EK775 DXB-DUR 5 NOV 13 (BUSINESS)
Posted: 08 Dec 2013, 00:18
It meant a good night’s sleep after a nice glass of red wine, a reasonable breakfast and best of all, a chance to change into warm weather (and fresh) clothing instead of arriving in South Africa all wrapped up in the gear I wore when leaving Ireland. And the fact that Emirates was picking up the tab for the hotel stay made it even nicer. 
I had been told I would be picked up from the hotel at 8.30am. No “ifs and buts”, it was 8.30am and non-negotiable. That suited me fine - more lounge time before my 10.25am flight although I did wonder at the 9.40am boarding time but figured that VS prints the Y economy boarding times on their boarding passes so that was probably the same. Having said that, in Dublin my boarding time had stated 12.30pm for a 12.55pm flight. However, mine not to question why…
I arrived early at the desk and, in the absence of any other passengers, was whisked away by a driver who chatted incessantly on his phone for the whole of the trip.
I was deposited at the Business entry and following directions, made my way to Passport Control. My flight was not showing on the monitors but I knew it left from the A gates and so, having exited Dubai through the offices of an Emirati lady who never looked at me but processed me while chatting to two of her friends (I could have been dressed as Santa Claus and got through), I made my way to the train to the A gates as indicated on my boarding card.On the boarding pass issued in Dublin it had stated that I was to use the lounge nearest to my gate. This was puzzling to me but when I arrived in the A gates area I followed the signs to the Business Lounge Area. The First Class Lounges were the first stop on the lift/escalator route and we ascended up to the Business Class Lounge. Once there I was warmly welcomed and informed my gate would be A19. Having entered into the lounge area, it became completely clear to me what was meant by going to the lounge nearest my gate - the whole floor was the lounge area. A19 was at the far end which gave me ample opportunity to suss out that was on offer. At each gate was a mini-lounge including some quiet area and indeed along the corridor leading to the various gates were little nooks and crannies to sit (although open to all and sundry who were passing by). At various intervals were bar areas, fine dining areas, showers, self service areas. Because people were sitting in their various gate areas, the whole lounge was completely uncluttered and in fact seemed almost deserted.
Arriving in the gate A19 area, I found a quiet corner to set up my stall and logged on to their free wifi to catch up with all that had happened since I left Dublin as free wifi had not been part of the Le Meridien package. It was hard to know if there was a table service in such a sprawling area and so, not wishing to deprive myself of anything that was on offer,
I headed to the bar and requested a glass of champagne which was readily provided (and later topped up). 
The flight was called and although we exited through the gate near to us, we were directed downstairs to a bus. There was no priority line but when I presented my boarding card, I was directed to one side to wait for a special bus. As the bus already at the gate left, one designated for Business Class passengers pulled up and we were allowed to board. While we were waiting to leave (and beyond) I encountered the Passenger from H*ll. This English guy had hooked up with another English couple and was giving them the benefit of his experience and wisdom at the top of his voice. “Have you tried Singapore Airlines? They’re very good” “What about Cathay Pacific? Their Business Class is very good” “BA can be variable in Business” “Have you flown Virgin Atlantic Upper Class? They’re like coffins” “I like Emirates” 
From where I was sitting they had a glazed look on their faces and I prayed long and hard that he would not be sitting next to me. The trip to the aircraft took at least twenty minutes to a remote stand and I made my way to 5K safe in the knowledge that yer man was much further forward. I accepted a glass of champagne and reflected that life was good. In time the second wave of Business Class passengers arrived and with them my seat mate, an elderly Emirati lady complete with veil etc. Her husband was obviously in a different seat and murmured something about seeing if it something could be arranged. In the fulness of time the cabin crew came around with hot towels and I was fascinated to see what my neighbour would do. She simply threw back her veil and wiped her face but would she have done it if I had been male? Shortly after that she asked me if I was going to Durban. I resisted the urge to say no, I was going to Dublin/Johannesburg/Sydney/anywhere else I could think of in the EK network and said I was.
