Holiday in Europe Via KUL on EK metal - lounge access and flight from FCO to CDG

[ss1801]

First trip to Europe: will commence holiday flying EK from KUL to GVA (via DXB), overland and last stop in FCO with wife + kid + parents. What lounge accesses (in KUL and DXB) are available and would appreciate your advice. I do realise the limit in number of guests I am allowed to bring in to any lounges.

I manage to extend my stay and plan to spend an easy and relax week in Paris without the wife, kid and parents (it is not a dream coming thru but circumstance prevails). Flying from FCO to CDG is again a first time experience and would not have a clue the best way to book myself a flight from FCO to CDG. Any advice will be taken with appreciation. My preference is of course OW.

I am QF WP and the trip is between this Oct and Nov.

 

[Danger]

First trip to Europe: will commence holiday flying EK from KUL to GVA (via DXB), overland and last stop in FCO with wife + kid + parents. What lounge accesses (in KUL and DXB) are available and would appreciate your advice. I do realise the limit in number of guests I am allowed to bring in to any lounges.

I manage to extend my stay and plan to spend an easy and relax week in Paris without the wife, kid and parents (it is not a dream coming thru but circumstance prevails). Flying from FCO to CDG is again a first time experience and would not have a clue the best way to book myself a flight from FCO to CDG. Any advice will be taken with appreciation. My preference is of course OW.

I am QF WP and the trip is between this Oct and Nov.

Welcome to AFF, ss1801.

It seems Emirates does not offer lounge access in KUL so you are out of luck there.

By virtue of your QF Platinum status, you and one guest will have access to the Emirates First lounge in DXB. I'm not familiar with family guesting arrangements so I can't comment in that regard.

In terms of booking flights between FCO and CDG, there is no direct oneworld service between the two ports. Your only options are BA via LHR or LCY and Finnair via HEL. To book, use any of the major search engines like Expedia, Travelocity, Zuji, Webjet etc., or the airlines' websites.

 

[dairyfloss]

Welcome to AFF, ss1801.

It seems Emirates does not offer lounge access in KUL so you are out of luck there.

No partner lounge... because they have their own in KUL: The Emirates Lounge | Lounges | The Emirates Experience | Emirates

 

[Danger]

No partner lounge... because they have their own in KUL: The Emirates Lounge | Lounges | The Emirates Experience | Emirates

I thought it seemed strange.

In that case, ss1801, you will also have access in KUL, along the same lines as DXB.

 

[ss1801]

Emirates Lounge is reasonably good for general use including the shower facility (I still prefer Qantas Lounge where shower and toilet are all in one unit).
Lounge in Dubai is just too good for me, except that I have to queue for the use of toilet. Food is just too much variety to choose from, even for breakfast. Water is given out for free in glass bottle, all sealed.

Best way to fly from Italy to Paris is via the smaller airport - Ciampino Airport flying Ryanair, arriving Beauvais Airport outside of Paris. It costed 30 euro to fly, transport to Ciampino Airport costed me Euro 5.50, transport from Beauvais to hotel in Paris (door to door service) is another 35 Euro.

 

[sergeyvzn]

flying from FCO to CDG with oneworld is just not feasible, jump on Air France or Alitalia and then it will be a 1.5 hr flight. Going via Helsinki on Finnair is just pure madness, it's like going Melbourne to Brisbane via Perth. FCO to CDG via London is less crazy but still will turn into a 4.5-6 hour trip instead of a quick direct hop

and I would certainly advise against travelling on Ryanair unless you like overcrowded smelly public transport. While Ciampino airport is closer to the city in Rome than FCO, Beauvais is just too far, it's 80 km from Paris, it's another over an hour on the road to get into town

 

[ss1801]

Actually it took less than one hour to get from the airport to Paris. As we were the third drop of the trip (traveling with Supershuttle sharing with a few others), the first drop was such a mess because the address was a residential within the city and that's not easy to find and the passengers were both a first timer. The rush hour traffic was another major headache. In the end, it took more than 2 hours for us to arrive at our hotel at St Germain.

 

[sergeyvzn]

This is why it's best to fly to CDG or Orly (even closer) and catch a RER train. 25 min (from CDG) or 15 min (from Orly) and you are in the city centre and no traffic jams.

