Shano Goes to Legoland

[Shano]

Well not really, but that is what my two kids think I am doing for the next two and a half weeks (more details later).

So this is my second attempt at a trip report. My first was quite a few years ago and it never got finished, so the chances of me seeing this through to completion are not that great.

So here goes.

This trip will be my second RTW. My first in 2008 was a LONE4, with this one being a DONE4. Therefore it should be a lot more comfortable.

I was originally going to be travelling on my own, however a couple of our executives that are involved in this project that we are trying to get off the ground wanted to come. They are both goods guys (they are not AFF members so not trying to score brownie points here) so I had no objections, however it meant that approval for all three of us to travel was not obtained until about three weeks ago. This presented a few challenges trying to source D availability from Australia to Europe and then from WC USA back home.

Thanks to AFF and my previous experience with RTW fares I was at least somewhat aware of what would be possible with routings.

The Oneworld timetable and Expertflyer also proved invaluable to me to at least check possibilities before speaking to our TA.

The final (interim – I’ll explain a bit later) looks a bit like this:

MEL-DXB-LHR-MAN-BLL-BRU-MUC-LHR-EWR,ALB-DCA-MSY-DFW-JFK-HKG-MEL

My two colleages are based in SYD so there itinerary is:

SYD-MEL- DXB-LHR-MAN-BLL-BRU-MUC-LHR-EWR,ALB-DCA-MSY-DFW-LAX-BNE-SYD

* I wish I knew the convention for indicating what is a stopover and what is a transit, so please forgive me. If someone can advise I will update the routing.

**BRU-MUC is actually a LH flight and ALB-DCA-MSY is a nested US flight as at time of booking we can’t add US flights to a xONEx booking. The good thing is it is in A so we will earn QFF points and SC.

***BLL-BRU is also a standalone fare as we had exceeded our 4 segments in Europe. This is also a Y only flight operated by Sun Airways (for BA).

The biggest challenge during the booking was explaining to my colleagues what was possible with routings. Typical questions were “Emirates fly from Dubai to Manchester, why can’t we catch that and bypass Heathrow”

So I managed to diplomatically steer my way around these enquiries (these colleagues are more senior than me after all) and everything ticketed at the T-5 days deadline.

 

[FuzzyAUS]

Looking forward to this, something different...

I too have the best intentions to do a TR, however don't get around to it and the normal barrage of emails take the focus

 

[Shano]

The fact that my colleagues were returning to SYD gave me an opportunity to have a different homeward routing, hence the decision to fly via HKG. This enables me to visit the new QF lounge in HKG as well as experience CX J for the first time. There is also a lot more availability going via HKG than directly to Australia from US West Coast, due to the number of North American ports that CX fly from.

So I have chosen to depart from JFK for HKG which will be on the 77W, with HKG-MEL on the A330. The flights were timed so that I got the daytime flight from HKG to MEL. This gives me about 5 hours of lounge time in HKG.

However, as alluded to earlier this will change as I am still trying to confirm a couple of last minute meetings that will at least change the departure date, if not also the departure port.

So at least 1 re-ticketing will be required as I’m pretty sure I’ll have to depart out of somewhere other than JFK. Options include ORD, LAX, YYZ, YVR and SFO. The complication has been trying to make sure that I get home no later than the Thursday before Good Friday (for obvious health reasons J) so more than likely it will be a west coast departure.

 

[Shano]

This trip will also entail a few firsts for me:

1. BA long haul J
2. 744 UD (on the above flight)
3. 788 from LHR-EWR
4. CX long haul J
5. New QF HKG lounge
6. Back to QF WP

Starting from the bottom, I haven’t been WP for about 6 years. I slowly dropped back to my LTS due to a change in roles that saw a significant reduction in my travel. This time last year I had my first ever international business class trip to the UK and Germany, which brought me back to SG.

Courtesy of a DSC offer I am sitting on 890 SC for my current membership year (ends 31[SUP]st[/SUP] May) so this trip should get me back to WP after the LHR-EWR leg. So contingent on flights posting fairly promptly and my status updating accordingly, I’ll get to sample the CX F lounge when transiting through HKG.

In some ways this is a bit of a wasted opportunity as the company I work for is in the process of switching exclusively to VA for domestic flights, so I’ll have limited ability to access the DOM J lounges. I can only hope that there are a couple more follow up international flights that will enable me to use the MEL or SYD F lounges.

