Mar 02
The flight was Manchester to Dubai, this is the route often used for onward flights to Australia via the excellent Airport in Dubai. The thought of a 22/24 hour flight to Australia is often daunting but with modern planes – great entertainment and a possible stopover you should be up for the challenge whether travelling alone or with a family. The flight should be part of the holiday, something to look forward to not to dread.The flight is more expensive but is direct to Dubai from Manchester or London Heathrow saving many hours of changing flights and waiting around.
Flights from Manchester go via Dubai to Auckland-Brisbane-Melbourne-Perth and Sydney.
The on line check in is excellent saving a big queue as you can just hand over your bags (called bag drop) This is great if you are travelling with children. You can also choose your seats online. This is a big plus to travelling with them. You are e mailed to remind you can check in online 24 hours in advance. The check in is 90 minutes with bags 60 minutes without bags. I would always allow more as the queue for immigration and security can eat into that time. Manchester Airport has an efficient security system (you still need to allow plenty of time in busy periods) boarding cards are placed in a slot which allows you through a turnstile. Your ticket is returned and you go the formal X ray.
Boarding the aircraft is efficient, the plane was a new Boeing 777 with good legroom and a great entertainment system Economy seating was good and would be fine for 12 hour flight. The on board service of food and drink combined with entertainment helps the hours pass quickly. The Food was fine with choice of starters, main courses and desert. Emirates crew are friendly, busy but efficient. The toilets and facilities were clean and looked after. The aircraft temperature was about right.
The best point is the entertainment system. Children to adults will find plenty to entertain them on the journey, The ICE system has 500 channels and up to 1000 channels on the Airbus A380.
Arriving into the Emirates Terminal 3 hub at Dubai allows for easy transfer to the Australia / New Zealand flights or for a visit to Dubai. For those transiting the duty free and facilities are second to none. The stop over time will fly by.
For those visiting or stopping in Dubai, The queue for customs/ immigration is long but with many immigration on duty at Terminal 3 you are dealt with very quickly. Baggage collection is well marked lots of brand new trolleys to take your luggage through this fantastic terminal. The meeting point is buzzing but it is easy to find your way around. All is all an excellent airport.
Returning from Dubai
Check in for Emirates flight at the new terminal 3 is easy many check in point in the new check in Hall . The new terminal is vast you need to allow 45 minutes just to get to a gate without shopping. To not look around the fantastic shops would be a waste, to spend 4 hours wandering around would not be a problem. There are shops or restaurants to suit everyone. The signage for your flight is well marked allowing you to keep a check on the timings as some of the gates are a 30 minute walk. The duty free area, probably the world’s biggest has everything available and is 10% cheaper the city of Dubai. It is worth looking at the gold as Dubai is the city of Gold, this is often a guy buy.
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