SYD-LHR in frst - advice needed

we want to fly my mum's brother over from australia for 3-4 weeks, probably october

he's a bit frail now and it's been a very long time since he flew, i've suggested we book him in first so that he can lay down as much as he likes and be as well cared for as possible 'door to door'

to me, is EK looking like the best tradeoff between comfort/cost (which does matter!) but maybe there's a better option

does this seem sensible? any ideas for getting the best deal?

If cost matters, I'd suggest business class rather than First. He'll still get a perfectly good flat bed, lounge access etc but for half the price. EK/QF via DXB does seem to be the most convenient option these days so if you can find a good price, go for it.

If cost matters, I'd suggest business class rather than First. He'll still get a perfectly good flat bed, lounge access etc but for half the price. EK/QF via DXB does seem to be the most convenient option these days so if you can find a good price, go for it.

Good advice there , unless you have some miles to burn or are not worried about cost J is perfectly fine

[honey lamb]

If cost matters, I'd suggest business class rather than First. He'll still get a perfectly good flat bed, lounge access etc but for half the price. EK/QF via DXB does seem to be the most convenient option these days so if you can find a good price, go for it.

Good advice there , unless you have some miles to burn or are not worried about cost J is perfectly fine

Look in the Trip Reports- Other Airlines forum on this site and look out for HWVLover's reports on flights to Australia on EK and (I think) Etihad in Business. It will give you an idea of what it is like.

EK in business would be a good option. Strictly from a seating point of view, if you look into it make sure you pick an EK flight rather than a codeshare operated by QF. Though both are on A380 and very comfortable, the EK offering has all seats with direct aisle access whereas the QF window seats are tradiitional pairs where whoever is in the window seat has to step over their neighbour in the aisle seat.

we want to fly my mum's brother over from australia for 3-4 weeks, probably october

he's a bit frail now and it's been a very long time since he flew, i've suggested we book him in first so that he can lay down as much as he likes and be as well cared for as possible 'door to door'

to me, is EK looking like the best tradeoff between comfort/cost (which does matter!) but maybe there's a better option

does this seem sensible? any ideas for getting the best deal?

Please remember that the cabin crew - no matter the airline - wll not be able to provide personal care to your Uncle. If he needs help with things like eating,t aking nedication and going to the toilet etc then you need to provide and pay for a travel companion for him.

thanks everyone, will do some more checking

he is independent, doesn't need help for daily activities, but just a bit frail these days, so we want him to have the easiest time on a long trip and enjoy it as much as possible

Coming out of Sydney he will, I think, be on the 380 on EK. (As Paul said, make sure it isn't a Qantas flight). Nothing wrong with EK in J, aisle access from all seats etc. The only slight negative for me is that with 70 odd J seats the word exclusive does not feature, but then I have done that trip in J on the 380 several times.

For me, it is about how much the difference in J/F cost matters.

I would vote for F as he is likely to get a bit more attention. The smaller F area is easy to navigate and he can still access the bar if he wishes. likely accompanied by a crew member carrying his personal bottle of Dom Perignon!

There is nothing wrong with the EK product, J or F, (comfort/booze/food/lounges).....the cabin crew are as with all airlines..you get some excellent ones and some which aren't so good.

And Etihad also provides a very good product out of SYD, well worth a look.

There is nothing wrong with the EK product, J or F, (comfort/booze/food/lounges).....the cabin crew are as with all airlines..you get some excellent ones and some which aren't so good.

The sandwiches served on our DXB->LGW night flight recently were exemplars of the term "inedible". They were, however, an aberration and the bar had many decent snacks and endless dishes of nuts....

One thing the OP might consider is looking for some assistance on the ground if you chose EK as the DXB terminal transit can be a bit of a haul.

I dont fly Emeriates anymore, since my friend whose friend workes for them, told me all the meat is now halal. I dont agree with this so we now do the BA route etc. I do like there fleet, but not that will persuade me.

[honey lamb]

There is nothing wrong with the EK product, J or F, (comfort/booze/food/lounges).....the cabin crew are as with all airlines..you get some excellent ones and some which aren't so good.

