- Joined
- Sep 20, 2018
- Posts
- 4,008
- Qantas
- Platinum
Thursday 26 December 2024 - DXB-CMB on UL226
Took two ubers to the airport (Terminal 1), with the Seats +Almost DIL in one and the rest of her family (let's call them the HLOs) in the second. We had agreed to meet up after security and immigration, as they were sure that they would be faster than us as they didn't have to check in luggage.
Let's just say that travelling economy on Sri Lankan is a very different experience to Business on Emirates! Immigration was busym but the e-gates kept things moving along. Security was a cattle crush of humanity pushing and shoving and shouting and trying to queue jump. It's not usually like this when you use the premium check in area in Terminal 3!
Still, there were a few good parts:
We headed down to our gate all together when boarding was called at 2240. Flight will clearly be late as it was due to depart at 2310.
I asked at the gate about OWE boarding privileges (no signs anywhere for premium boarding) and was really surprised that the whole 7 of us were instantly whisked to the very front of the long line waiting to board. This was expecially appreciated given the absolutely crazy amounts of hand luggage that people were bringing with the. This was way beyond having too many bags. People were carrying boxes with small kitchen appliances (like rice cookers etc, so not really small boxes, not like a toaster
) and some had slabs of bottled water, others were carrying 15kg (clearly marked) bags of rice. it was total mayhem. So the HLOs were thrilled to get on board early in the process and get their luggage up into the locker before having to deal with all that.
Our aircraft for this flight was a very tired and elderly A330. It smelled very strongly and unpleasantly of stale curry, and something else pungent that I could not identify (no it was not durian). The flight was packed and the downside of my aisle seat was that almost every person banged their excessive hand luggage against me as they worked their way down the back. The seats were very close together. Remember I am only 165 cm tall, and whilst not skinny, I'm not large either and it was too tight for my comfort. My knees were about 1 cm from the seat in front. I don't know how taller people like Mr Seat 0A (at 180cm) or some of the even taller people on here manage this.
As soon as possible, I put on my noise cancelling headphones, and closed my eyese. Reclined my seat as soon as the seat belt sign went off, put on an eye mask (thank you Emirates), declined meal service and tried to sleep. This was a serious challenge with lights on the whole way, except for the 20 minutes before landing when the cabin lights were dimmed. Plus there was a fair volume of aisle traffic which continued to bump into me because of the narrow aisle. Still I managed a couple of decent snatches of nap.
Despite the late departure (at 2330), we still arrived on time, so the already short 4:20 flight was even shorter, which actually was a small mercy as I really struggled to get comfortable.
Anyway, I will appreciate my upcoming flights DXB-SIN on Emirates in Business class all the more for this experience. NOT looking forward to the equally anti-social hours return to DXB though.
Took two ubers to the airport (Terminal 1), with the Seats +Almost DIL in one and the rest of her family (let's call them the HLOs) in the second. We had agreed to meet up after security and immigration, as they were sure that they would be faster than us as they didn't have to check in luggage.
Let's just say that travelling economy on Sri Lankan is a very different experience to Business on Emirates! Immigration was busym but the e-gates kept things moving along. Security was a cattle crush of humanity pushing and shoving and shouting and trying to queue jump. It's not usually like this when you use the premium check in area in Terminal 3!
Still, there were a few good parts:
- The check in clerk let me check in Seat Son and Almost DIL at the First Class check in line (OWE privilege), even though they were on a totally separate booking to us.
- The Ahlan Business lounge in Terminal 1 was actually quite nice. It was very busy, but staff were circulating frequently clearing away used plates and glasses and topping up the food offerings, so it was quite a pleasant experience. We enjoyed a snack, a glass or two of bubbles, and added a fe cans of softdrink (ginger ale and coke) and some bottled water to our bags for future use.
- Our whole party of 7 was given OWE boarding privileges, despite being on three separate tickets, so everyone managed to get some overhead locker space - a benefit which proved to be very valuable in the event.
We headed down to our gate all together when boarding was called at 2240. Flight will clearly be late as it was due to depart at 2310.
I asked at the gate about OWE boarding privileges (no signs anywhere for premium boarding) and was really surprised that the whole 7 of us were instantly whisked to the very front of the long line waiting to board. This was expecially appreciated given the absolutely crazy amounts of hand luggage that people were bringing with the. This was way beyond having too many bags. People were carrying boxes with small kitchen appliances (like rice cookers etc, so not really small boxes, not like a toaster
) and some had slabs of bottled water, others were carrying 15kg (clearly marked) bags of rice. it was total mayhem. So the HLOs were thrilled to get on board early in the process and get their luggage up into the locker before having to deal with all that.Our aircraft for this flight was a very tired and elderly A330. It smelled very strongly and unpleasantly of stale curry, and something else pungent that I could not identify (no it was not durian). The flight was packed and the downside of my aisle seat was that almost every person banged their excessive hand luggage against me as they worked their way down the back. The seats were very close together. Remember I am only 165 cm tall, and whilst not skinny, I'm not large either and it was too tight for my comfort. My knees were about 1 cm from the seat in front. I don't know how taller people like Mr Seat 0A (at 180cm) or some of the even taller people on here manage this.
As soon as possible, I put on my noise cancelling headphones, and closed my eyese. Reclined my seat as soon as the seat belt sign went off, put on an eye mask (thank you Emirates), declined meal service and tried to sleep. This was a serious challenge with lights on the whole way, except for the 20 minutes before landing when the cabin lights were dimmed. Plus there was a fair volume of aisle traffic which continued to bump into me because of the narrow aisle. Still I managed a couple of decent snatches of nap.
Despite the late departure (at 2330), we still arrived on time, so the already short 4:20 flight was even shorter, which actually was a small mercy as I really struggled to get comfortable.
Anyway, I will appreciate my upcoming flights DXB-SIN on Emirates in Business class all the more for this experience. NOT looking forward to the equally anti-social hours return to DXB though.