I had considered putting in for a points UG from J to F for the MEL-DXB leg, but the 45,000 points would be more greatly appreciated by my family for domestic flights (my wife’s family are all based interstate so visits typically involve flying), so I am more than happy to fare with the J lounge and Skybed MKII.

We are also planning an OS family holiday for September to SE Asia, so saving the points for a possibly better flight offering, plus a visit to the MEL F lounge, may help alleviate some of the duress that my travel causes my wife.

 

[Shano]

I have also heard mixed reviews about the BA788, but having not flown on the "Dreamliner" yet it was worth trying.

The other issue is the prevalence of 767 and 757 flights between LHR and the US East Coast. So in the absence of a 747 or 777 the 788 seems the next best choice.

I was able to preselect seats. But all of the side pairs were taken. Currently have preselected 1D, but may change this and move further away from the galley for this night flight.

The 788 flight also works out best for our connection from MUC, so here's hoping those wings are well secured with gaffer tape .

So it will be good to compare against the A380 and 744.

 

[Simo]

Looking forward to following it.

 

[serfty]

...

MEL-DXB-LHR-MAN-BLL-BRU-MUC-LHR-EWR,ALB-DCA-MSY-DFW-JFK-HKG-MEL

My two colleages are based in SYD so there itinerary is:

SYD-MEL- DXB-LHR-MAN-BLL-BRU-MUC-LHR-EWR,ALB-DCA-MSY-DFW-LAX-BNE-SYD

* I wish I knew the convention for indicating what is a stopover and what is a transit, so please forgive me. If someone can advise I will update the routing.
...

No letter means o for stopover, x means transit.

e.g.

MEL-xDXB-xLHR-MAN-xBLL-BRU-MUC-xLHR-EWR,ALB-xDCA-MSY-xDFW-xJFK-xHKG-MEL

has stopovers at MAN, BRU, MUC, EWR, ALB & MSY and could also be written as:

MEL-xDXB-xLHR-oMAN-xBLL-oBRU-oMUC-xLHR-oEWR,ALB-xDCAo-MSY-xDFW-xJFK-xHKG-MEL

 

[Shano]

I digress slightly here to acknowledge how amazing my wife is for putting up with my travel. For the last 18 months I have been a semi regular flyer, to the point where last year I did about 75 flights and will be on track to do a similar number this year.

My wife also works full time and we have two young children, aged 7 and 5. The youngest started school this year so a typical weekday sees us both up at around 5am (she has an exercise obsession at the moment, which is good because it gets my lazy backside out of bed to exercise with her) exercise, breakfast, school lunches, getting kids ready, out the door at 7:20, drop my daughter at school at 7:45, on to my son’s school for drop-off at 8:00am and then on to work.

When I am at home I do the school drop-offs. At first I felt guilty about not getting to work until after 9am - I work on the other side of Melbourne to where we live and where the kids go to school - but in reality this is all part of the “swings and roundabouts” as was recently discussed elsewhere when it comes to flexibility of work hours for salaried staff.

I also really enjoy the school drop off – getting the chance to talk to my children in the car, play games like eye-spy and that last hug as they walk into school (they are still young enough that they like to hug their parents so we take full advantage of that). Missing out on these experiences are some of the more tangible negatives to travelling as I’m sure many of you are aware and many of you also make similar sacrifices.

So when I am away my wife does drop-off and pick-up. Fortunately she has an understanding boss who gives her the flexibility to be able to do that. She also does the running around in the afternoons to dance lessons, swimming lessons, music lessons, sports, dentist appointments, doctor’s appointments and all of those other unexpected things that pop up. And she does this very capably. Not having any family in Melbourne makes it hard, but she rarely complains and accepts that is the professional life that I lead. She has been a major contributor to the development, both socially and academically, of our two children.

I hate to admit it, but as a result of all of this, me blowing 45,000 points on an UG really would make me look like a selfish @rse.

OK, digression over. Sorry for the lack of flying related information and I’m not really telling many of you anything that you don’t already experience, but this seems to be the way my mind meanders when I write. I feel it also puts a more human element to the personal demands of our families that are also affected by our travel.

 

[Shano]

I left my Shure SE420 in-ear phones on board a VA flight last month. Despite several calls to VA and visit to baggage handling they never did re-appear.

As a temporary measure I bought a pair of $20 TDK earphones at the airport so that I could at least listen to the music on my iPhone while travelling. They were utter rubbish by comparison! So I started researching new headphones.

