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#921161 by pblondon
12 May 2016, 16:30
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So its taken me a while to get round to writing this but after more than one negative trip report on this route, the DXB terminal / lounge change and the recent change in UC service I thought a report was deserved!

After a great couple of days in the Dubai sunshine I arrived at the airport at around 8:30 allowing plenty of time to try out the new lounge. I was travelling with hand luggage only so headed straight to security, it was very efficient as it usually is in DXB and I was through within a few minutes. It was then time to board the shuttle train to the new Concourse D. This is an incredibly highly organised operation with several staff ushering people into pens for each door ready for the train. The train soon arrived and I was quickly on the new Concourse D. I headed straight to the lounge. You do need to be careful to walk straight past the standard "Business Class" lounge and into the "Marhaba Lounge" which is the one being used by Virgin. I was greeted by Virgin uniformed staff at a Virgin stand and then taken through the main lounge into a premier section at the back which had more Virgin uniformed staff and seemed to be being used exclusively by Virgin. The lounge is a massive improvement on the old one with a good breakfast selection and attentive staff. The one sore point for me was the complete lack of power points to charge my laptop which I thought was a bit strange for a brand new lounge. I was instead shown out to a seat in the main lounge next to a wall power point (which was then in a WiFi black spot!).

I headed down to the gate around 45 mins before departure to find that it was already boarding so boarded straight away and settled into my A seat. The first thing I noticed was that there was a bottle of water in the usual holder - on the way out you had to collect your own at the gate which I thought was a bit strange, I had asked the CC why the change and was told "it is a long story!!".I was immediately offered champagne which I struggled to drink due to the large amount of cocktails I had consumed over the weekend. We pushed back a few minutes early and were on target to land early as well.

Once we were airborne cold towels were given out (they were supposed to be hot) followed by drinks orders which were served with the usual bowls of crisps and then the meal orders were taken. I haven't used onboard IFE for anything other than the map for years as I prefer to use my own iPad or laptop to watch TV and movies. As is becoming more and more frequent (especially on 346's) there were announcements about the IFE being stuck and needing a full re-boot so I was pleased that I wasn't relying on it. When lunch was served the first noticeable difference is that the tables are now laid from a trolley, this really isn't any different to the CC walking up individually though. I opted for the steak from the menu which was fine, I was a bit apprehensive ordering it due to the recent reports about it being really tough.

Throughout the flight the CC were very visible and I was frequently offered drink top-ups (although I was sticking to water!). If there are less CC now servicing UC I certainly didn't notice it. As previously pointed out ice creams are no longer handed out to UC although I did see Mars Bar ice creams being taken through to PE.

As others have pointed out there is no longer the full afternoon tea service, I always thought it was a bit of a gimmick and a lot of hassle with the trolley / cake stands etc anyway so am not really worried about this. In its place you can now order snacks at any time after the main meal, the choices included burgers, an afternoon tea section and some dim-sum. I had the dim-sum which I really liked. Around an hour before landing the crew checked with everyone whether they wanted to order from the snack menu as well.

We landed early, I knew that the E-gates are out of action in T3 so was nervous about immigration queues especially with it being a Bank Holiday Monday so rushed to the immigration hall as quick as I could. When I did get there I was happy to find it was almost empty so was quickly through and heading to the Heathrow Express.

Overall a great flight back to top a nice break in Dubai which started for me as my trips usually do in the LHR clubhouse!
#921162 by buns
12 May 2016, 17:34
Thanks for the TR

I have to agree about the new Lounge arrangements in Dubai are far better than previously was the case and reading elsewhere, seem a great deal better than the BA offering opposite :-D

I also agree with the lunch being laid from the trolley being far better than before, but having a good crew (as it appears your was) makes all the difference.

Those E Gates at Passport Control have now been out for months >-( no doubt the Home Secretary has a perfectly good explanation

Thanks once again

buns

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