Dubai

Tag Archives for Dubai.

The world’s best airline: Qatar Airways Economy Dubai to Doha

DXB, Dubai International, UAE to DOH Doha Hamad International Airport  Qatar: Qatar Airways  QR1025 Scheduled Departure: 09:30  Arrival: 09:40 1hour 10 (In reality, a 40 min flight) Total distance: 235 miles /383 kilometres/ 207 nautical miles   Since I first started flying Qatar Airways five years ago, they have never let me down. Consistently high service with leading edge on everything. I often wonder if on my next trip with them, I will be disappointed. Has not happened yet! Today, a review on my shortest flight ever with them! Was curious to see if they keep their standards up!…

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My 380th Qantas flight will be on a 380 – of course!

I am very nerdish about numbers and number patterns. I like that this week will see the 11th day of the 11th month! I have recorded every flight I have ever been on since my first plane trip almost five decades ago. A couple of years ago, I matched the aircraft with my flights. So my 737th flight was on a Southwest 737. Then my 747th was on a Qantas 747  (pics left and below), 757 on a United 757 and so on.  Sadly the timing of the 787 roll out did not allow me to…

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New Years Dreams

It is half way through August and we are  debating where to spend New Year’s Eve. Last year was in Hobart, Australia. Two years ago, we saw the festivities in Adelaide, Australia and three years ago found us in DaNang, Vietnam. Other places I have spent NY eve include:  Aberdeen, Scotland; Brisbane, Australia; Dallas, TX, USA; Ibadan, Nigeria; Melbourne, Australia;  San Salvador, USA and Sydney, Australia. Future options are: New York, Paris and Reyjavik. This year the destination needs to be a short hop from Bangkok, Thailand as we only have four days. The options…

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FlyDubai Crash -Questions start

A big plane crash is rare these days so every time there is one, we are all riveted. Despite plane travel being one of the safest forms of transport on the planet, people still have an uneasy fear when it comes to planes. The loss of FkyDubai’s Flight 981 today at Rostov-on-Don Airport , Russia, in the early morning hours of 19 March 2016, is shocking. The crash occurred during the 737’s second attempted landing and resulted in the death of all 55 passengers and seven crew. The poor weather that was engulfing the airport meant the…

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Longest Flight in the World

Move over Sydney to Dallas! You have been outdone! If you want to spend 17 hours and 35 minutes in a 777-200LR, Emirates will take you from Dubai to Panama, a distance of 13,821 km (8,588 mi ) from 1st February, 2016.  The Panama (PTY) to Dubai (DXB) return trip will be a mere 15 hours 45 minutes. The aforementioned Qantas‘ Dallas service  is a touch under 17 hours. The third longest flight in the world is Johannesburg to Atlanta at 16 hours and 40 minutes. My choice would be in Emirates Business Class for this distance! The…

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The airlines that failed in 2014

Overall, fewer carriers seemed to fail in 2014. For many airlines, it was  a much more profitable year. Of concern was how many of the carriers that collapsed were only flying for months.  I am tempted to call 2014 “the Year of the shortlived airline”. Air One Italy: 23 November, 1995 to 30 October, 2014 Fleet: 10   Alitalia’s low cost subsidiary never quite made sense. Following the takeover of Alitalia by Etihad, Air One was shut down. AirTran USA: 26 October, 1993 to 28 December, 2014 Fleet: 138 Destinations:  72 (at peak) On 28…

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Airlines add 380s to Dallas

In the last two weeks, Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), the USA’s fourth busiest airport, has had new very long distance Airbus 380 routes added. Qantas upgraded their non stop Sydney -DFW service to an A380 from a 747 on September 29th. This upgrade means that the longest scheduled commercial flight in the world is now served by the largest passenger jet in the world!  The flight is approximately  12, 200 km (8,600 miles). It takes 15 hours 35 mins from Sydney to DFW and 16hr 55mins from DFW due to the headwinds!  Thats a few movies on a flight advertised as…

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Dubai Immigrant Workers Dance “Happy”

For those of who have been to Dubai, you will have seen the gleaming towers, spotless streets, stunning shopping malls and clean hotels. Behind all of this are an  estimated 7.8 million immigrant workers- 75 percent of whom are from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. There has been significant criticism of the working conditions of these workers. A charity that works with these workers is Smartlife Foundation, has a mission to “uplift the non privileged members of our community“. I  was taken by a video of the people they work with dancing to Pharrell ‘s – Happy. It really humanises the…

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Qantas -My 1001st flight

Bravo to Qantas for recognising my 1001st time in the air! (it was also my 292nd second flight with the Aussie airline) and my third time on this particular aircraft an Airbus 330 (VH-QPF) named Esperance (after a town in Western Australia). I had last flown this plane back in March. Booking: 9/10 I was prompted to book by the announcement of a Qantas fare sale to Bangkok. In an unusual deviation from pattern, I only checked one fare comparison site kayak. I had almost hit “confirm” on the Qantas website which would charge my card and finalise…

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World’s Longest 380 route

Emirates has launched the world’s longest Airbus A380 non-stop service from Dubai to Los Angeles. The daily  flight will take 16 hours and 20 minutes to cover 13,414km (8 335 miles). The airline has previously served the route with a 777 and has said demand has led them to add the 489 seat Airbus to the route. The route will take the plane across the Russian Federation, the North Pole and Eastern Canada. Related Posts Time for Thai’s A380 I wanna fly Malaysian China Southern’s Third 380  Tuesday Trip Report: Korean Airlines A380 Tuesday Trip Report: Lufthansa’s A380 Tuesday Trip…

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