I like the portability of the in-ear style, so this was the first criteria. Then came the option of noise cancelling or noise isolating. My research seemed to indicate that there is a trade-off in music quality with NC earphones, so I opted for NI. To be honest, with the quality of my music rips it wouldn’t have made the slightest bit of difference, but non-NC seems to offer a lot more options.

I liked the Shures so these were high on my list and seriously considered the newer 425’s, but in the end I ended up snagging some Westone 4’s on Ebay for $250 so I am pretty happy. Buying off Ebay was a bit risky, and I started to wonder if I would ever get the Westone’s due to a lack of communication from the seller, but in the end they arrived and I am very happy with them.

They are a 4-driver earphone with a fairly neutral tone (the Shures were a bit more bass heavy). The iPhone has a number of equaliser settings though to get the right mix between bass, mid-range and treble. They do highlight the variation in quality of both my own CD rips and music I have purchased electronically. I’m contemplating going back through my CD collection and re-ripping most of them for a better result. Contemplating…. That’s probably as far as it will go to be honest.

The other thing I like is the fact that they don’t transmit noise via the cables, which the Shure’s did excessively to the point that you couldn’t wear them jogging.

How does this relate to this TR – they are currently in my ears as I type this at 34,000 feet heading across central Australia.

 

[Shano]

Our first meeting is in York on Monday morning. Due to lack of availability the only options we had was to leave on Friday, either via the routing above, or via NRT and HEL. The other two chose (obviously) SYD-MEL-DXB-LHR-MAN.

I was also originally booked on the same flights (we got the last 3 D seats) however my son had an event on at his school on Friday, so I delayed my departure by a day.

In doing so there was no availability on QF9 for Saturday (today) but I could do MEL-HKG-DXB-LHR-MAN. This would have had me leaving MEL at around 8:30 Saturday morning and arriving in MAN at around 9am Sunday. When I mentioned this to the others their reaction was along the lines of “Why the hell do you want to do that?” I chose not to give a truthful answer. In the end the TA managed to get a seat on QF9 so I decided to forgo the extra SC’s and took my son to soccer this morning instead.

My son (and now daughter) participate in Grasshopper Soccer. I am not sure if this is run nationally or just in Melbourne, but it is a non-competitive, skills based soccer programme for both boys and girls up to the ages of about 10. My son has been doing it for two years now and my daughter has only just started, and they both really enjoy it as the focus is on the kids having fun and developing their skills and less about winning or losing. So for the ages that they are at now it is a great program.

I tried to get some packing done last night (Friday) but I am a hopeless packer. I seem to look at the suitcase, then the wardrobe, then back at the suitcase, then go and see what’s on TV. My packing efficiency is much better when there is no time to procrastinate. So it got done when I got home after soccer at 12:15pm.

The Chauffeur Drive was booked for 1:15pm so there was not time for procrastinating. Packing done, light lunch, cup of tea, polished boots and it was 1:10pm. Whew.

Right on 1:15pm the doorbell rang.

 

[Shano]

This bit is a bit sentimental so you have been warned…..

This for me is the absolute hardest part of being way for an extended time. When I say extended I mean more than a week at a time (Our definitions of this no doubt vary widely). This trip will likely extend out to almost three weeks by the time my final couple of meetings have been confirmed. In my younger days I would often be away on commissioning assignments for up to 4 months at a time, and was always excited at the prospect of international travel. But that was BK (before kids).

As I was saying goodbye I got a real lump in my throat. I found that my voice also started to get a bit shaky as I was telling the kids to be good for their mother and that I was going to miss them. I also told my son that he would need to be the man of the house while I was away and make sure that he looks after mummy – “I will Daddy” was the reply.

Which is ironic really, because I’m sure that most of you with children would attest to the fact that they have an uncanny ability to drive you insane. How many of us have at times reflected on how easy our lives were before these little horrors became our primary responsibility. Simple tasks like getting them to brush their teeth become more protracted than Qantas’ attempts to destroy our loyalty. Even putting them to bed there are numerous “Daddy, can I just tell you something”, followed by “Daddy, can I quickly tell you something else”…… and on it goes. in My wife and I often reflect fondly on how we used to have a social life, or being able to sleep in on weekends. But despite all that it really pulls at the heart-strings to be away from them.

Two key statements come to mind now. In my BK days, a colleague said to me when I revealed we were expecting our first child that “you will never experience anything like the love you have for your children”. Hmm, I think he was on to something there.

The second was a study that I was listening to on the radio a few years ago that indicated that men’s testosterone levels decrease after they (or should I say their partner) have kids. OK, I do admit that I have a tendency to well up with pride when my children achieve something special, or find it hard not to share their emotions when they become upset, so maybe that is correct also.

