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#918950 by buns
18 Mar 2016, 19:35
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This is going to seem it is one of those essays you has to write at school - "compare and contrast" as I report about my return on an Airbus 346, after so many jaunts on the dreaded 300 :-D

Anyways, apologies for the tardiness of posting this Report - especially for certain avid readers - as i have been a little busy this week.

After a very short break in Dubai (all of two Days) where Mrs Buns and I met up with one of the resident V Flyers out there and had the obligatory cocktail :) it was time for make the journey back. Picked up from the Dubai Conrad at 6:45, we were at the Airport within 15 minutes and got to check in before it officially opened at 7:05. We were called forward and very efficiently dealt with and given the invitation to the new Lounge :-)

You still have to walk the length of the Terminal to get through security, but once through instead of taking an escalator down and walking under the apron, you now are whisked by train to a completely new terminal. First impression of the terminal is a much more appealing place than before. Whilst there is the usual preponderance of Duty Free Sections on the Ground Floor, on the upper floor there are a wide range of restaurants (such as Giraffe) that is a far more pleasant place to spend some time than was the case before.

However, we were destined for the Marhaba Lounge which is also on the First Floor, opposite the BA Lounge. As we approached the entrance there was a member of VS Staff there alongside a VS pop up sign. She warmly welcomed us and took our invitation and proceeded to personally escort us to the First Class Section. Here there is the usual array of offerings of both food and drink (including alcohol) but the great improvement is that there are servers who can come to your table and take orders. This is ten times better than the previous lounge and i have to say all the staff were going out of their way to do as much as they could for all the passengers there.

Whilst enjoying these new facilities, Mrs buns and I were joined by a V Flyer who we had not met for some 7 or 8 years!! (more of that encounter later ;-) ). We all shared in a toast or two - slices and bubbles - before being called to the aircraft. As i have said, this is a far better arrangement than before and whilst not a Clubhouse certainly beats other shared Loungers VS use.

Straight on board the aircraft (via L1 for Upper) and warmly welcomed by the FSM. It is a long time since i have flown on the 340 and I welcomed the fact we were in seats facing the "wall" and the additional space the seat afforded. Of course what was immediately missing was power points!! You have to remember when these seats were designed none of us had mobile devices :) The other silly thing was not having a little storage place under the ottoman to put the amenity kit. This was quickly forgotten as we were handed glasses of Gardet (enough said) and the ability to communicate with one another far more easily before the seat belt signs went on.

Pushback was a few minutes late (given we had a very full plane - 220 - which virtually required some strap hanging - not a bad job) but a huge queue for take off gave an opportunity to see just how many A380's Emirates has!!

Once airborne the very efficient crew swung into action and hot towels distributed and drinks orders taken. One of the other positives you notice about the A340 is having the loos to use!! After receiving our drinks, we retired to the bar for a quick meet up with the other V Flyer on board. We all recalled how on the last flight we had shared as a V Flyer Social to the West Coast of the US has actually drank the aircraft dry of gin!! :blush: Whether this was a prudent thing to do in front of the flight crew is perhaps questionable :-O As it turned out, our consumption was very much more restrained than those heady days years ago and the FSM was indeed very interested to learn about V Flyer - this followed my being able to say (thanks to v flyer) why the latest 787 is delayed. After a quick meet, we returned to our seats for dinner:

Starters
Chickpea soup
Feta salad
Peking duck

Mains
Beef steak
Chicken with black bean sauce
Scottish Salmon
Fettuccine Pasta

Pudding
Chocolate almond torte
Banoffi tart

Both Mrs Buns and myself opted to forego the starter (we had had a nice breakfast in the Conrad before we had left) and went for the steak - Mrs Buns having it without mushroom sauce. We found it very tasty and two cleared plates signified the fact. I had the banoffi tart and then we both enjoyed the cheese plate which is far better when you have the trolly in front of you to make your decision ;-)

I watched Spectre and had been looking forward to it. I have to say my personal view is that the film has a very, very long prologue before coming to the point and i was frankly disappointed.

There was another reunion at the bar before the usual afternoon tea and then of course it was time to prepare for landing. We had to circle a bit (over Romford or thereabouts) before crossing over north of London and coming in over Windsor and we were a little late in touching down.

We bade farewell to an excellent crew and this is where the fun started to begin >-( As has been reported previously, the electronic gates are being refurbished, so you would have thought Teresa May could have told her people to have all the human gates open - but no!! So having to queue for this and to find the baggage belt broken meant it took us an hour to get through !!

Our Tristar driver was beginning to wonder where we were and then taking an age to get up in the lift to the car park was only redeemed by a 40 minute journey home round the M25.

All in all, now they have the new Lounge in Dubai, it is worth getting to the airport early once again. A fab crew made up for any shortcomings in the seat not having USB and indeed crew interaction remains that unique selling point that keep Mrs Buns and I coming back for more. BTW Mrs B was able to re-qualify Au on this flight :-D

Thanks for reading

buns
#918951 by tomthumb
18 Mar 2016, 20:06
Great trip report Buns - really now looking forward to my UC to Barbados
#918953 by hiljil
18 Mar 2016, 20:32
Thank you for an enjoyable and interesting TR.
#918955 by ScoobySu
18 Mar 2016, 21:18
Thank you Buns for a lovely report!
#918966 by Daffodil
19 Mar 2016, 11:41
Thanks for the really interesting and enjoyable TR. The new lounge certainly sounds like a vast improvement on the old Business lounge. I'm hoping to return to Dubai later in the year ( tossing up whether to stay at the Conrad or return to the WA on the Palm ) so looking forward to the new airport experience on our return journey.
Congrats to Mrs Buns on re-qualifying for AU.
#918972 by buns
19 Mar 2016, 13:04
Daffodil wrote:Thanks for the really interesting and enjoyable TR. The new lounge certainly sounds like a vast improvement on the old Business lounge. I'm hoping to return to Dubai later in the year ( tossing up whether to stay at the Conrad or return to the WA on the Palm ) so looking forward to the new airport experience on our return journey.
Congrats to Mrs Buns on re-qualifying for AU.


Thanks for your kind comments.

We used to be a great fan of the Hilton at the Dubai Creek, but over the years this has become more and more out on a limb as Dubai has grown.

For us (having Hilton status) the Conrad offers a great base as it is right next door to the Dubai metro - so you can get about quite easily - and has by far one of the best Exec Lounges we have experienced. The pool area is rather trendy and you would not know you were in the middle of the financial district.

I have not stayed at the WA, but the traffic down to the palm can be horrendous and coupled with the fact WA tend not to recognise hilton status, we think we have found the right place.

buns
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