 

[ss1801]

You may be right on the time travel but as a first timer to Paris, with a trolley bag, I would not say it is easy to travel using the metro, especially when we have to stop and ask for directions.
The French may be opening up with the idea of having English speaking tourists but there are still a handful of French who is having difficulty in English. One interesting event yesterday as we were asking for direction at the info counter at one of the train station. We asked in English and that annoys him and he replied in French. So naturally we wouldn't understand and but nonetheless carry on with our usual ignorant gesture deliberately. He then replied in English rudely but made the clear point that we shouldn't start the conversation in English. Of course we saw that coming and we shot back by asking him " do you speak chinese?" and he said "no" and I said to him "what do you expect from us?" and that totally annoys the **** out of it and he had nothing much to add for sure.
He quickly gave us the direction and we said thank you and walked off.

 

[sergeyvzn]

That's unfortunate that you came across a rude cough$$@@
I don't have that kind of problems as I speak French fluently so navigating the metro/RER is no problem for me

 

[Pushka]

I've always tried to start conversations in the language of the country I'm in, even if that's just "hello, Good Morning". Then smile and apologise and talk in English. Works a treat. Especially in France.

How would you think it would go over talking to a ticket seller in Australia in Chinese?

 

[ss1801]

Pushka,

You missed my point. The moment you open up your market for travellers from the world, you could no longer insist your native language to be used in general communication because not many people outside of French speaking countries are able to do so. However, English still remains the major commercial language used commonly outside of most English speaking countries. I wouldn't expect a Malaysian to speak Malay or an Indonesian to speak Bahasa in this context but English seems reasonable in my opinion.
Why would you even suggest anyone to speak chinese in Australia? Aussie speaks English.

Serge, I actually have no problem with the French guy and in fact quite enjoy the encounter. I was so close of asking if he would speak Chinese when he travels to China or Tamil if he were in India.

 

[Pushka]

I think you missed my point.

The moment you leave your country of citizenship then your rules don't count anymore.

You are suggesting it's perfectly ok to speak English in France. So why not being perfectly acceptable for people to have to understand Chinese in Australia. What's the difference?

But it doesn't actually matter how we discuss this in a forum in Australia. You were in France, so a little French goes a very long way. Doesn't have to be anymore that a Bonjour Monsieur.

 

[ss1801]

French own the language. We speak English in Australia not because Australia own the language because she doesn't, but it is the language of communication for general and businesses by most non English speaking countries where I came from. I certainly don't expect French to speak Malay when they come to Malaysia or Tamil when they arrive in India.
Ok to speak English in France because English is a neutral language widely used by a lot of the non English speaking countries conducting business with the west and it doesn't belong to anyone. No body can really claim ownership of English. Chinese language belongs to the Chinese and no Australian should be made to understand chinese. It is really a commercial consideration to learn chinese in order to tap into the big chinese tourism market I guess. The next time it could be Tamil.

In any case, we did the "Bonjour" today and it works fine.

 

[Jack_OC]

French own the language
......
No body can really claim ownership of English.
.......
.

I don't understand your logic. French is widely spoken in almost 50 countries around the world, and fewer than 10% of people who speak French are French by nationality. So how is the French language owned by the French people any more than the English language is owned by the English people?

 

[opusman]

We speak English in Australia not because Australia own the language because she doesn't, but it is the language of communication for general and businesses by most non English speaking countries where I came from.

I think you'll find we speak English in Australia because it was colonised by people from England...

 

[Pushka]

Im sorry but I can't see your logic here. You are in France, and their national language is French, of which they are pretty pleased with. Its their rules, you are a guest, so they appreciate and respond accordingly when you make the effort to acknowledge that. English is the language of Australia and if I was serving someone and they started the conversation in any language other than English I would look at them and respond in English. As would everyone else.

We speak English only because England colonised most colonies. In SA we were originally colonised by free settlement, mostly Germans. But English won out. Had Germany colonised Australia we would speak German. Dutch settlement in South Africa is why they speak Afrikaans. Business language is completely irrelevant when travelling.

Glad the bonjour worked for you.

 

[grussellt]

Bonjour, tout le monde!

 

[legroom]

Who, apart from your own self, created that proposition ?

A bit of superiority complex there I guess, thinking that English is / should be the universal language even in a foreign country.

Showed a lack of respect for the host country IMHO.

A bit of "Bonjour" or "Pardonnez moi" would show some respect for the hosts.

How would you feel if some tourists come into your shop speaking in their own native tongue ?

Not pleased, I'd expect.

.... Ok to speak English in France.....

 

[sergeyvzn]

Funny how a thread on lounge access and flights has evolved into a linguistic discussion