So even typing this now (perhaps after one too many G&T’s, red wine and cognac… ah good here comes the tea lady) I can’t help back think what they are doing now, assuming that they haven’t been bound, gagged and drugged by their mother (said in absolute jest I can assure you…)

But to put things in perspective, I got the “Daddy don’t go” as I was trying to leave the house. My wife then said “OK let’s go and get some chocolate”. The response….. a profound “OK!!” and immediate change in demeanour.

Thanks kids, I will miss you too……

 

[Shano]

Back to all things travel.

Chauffeur Drive was booked on line on Monday this week. I got a phone call from the chauffeur company yesterday (Friday) confirming the time for todays (Saturday’s booking).

In the car and on the road by 1:20pm and arrive at the airport at around 2pm. I’m travelling with a standard sized suitcase which I am checking in, and a cabin sized rollaboard containing laptop, paperwork, change of clothes, Westones (J) etc… I had considered attempting the trip HLO, but over nearly 3 weeks with many single night stays in hotels I was a bit concerned about the effect on my personal hygiene, and that of my fellow flyers.

Queue up in the J checkin line, waiting for the people in front of me to try and cram the entire contents of their wardrobe into their suitcase. I felt like giving them a hand as I’m sure my weight would have had made some positive contribution to the compressive forces needed to close that sucker.

So up to the lovely check-in agent I go, hand her my passport and say I’m on QF9. “Going all the way through to Manchester?”, “Yes, thank you”.

I then stand there with baited breath, waiting for the words “We have upgraded you to first class today…….”

[ASIDE: My two colleagues that flew yesterday, a WP and a PS, were both given an opup from J to F on QF9, so surely as a SG I must also be in with a chance……. They did do me the courtesy of calling me from the MEL F lounge to inform me of their luck. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it].

She hands me my J boarding pass and hopes I have a good flight.

At least I am sitting in 12E. As a SG I was able to preselect seats in Row 13 (still in Emerald City). Initially I had an aisle seat but changes to 13K as people here have commented that it is not that hard to climb over your seat mate when they have extended the droopy Skybed, and the side storage is quite handy.

But, being a vigilant FF, I checked again at T-80 and snagged 12E. So I have aisle access, no one to climb over me, and half way between the lounge and the galley. Plus a whole OH locker to myself.

I am also given my BP’s for DXB-LHR and LHR-MAN, both on BA.

Through security in about 3 minutes and make my way to passport control. I was contemplating joining the “normal” queue and saving the express pass, but I didn’t. In that moment of indecision a swarm of plebeian travellers descended on passport control, so the decision was made for me. I waited barely a couple of minutes and then through, but not before gently asking the immigration officer if I could have my BP back.

Down through the maze of duty free and up (oh, I can only dream….), sorry down into the J lounge dungeon. I contemplate visiting the CX lounge, but figure I’m doing my bit to help QF’s bottom line by bypassing it.

As I didn’t go into work yesterday I had a heap of stuff I needed to print so I grabbed a Mac closest to the printer and set about on my quest for further massive deforestation. Only kidding, there were only about 30 pages that I needed to print. Unfortunately this is just more weight that I need to cart around with me. Fortunately I will be jettisoning this additional burned as the trip progresses.

I make myself a G&T and help myself to a cone (wouldn’t that help to pass away the time, but alas they were only fries), and by then it is getting close to boarding. So I take the 15 minutes to sit down and start typing up this TR. Hopefully I can maintain the drivel over the next two to three weeks.

 

[Shano]

Well I suppose I should reveal the Legoland connection rather than risk the wrath of of members here accusing me of deceptive marketing.

I can assure you that I am not giving you all a bum steer, and that the title is almost correct....., but more on that later.

 

[Shano]

Boarding is called so I make my way down to Gate 16. There is some confusion as priority boarding has been moved to the right hand side, so the priority boarding queue is full of non-priority passengers, who are fortunately told to step aside.

Down the aerobridge (then up the aerobridge to the UD on the A380 J) and I am in my seat in no time. I then fap about for a few minutes finding my Westones and putting my passport away, then warmly greeted by Katrina offering me a drink. I take the champagne as well as my seat. No idea what it was unfortunately, but it was cold, bubbly, tart…. That is the best I can come up with because I have no idea if it had a bouquet of lychee and chrysanthemum, or was that the tea, now I am getting confused.

