of the blue mosque doesn't exist.
I forgot to mention that if you fly business class on Emirates, they have a towncar service that didn’t cost anything that picks you up and delivers you back to your home within a certain mile range. We did take advantage of that.
Yes, you can see the car (black Jaguar and the chauffeur in last picture.) will pick you and drop you off at each end of the trip, both in Dubai & at Home. 25mile range
I’m appalled at the sexist nature of anything like that still happening on an airline. Stewardesses, not heard that for a while either. Flight attendants is now the norm. Just saying. It would’t be allowed on a US airline.
Hey British give me about 15 min.- check your PM
done
British, if anyone knows me, and of course no one on the forum does, I didn’t mean to offend. I could have also mentioned the word, steward or flight attendant but I didn’t. Stewardess, steward, flight attendant; it doesn’t really matter to me. Sometimes I text faster than I think. I doubt Emirates makes the men attendants wear Spanx, etc and I was only referring to the article in the magazine. No harm done. Sometimes, the ole fashioned ways suit me fine.
Mike - You are going to have a wonderful time on the Emirates flight A380. It has a great bar and the seats have seat belts. Food is outstanding. However, the Emirates lounge in Dubai is not comfortable in my opinion. The Qatar lounge in Doha is much nicer.
Our travels, just making a general comment in these Me too times. I’ve found the old fashioned ways get people into trouble, even though old fashioned seems right to our generation. My kids often point out that we now live in different times and what we did and said is no longer relevant.
OurTravels - No need to apologize. You did absolutely nothing wrong!
Yes, no need to apologize. When we go on American Airlines flights the flight attendants often look downright messy, but rules should be equal for both sexes or to be totally correct, anyone who is a flight attendant…yes, they should all wear lipstick.
mil - great pictures, glad to hear about Delta and Emirates, Dubai looks awesome, have a great time.