She then asked me was I South African. No, I’m Irish. Then she asked me if I would change seats so that her husband could sit beside her. My initial reaction was no as I really like the window seat. The next minute the cabin crew came with the same request and my reaction was still no. The cabin crew were OK with that but I wasn’t. We Irish are imbued with good old Irish Catholic guilt and it was kicking in big time!! Dammit! All I could think of was that she was a nice, gentle soul and would be uncomfortable watching me quaff champagne and other alcoholic beverages and I would feel the same doing likewise. The husband was in an aisle seat but a swift glance round the cabin told me I wouldn’t be next to the guy on the bus so I allowed guilt to take over and indicated to the cabin crew I would change. Omigod, you’d think I’d done something useful or heroic. I hadn’t - I’d just agreed to swap seats! The husband was delighted and said “God bless you” which made me feel more of a heel since he referred to my deity and not his and so I moved forward to 3J. Incidentally, this 777 was a 2 class flight with no First. As a result the cabin was bigger and felt less cramped than the DUB-DXB legShortly after this we set off. I can’t say we pushed back as we were on a remote stand but we did set off and by this time I had sussed out the workings of the IFE so the forward camera was on. It really is great to watch take-off.
The problem with onward flights on the same aircraft, as many very frequent flyers experience, is that if the choice of films etc is poor on the first flight, then there’s no reprieve on further flights so my iPad came into play for most of the flight.
One thing I didn’t mention on my flight from Dublin which certainly held true for this flight was that the loos were always spotlessly clean and, more importantly, the floor was always dry. However to access them one had to go through the galley area which I felt was a nuisance to the crew if they were in the middle of food preparation (not to mention unhygienic) or else intrusive when they were having their own meals. They were always very sweet about it but I really didn’t like it, more for their sake than for mine.
Towards the end of the flight there was an additional meal service along the lines of that offered by VS. I had noticed the equivalent of Lite Bites and the crew came round to ask what we wanted. I honestly can’t remember what was on the menu, although I have an idea there was a Thai curry. However I decided to go for a New York baked cheesecake which was incredible! I would have loved to have asked for another one but it would have seemed greedy (plus I knew we would be going out to dinner shortly after my arrival).
Soon it was time to switch on the cameras on the undercarriage - initially the downward one but as we neared King Shaka airport, the forward camera to watch our arrival. When we landed I went back to retrieve my bags from the overhead bin above my original seat only to find that the gentleman who I had accommodated had done that for me and wanted to know if everything was OK as far as they were concerned. He once more thanked me profusely for changing seats which made me feel more of a heel for not having agreed when first asked. He really was rather a dear, as was his wife.
The flight had arrived early. My niece had warned me that the Emirates used the furthest gates from the terminal and thus it was so. We seemed to be walking nearly as long as we were in Dubai to Immigration which was one of the quickest and easiest I had experienced in a long time. I was through before I knew it! In the baggage hall the carousel started up almost as soon as I arrived there. Emirates tags their bags with priority tags fit to beat the band and within minutes I was reunited with my bag and ready to be reunited with my family.
King Shaka International Airport was built prior to the World Cup in South Africa and the last time I was in South Africa just before then, it had been expected that my flight to JNB to connect to VS602 would be one of the last flights out of the old airport. The old airport was south of Durban and within 20 minutes of my brother’s home but the new airport is further north and a good 40 minutes run. I should have mentioned in my earlier trip report that on my way to Dublin I received texts both from my brother and my niece to tell me that my brother and his wife had been involved in a road traffic accident on the previous Wednesday. Two cars had crashed and one had spun into his. Fortunately neither of them was injured but my brother was nervous about driving so far (especially as this was 5pm and therefore rush hour) and so my niece was delegated to meet me and transport me to her place for the night. Because the flight was so early, she and her daughter had barely time to reach the airport but there she was, standing next to a huge Santa in the arrivals area ready to transport me to her home, dinner and a couple of bottles of wine. Bliss!
Now on to the next flight! Or the incidents surrounding it!
Yep, the seat shuffle is all too common when you travel alone. I switched not once but twice on my last VS flight to JFK.