As I sit here sipping my cold, bubbly, tart champagne my attention turns to the Skybeds. The footrest on mine does fold up completely so it’s left in a bit of a half-coughd position. For now I push it down so that it is flat on the floor so that it doesn’t cut into my calves.

It has been widely publicised that the A330 are getting the new MN designed SkySuite, which does look pretty good. But what is the plan for updating the MKII Skybed? The Skybed is after all getting a bit long in the tooth (and dare I say it a bit saggy around the bottom). Is the SkySuite also slated for later installation in the A380, or do QF have another plan (do QF have a plan other than destroying loyalty?). Obviously the SkySuite cannot be installed 6 abreast, so that will see a major reduction in the number of J seats offered. Maybe there is already a thread on AFF, but I struggle to keep up with the number of threads now anyway. When I first joined AFF you could go the the new posts page and there would be about 40 new posts for the last day. Now it is like 40 new posts for the last 15 minutes.

Oh well, time will tell what QF have up their sleeve. I am sure that the likes of Ryan Air and Air Asia have proffered some useful advice.

Pushback is delayed about 10 minutes from our scheduled 4:15 departure. It amazes me the number of people that seem to disregard the announcements to turn off electronic devices. They guy next to me keeps tapping away on his iPad after a couple of requests. I could tell that the crew were a bit irritated. A bit like to guy who was checking his messages as we were on final approach into MEL the other night.

We are soon on our way for a take-off to the south and are informed by Captain Trevor Lowe that the flying time will be a little over 13 hours today.

We are on board VH-OQK.

I notice a “Qantas Group” 788 parked at the gate beside us and like many of you lament the fact that there is a star and not a big roo painted on the tail.

As the welcome announcements are being made it suddenly struck me the order that the FF programs are acknowledges – Qantas, Emirates and OneWorld – I assume that it has always been this way and have just never noticed, or perhaps with the recent changes to the earning rates with partner airlines it is more prevalent in people’s minds. OneWorld, you know where you stand!

 

[Shano]

The partner earning has been discussed in some detail on this forum. I’m a bit ambivalent at the moment because I rarely fly on partner airlines. This trip is a bit of an exception and to be honest I am lucky to do one international trip per year.

Similar with the revised QFF points and SC earning. I haven’t had time to dissect the new earning tables so will reserve judgement until I do.

It is possibly all a bit moot anyway as the rumours at my place of employment are of an exclusive change to VA for all domestic travel.

 

[Shano]

Here is a photo of my travel attire for today.



My kids gave me two t-shirts for father’s day last year – this one is from my son who obviously saw a reflection of his personality in the print. He is right on the money.

The second shirt that my daughter chose depicts a monkey playing a piano accordion. She obviously saw a reflection of ….. hang on, I’d better not finish that sentence, the little rascal.

Gift count now stands at: son +1, daughter -1.

My daughter wants one of these American Girl dolls (I think that’s what they are called), which I know very little about. After the effort above I’m not sure she deserves it :shock:. Apparently they come in all different hair colours, skin tones, etc, and she wants one that looks just like her so it has to have long blonde hair, olive skin, earrings (my daughter doesn't currently have earrings but this is our treat for her for achieving a few notable things for first term. She isn't getting them done until the school holidays, so that is a little presumptuous of her).

My son wants a gun. Just any gun.

 

[Shano]

So we are in the air and the cabin crew start coming around to take lunch orders. I choose the Vietnamese lamb salad and the pasta whose name I can’t pronounce and also escapes me at the moment (the pasta dish with the peas). I have a couple of slices of sourdough and choose the merlot.

While orders are being taken, tables prepared, drinks offered, etc., etc., it is quite striking the difference in attitude of the crew. Some are absolutely fantastic – warm, engaging, appearing to be genuinely interested in the idle chit-chat (they have been trained well) efficient. People here often give wraps to the QF crew and the good examples are wonderful.

There are, unfortunately, a few others that belong in a different category. Given the recent turmoil at Qantas I can cut them some slack. I’ve worked in businesses where I have seen good colleagues made redundant, have had to make people redundant, and ultimately was made redundant myself, so I know how dispiriting it can be. However these people are effectively front line staff for QF and often the people that passengers remember (positively or negatively) when flying. So hopefully more of the great staff have been retained in the recent “restructuring”.

Both dishes were nice. The salad fresh and light and the pasta actually quite tasty.

I decline desert and settle back and try and get some sleep as the alcohol has started making me feel a bit drowsy. This poses another quandary for me.

