The Problem With AFF

[Solid]

The problem with AFF that I find is that there are so many knowledgable people on the site and it is such a good source of information that you end up finding yourself in the following situations. Most would agree it's a good problem to have!

The problems all started back in September when a thread was started about cheap J deals on Qantas to Sydney from Singapore over the Christmas period. Ms Solid and I have a five day window over this period with no work and no Master Solid and we had been discussing where to go. Ms Solid leaves the travel planning to others but established two rules, not "too far" and somewhere she hadn't been before.

As Ms Solid had only transited Singapore before I figured this met the rules, so jumped on the fare. I've been there before but the rules where somewhere she hadn't!

Now, how to get to Singapore I wondered?

Back to AFF I go and stumble across the fact that Etihad is an AA Partner. Seems everybody else knew but not me! For some reason (thanks AFF!) despite never stepping on either airline I have a stash of AAdvantage Miles that started their life as US Dividend Miles. Onto the Etihad website and lo and behold there is F availability Sydney to Abu Dhabi on the first day Master Solid free. Not the A380 unfortunately but beggars can't be choosers so again booked.

Now, how to get from Abu Dhabi to Singapore?

It may surprise you but back to AFF I go after realising probably the most options was from Dubai to Singapore. Leaving from Dubai was not a problem as the Etihad Chauffer would transfer us from Abu Dhabi to Dubai on arrival.

Perusing the KrisFlyer forum for information gave me the confidence to sign up to KrisFlyer. Searches found availability Dubai to Singapore in J so over some Westpac Altitude points go to KrisFlyer and whammo, J redemption booked. I did try to wait list F as it said it was available to wait list but for some reason it wouldn't work online. Contacted Krisflyer by phone and they said there were none available to wait list that day. Huh. Checked back every now and again and suddenly there was F availability on the flight. Upgrade to F redemption processed vis their website and happy days!

So the flights were booked, accommodation followed all sorted. So far the only activity booked is dune buggy driving in Dubai, apart from that the days are free to decide as we go.

Thanks again to AFF and all the members for giving me this problem! First time on Etihad and Singapore and both are in F!

So in case you didn't want to read the above and want the executive summary, the trip is as follows:

1. SYD-AUH on Etihad F on 777. Chauffer transfer to Dubai.
2. Two nights Hilton Dubai Creek.
3. DXB-SIN on Singapore F on 777.
4. Overnight Intercontinental, arriving in Singapore at 0700 and leaving 1900 next day so effectively two days.
5. SIN-SYD on Qantas J on A330 overnight.

Starting to get fairly excited and looking forward to the new experiences which I will humbly give my impressions of.

 

[Deleted member]

Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together

 

[Pushka]

Love it! Well done. When are you in Dubai?

 

[Buzzard]

That's the sort of problem with AFF I want to have Solid.
Well done, enjoy the spoils.

 

[Solid]

Love it! Well done. When are you in Dubai?

We arrive on Christmas day and depart on the evening of the 27th.

 

[JohnK]

Sounds like a good plan. Enjoy.

 

[Dr Ralph]

The problem with AFF????????????????????????????

 

[Pushka]

We arrive on Christmas day and depart on the evening of the 27th.

Miss you by that much! Did I also miss you recently in HK in July?

 

[Mattg]

Sounds great! Enjoy the trip.

The problem with AFF????????????????????????????

Very much a first-world problem, by the sound of it.

 

[Solid]

Miss you by that much! Did I also miss you recently in HK in July?

Was in HK but can't quite remember if it was July

OK, So Etihad Chauffer has called to confirm time four days before the flight. They originally wanted to pick us up 3.5 hours before the flight. As no great urgency to get there asked for an hour later to which they said they would have to check schedules and call me back.

Called Etihad after two days who said it was up to car company and they would send through a request. Rang car company whose number was in my mobile and they said they would call tomorrow to confirm whether it could be changed.

called back after about half an hour and said the booking had been changed to later so happy days!

 

[mark4217]

Well executed. Awesome.

 

[Major]

Great plan. Good use of points

 

[Solid]

Ok, checking back in after our short trip with some more details.

First flight: EY451 Sydney to Abu Dhabi in F on 777.

10 minutes before scheduled pick up a message from the driver alerted us to the fact that our Etihad Chauffeur was at home. Down to the front and into the car and off we go.

Check in at the Etihad First check in was under whelming for an F experience, with just the normal contract staff acting in somewhat of a surly fashion.

Boarding pass and express path card in hand we were quickly through to airside and into the Etihad Lounge. A very pleasant greeting and explanation of the lounge before being offered dates by another staff member.

Downstairs to the lounge which was compact but pleasant. It has a dining section but as we had deliberately left only a little time in the lounge we didn't take that option.

Champagnes on offer were a Nicholas Feuillatte and Duval-Leroy Rose.

After the first sip of champagne the holiday mood started to set in.

 

[Solid]

Etihad Lounge at Sydney. The dining area is on the other side of the wooden partition.



Holiday time!

When checking the seats it appeared that only a few of the other seats in F were taken but when in the lounge a few lucky people next to us got the good news that they had been upgraded to F due to J being oversold.

As they had mentioned when we entered the lounge, the staff came around and told everyone individually that the flight was boarding.

Off we go!

 

[Solid]

Boomy has knocked it out of the park with the report on Etihad F on the A380 in the other trip report so won't dwell too much.

On board we were greeted by the flight attendant and chef who suggested champagne to start, which was the Bollinger Grand Annee. Who were we to say no? It was delivered with a small selection of dates and signed letter welcoming us. Travelling together we had chosen the two middle seats and I found with the privacy barrier down it felt like we were closer than many other premium cabins we had travelled on together. Good for those that like each other's company!

 

[Solid]

After a discussion with the chef, the eating began.



Seared scallop with mango jam.

 

[Solid]

Ok Master Solid has requested to go for a swim, duty calls and trip report posting must be postponed.

 

[Solid]

For some reason the photo of the prawn entree won't load. I asked the chef which to go for between the prawns and the mezze. He said prawns without a doubt.



Chefs special - lamb shank on roasted vegetable ragout. One of the best meals I've had anywhere let alone on a plane. The vegetable ragout was extremely flavoursome.



Ms Solids choice, the roast turkey for Christmas.



Dessert tasting plate.

 

[Solid]

After the meals and a movie it was off to bed. The crew came and made up the bed while getting changed into pyjamas and a solid 7-8 hours sleep was had by all.

A light breakfast on waking and then arrival at Abu Dhabi where our Etihad chauffeur transferred us to Dubai at a leisurely 140k-150k per hour.

Checked into Hilton Dubai creek with a creek view room. The view in the morning.



We found the service at the hotel fairly ordinary, but the room was spacious and well maintained.

 

[Solid]

A couple of days sightseeing, touring the souks and what was to be the highlight, dune buggy driving in the dunes.

We did a morning dune buggy, pick up at 6:30 am and 45 minute drive to the dune buggy area. First off the driver of the pick up car (land cruiser) did some dune bashing before we met the dune buggies in the dunes.

A very brief safety briefing / driving briefing including giving our blood group (gulp) and off we went. We had a dune buggy each to drive and were the only people on the tour so had an hour of driving to ourselves.

With the sun coming up over the dunes, the tranquility was only "slightly" interfered with by the sounds of our dune buggy engines revving! I'm not a motor head by any means, but I can tell you that was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone.

A short break in the middle for sand boarding and then back home.



Photo opportunity



Ready to go.

Just for one I wore a GPS watch to see how we went.



Our course.



Elevation profile. Lots of ups and downs