The sandwiches served on our DXB->LGW night flight recently were exemplars of the term "inedible". They were, however, an aberration and the bar had many decent snacks and endless dishes of nuts....

That's true of the bar. On my one flight on EK's 380 (which I was on simply because I had missed my connection to DUB in DXB and they were re-routing me via LHR) I had foolishly foregone a main course because at the time I was tired from not having slept on the overnight flight from Durban to DXB and still stressed from having missed the connection to DUB (even though they broke all the rules in the book and booked my onward flight to Cork rather than Dublin ) As a result at one stage, the hunger pangs were jumping up and down inside me. At the bar there was a goodly selection of both hot and cold snacks which really filled the gap. Plus endless champagne!

One thing the OP might consider is looking for some assistance on the ground if you chose EK as the DXB terminal transit can be a bit of a haul.

Most certainly do! DXB makes LHR from T4 or 5 to T2 or 3 look like a stroll round the block! When I was there in April this year there were plenty of buggies beep-beeping their way around the terminals. Also, if flying to LHR, do not necessarily choose the shortest connecting time between flights. A bus transfer can take 45 minutes from plane to terminal. I kid you not - that's what caused me to miss my connection. Even if it's from gate to gate, there could be a change of terminals. A longer time could mean he could have a shower, a meal (and the dining options are good in the J and F lounges and also he will probably board from the lounge.

Most certainly do! DXB makes LHR from T4 or 5 to T2 or 3 look like a stroll round the block! When I was there in April this year there were plenty of buggies beep-beeping their way around the terminals. Also, if flying to LHR, do not necessarily choose the shortest connecting time between flights. A bus transfer can take 45 minutes from plane to terminal. I kid you not - that's what caused me to miss my connection. Even if it's from gate to gate, there could be a change of terminals. A longer time could mean he could have a shower, a meal (and the dining options are good in the J and F lounges and also he will probably board from the lounge.

As my soon come (cough, cough) TRs will explain our LGW-DXB flight out deposited us at the C gates and we had to make our way to the A gates for DXB-DUR. A walk and then a connecting train service was involved, but we had a near 3 hour layover so shower and breakfast could comfortably be taken. On the CPT-DXB return leg we were parked at a remote stand and bussed via Abu Dhabi (or so it seemed) to the A gate area. That was in theory a far shorter layover of 1.5 hours, but we were nearly 40 minutes early so we could still fit in taking a shower.

All that said, if memory serves then the when we did the SYD-DXB-LHR flight 2 years ago we arrived into, and departed from, the A gate area so it involved the minimum effort possible for DXB.

I dont fly Emeriates anymore, since my friend whose friend workes for them, told me all the meat is now halal. I dont agree with this so we now do the BA route etc. I do like there fleet, but not that will persuade me.

All that means is that standard, non-specialized Emirates meals don't contain pork, alcohol, or non-Halal–prepared meats.

I think this is gradually becoming the norm across major suppliers of airline food. In fact, didn't I read that Gate Gourmet were going to do this ages ago? I think it's simply a cost-effectiveness issue, rather than anything else.

My guess is it's down to the suppliers at each airport too. I think Gate Gourmet supplies BA ex-LHR, by the way.

after a hiatus, finally decided on some dates and he'll be coming over in a couple of weeks, great excitement!

thanks for all the suggestions, ended up booking him on EY in business changing at AUH so there's no terminal change needed, avoided all the codeshares to make sure it's EY metal throughout, and that he's doing the long leg as a night flight

booked it through amex which worked out a bit cheaper than doing it direct

not sure about ground transport at his end yet, according to google directions he's almost 100km from SYD by road, which is way beyond the amex distance and also outside EY's range for that airport (LHR gets 100 miles, SYD gets just 50km, seems the wrong way round for such a huge country!), going to see if amex can find out what the EY excess charge will be as it's probably the simplest option

aaaaannndddddd he missed the connection at AUH, entirely his own fault, failure to look at clock and compare to time of flight

fraught time this morning, amex did a great job getting him reticketed for the next flight, just made it in time

think we'll be renaming him uncle dopey