I have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnoea. I have suspected for quite some time that I suffer from this as my wife complains about my snoring, and I have a tendency to drift off to sleep in front of the TV. Ironically my wife had a degenerative bone disease in her ear which had affected her hearing, so for quite some time she simply wouldn’t hear me snore. She had this corrected last year and now my snoring drives her crazy, to the point where she wears earplugs in bed.

So now I am contemplating what to do about the sleep apnoea. I also have a deviated septum courtesy of a tackle when playing rugby league at uni. The ENT has recommended getting this fixed first and possibly tightening up some of the soft palate. This doesn’t sound too bad. I am currently getting near the end of orthodontic treatment as well (the medical bills at the moment are killing me) and one option is mandibular advancement surgery. As this was originally offered purely for cosmetic reasons I never seriously considered it as my overbite isn’t that bad and the surgery sounds awful. For those that don’t know, the surgery involves cutting the lower jaw bone on either side of the mouth, advancing it around 10mm and then screwing it all back together. Hmm, doesn’t really sound that attractive does it.

Now the ENT has suggested that this surgery may also improve my breathing.

The final option is a CPAP machine.

I am a terrible sleeper at the best of times so the thought of wearing a mask every night isn’t that appealing. As I currently have braces on my teeth I also can’t trial a mandibular splint, which is effectively a mouth guard that projects the lower jaw forward and should help open up the airways. I have also heard that these are uncomfortable.

To top it all off my sister is a physiotherapist and works in a sleep clinic. She is horrified that I am considering a surgical solution and not the CPAP.

So how does this pose a quandary on my flight? When I sleep on my back I snore even louder than normal, especially after some alcohol. I also wake up feeling like cough. The Skybed, and most aircraft flat beds, are more conducive for lying on your back. So in the interests of minimising disruption to other passengers I elect to try and sleep in a reclined position. So with the Westone’s in my ears, seat (not fully) reclined and covered in the blanket I do manage to drift off to sleep.

 

[Shano]

The other Dubai lounges…….

The EK lounges at DXB have been widely acclaimed on this forum as well as other travel websites. I was fortunate to visit the FLounge last year courtesy of a points UG from J to F from DXB to LHR (OK< I can be a little bit selfish at times, but it was only 15,000 points) and subsequently the J lounge on the return flight.

Due to this routing and the desire to fly to MAN rather than hire a car from LHR, the opportunity to again frequent the EK lounge was lost.

My flight to LHR (BA106) departs from Terminal 1. Where is Terminal 1?

On arriving at DXB I bypass the first transfer security screening point and head to the next one (nice tip from AFF). The queue at the second screening point was significantly shorter than the first. Once through screening and up the escalators I then look for signage to Terminal 1. And I keep looking, and looking, and looking. Is it just me or is this signage non-existent.

I approach an assistant at an information counter who tells me to go down the lift and catch the train one stop and then someone their will help me. This is a pretty efficient process and I am off the train in less than 10 minutes. I then approach another assistant who tells me to go to gate C14 for transfer to Terminal 1. So I start walking towards C14 and find a flight information board and BA106 is scheduled to depart form gate C11. OK, I can work with that. I then see the sign for the BA lounge and head that way.

At the lounge I confirm that we are departing from gate C11 and the departure time so all good. That gives me about 45 minutes to spend in the lounge. I really shouldn’t have bothered. It is relatively small and packed. I manage to find a seat and then try and connect to the wifi. No good as it probably can’t cope with the numbers. I then find another wifi network that lets me connect without authentication.

I have a look at the food and drink offerings and decide on some of the hot Arabic snacks and a cup of tea. The snacks weren’t too bad but this experience pales into insignificance compared to the EK lounges. It seems that this is also the defacto OneWorld lounge at DXB, so I was surprised it wasn’t of a higher standard. I guess that means that we are spoilt domestically.

By now it is time to board so I make my way to gate C11. There is secondary screening at the gate which means laptop out, belt off and through the WTMD. I don’t have a problem with this, however what was slightly irritating was the scrum of people on the other side of the scanner trying to reclaim their belongings. The belt exiting the scanner would have been lucky to be 5 feet long, so there were bags and trays flying everywhere. Fortunately I managed to grab my belongings before they hit the floor, then straight over and on to the aerobridge.

I managed to snag 63B on the BA 744. I originally selected one of the backwards facing seats on the lower deck, window seat, but also set a seat alert in EF for the UD emergency row seats.

I haven’t flown UD on a 744 before so this will also be a novelty.