VS400 LHR-DXB 26 MAY 11 (Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

So. Off on holiday with the family... again... this time to Atlantis in Dubai. It had been recommended to me by a number of people and we were able to get a very good deal, considering it was school half term...

This was actually my first ever flight in Y out of LHR on VA - all others having been on the rather more decrepit LGW fleet. So was vaguely interested to see how it compared. I was also interested to see how/if I could negotiate CH entry with my 2 cherubs in tow.

Things weren't off to a good start at OLCI the night before. I was there bang on time hoping for the magical seq 1, but no... the lovely website was completely incapable of checking the 4 of us in without me providing lots and lots of information on everyone else. Now perhaps I'm missing something, but when you have 4 people all under the same booking reference, it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume you would check everyone in together. But apparently I have to put in the name of each passenger, the booking reference, passport details etc... this despite the fact that I'd selected seats, meal preferences etc for all of us in the days/weeks beforehand.

Perhaps I could ask Pete very nicely to put in another rating option for 'OLCI and other automated processes' just so that I can mark them down!

Anyway, that job done, we headed to the airport the next day - UC bag drop was fairly quiet, there was a nice lady chatting to people in the mini-queue and we were through in a few mins, with the disclaimer that 'I can ask at the CH about my children being allowed in'.

So, up in the lift and through the back passage (ahem ) of the DTCI corridor, no queue through security and within 5 mins was approaching the CH with trepidation. 'Best behaviour now girls' I said, trying to break up their latest fight...

As it turned out, I needn't have worried - it was the same story as I had at Gatwick in April - I paid for my elder one, the 5 year old got in free, so £30 for a couple of hours of good food, drink, and (in the case of the girls), lots of sweets out of the big jars near the pool table... nice

No chance of an upgrade on my lowly N class tickets, despite asking very nicely, so settled for a lot of champagne to fortify me. All too soon the flight was called and we trundled off.

So... this is the part that I always struggle to talk about - the flight itself. As I've said before, you get what you pay for in Y, and it was a night flight, so I did try (and fail) to get a bit of sleep. But there was at least V-Port this time, my girls both went off to sleep quickly, and having eaten in the CH, I didn't have to worry about the food offering. Doesn't really make up for it being way too cramped for my generous frame though. In fact, I would say that there's marginally less room overall in the middle 4 seats than there is on a 744.

Sadly I can't persuade my dear (and smaller) wife that the cost of PE is worth paying, and there still seem to be no worthwhile strategies for using miles for PE flights/upgrades, I'm stuck here for a while yet...

Anyway, pretty uneventful flight - no screaming children which is a blessing on an over nighter. Return TR to come when I get a moment (having just got back yesterday...)

RC

Thanks for the TR.

Lots of champagne sounds like a great way to deal with Y!

How was the Atlantis? Up to your expectations?

Thank you Luke. Atlantis is a shining example of the hubristic and unsustainable opulence that drove Dubai to bankruptcy. And needless to say, I loved every minute of it (as did my children). Apart from the final shock of the bill that is...

RC

Thank you Luke. Atlantis is a shining example of the hubristic and unsustainable opulence that drove Dubai to bankruptcy. And needless to say, I loved every minute of it (as did my children). Apart from the final shock of the bill that is...

RC

I'd looked at the one in the Bahamas and a friend of mine said that there were so many extras! You pay lots of $$ to stay there but then they pile on the additions etc.

As long as everyone had a good time though!

I've compared notes with colleagues that go to the one in the Bahamas regularly... Dubai is more expensive! They were having a 'promotion' on glasses of champagne in one of the bars - which meant that they were only £13 each rather than the normal £26. Cheapest wine started at about £45 a bottle in the restaurants. Etc...

Yes, I know I sound like a miser, but the reality is that we didn't hold back on doing what we wanted (although I did set a limit of £150 for wine with dinner!) - just a warning to those that are thinking about going and seduced by the headline rate for the holiday itself!

They were having a 'promotion' on glasses of champagne in one of the bars - which meant that they were only £13 each rather than the normal £26. Cheapest wine started at about £45 a bottle in the restaurants. Etc...

I may be in the minority here but this sounds like a right rip-off.

I'm not a fan of the UAE - it all sounds rather vulgar.
Nothing to see apart from new money, sand and building sites

They were having a 'promotion' on glasses of champagne in one of the bars - which meant that they were only £13 each rather than the normal £26. Cheapest wine started at about £45 a bottle in the restaurants. Etc...

I may be in the minority here but this sounds like a right rip-off.

I'm not a fan of the UAE - it all sounds rather vulgar.
Nothing to see apart from new money, sand and building sites

It sounds like a rip off to me too.

Ultimately it depends what you want from a holiday. This is very different to any family jaunt I've had before and there was just a touch of culture shock (or perhaps it should be 'bling shock'), especially when you walk into the lobby and are confronted with a 30ft tall blown glass sculpture that really does take some beating. But on the plus side, the service levels rival any other hotel I've stayed in, it had everything that the kids could want for a week (including swimming with dolphins), and when you add up the total cost, it really was no more than a decent all inclusive caribbean break... So no real complaints from me. But culture... No, I'll get that when I go to Italy in the summer!

Thanks for the report.

If you are concluding that a destination is a 'rip off' by listening to the price of one product group, in one hotel then you'd class anywhere as a rip off. I paid 21GBP for 2 Coronas in the Grovesnor Hotel, Park Lane a few weeks ago - that doesn't mean the UK is a rip off!

Atlantis is 5* tourist resort 2pm off the coastline on reclaimed ground. They have a captive audience and are obviously going to milk this. You are also buying alcohol in a Muslim country where there isn't any locally produced alcohol.

The majority of things are much cheaper than the UK, I can go out for a much more filling meal in TGI Fridays and it will come in at less than the equivalent branch in Basingstoke but yet looks over the worlds largest ski slope, or the worlds biggest fountains. Especially if you avoid alcohol you'll be able to eat like a king for a modest amount every night. Transportation and taxis are a fraction of the cost of any major city in the world.

It's also frustrating when people announce there isn't any culture, surely it's a fantastic opportunity to witness the forging of a city, the creation of modern Arab culture? If you are hungry for history you can visit a beautiful mosque, museum and also take a dhow across then creek combined for less than the price of a postage stamp!

/rant over