Would you book flights that stop in Dubai/Emirates etc currently ?

[Rockburner]

Airports are miserable places to kill time if you get unlucky,so like the other comments I'd be more concerned about having to sleep on a bench rather than being blown up.

Hmmm there's an idea for a thread: 'worst airport for a delay?'

My vote: LA. I've had several stops there, mid flight to and from NZ. The only entertainment was when Filly was taken off by armed security guards

All of them! As Skub said, they're miserable places and best passed through as quickly as you can.

Even Charles de Gaulle was meh once everything closed down for the night. It's almost as if they design them to be uncomfortable so you don't linger - or spend most of your time in the shops.

The trip from Luton to Waterford was 'interesting'. Luton - an absolute festering armpit. Waterford - a small room with a tiny café hatch where they bring staff in only on the day or days that an aircraft arrive or left.

Lots of regional, internal flights only, Turkish airports were tiny back in the 80s. I think if there was problem there you could probably clear off and tell them to call you when they're ready. (No mobile phone then though).

However for the worst I'll stick with Luton. I wouldn't want to even use it again, never mind be stuck in it.

I did like London City but that was also the pleasure of getting on little planes and going to odd places like Clermont-Ferrand (another place that woke up when a plane arrives then went dormant 20 mins later).

The only good thing about Gatwick over night is that the departures hall is (well, this was 30 years ago) cleared of all the little queue gates for cleaning, so it's a great place to chuck a frisbee about at 2am.

[Mr Moofo]

Absolutely not - and definitely not through a third party.
I was due to fly via Abu Dhabi on the 5th March to Oz. There was no direct communication from the airline themselves, despite a lagan requirement to do so. All info had to come off the Etihad website. 24hrs before we flew, in theory our flight was still showing as viable. It never went and if it had, we probably wouldn’t get back.
I have received my refund after 7 days from Etihad . Unlike last time (covid) where Netflights (Emirates) came up with every excuse not to refund me, so i let my credit card company sort.
The clusterfuck in the ME is going to carry on for months. Despite Iran saying they were not going to bomb neighbours , they are. And sooner or later UAE and Qatar will meter out some sort of retaliation.
Trump has no idea what the end point is, so it is going to drag on until he says he has won.
If you are going to SE Asia / Oz/ NZ you will be looking at Singapore, Cathay, Japanese airlines, Malaysian , Thai, Indian airways or some of the Chinese offerings .
But don’t go anywhere nr the ME with bookings

Added into that your travel insurances will be invalid as the Foreign Office are saying don’t go …

Whilst Dubai may be a lovely place to live and work, it is no longer one to transfer through

[weeksy]

OK, interesting. Direct flights take the cost from £750pp to nearly £1600pp. The do exist but are a chunk of change more money as well as the times are less friendly.

The problem comes with the event that we cannot be 24 hours late.... even 8 hours late would be complicated. If we're a day late we may as well just get back on the next plane home.

Lots of interesting thoughts, thank you.

[Mr Moofo]

What’s the destination?

I was forever getting delays / late arrivals in Dubai which meant anything under 1.45 hrs became a bit of a twitcher.


If you want a truly shit airport to be delayed at, there are two - Lagos and Chennai

[DefTrap]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm21gv3133zo

This is what most people would do, it's only a holiday. I get really tetchy if my flight is more than 15 minutes late.
I got delayed at La Rochelle airport whilst the 2018 France/Brazil World Cup Final was ongoing. I'd planned to watch it in the comfort of somewhere very nice at my destination. Instead I had to suffer being locked in a hot and dreary departure "lounge" whilst numerous people attempted to watch the match on tiny 'phone screens using terrible WiFi. The plane turned up just as the match was ending and the ground crew treated the (mainly British) passengers to a celebratory dance up and down the aisle of the 'plane singing what I can only imagine is the French version of "Three Lions ...".

Dubai will (probably! ) be there next year, or what remains of it will be loads cheaper.

[weeksy]

What’s the destination?

I was forever getting delays / late arrivals in Dubai which meant anything under 1.45 hrs became a bit of a twitcher.


If you want a truly shit airport to be delayed at, there are two - Lagos and Chennai

South Korea. Incheon.

[Mr Moofo]

What’s the destination?

I was forever getting delays / late arrivals in Dubai which meant anything under 1.45 hrs became a bit of a twitcher.


If you want a truly shit airport to be delayed at, there are two - Lagos and Chennai

South Korea. Incheon.

Direct over the North Pole?
Via Japan and a local connection?
Via South China/ China Eastern etc
Singapore or Cathay ?

[weeksy]

What’s the destination?

I was forever getting delays / late arrivals in Dubai which meant anything under 1.45 hrs became a bit of a twitcher.


If you want a truly shit airport to be delayed at, there are two - Lagos and Chennai

South Korea. Incheon.

Direct over the North Pole?
Via Japan and a local connection?
Via South China/ China Eastern etc
Singapore or Cathay ?

It only seems to be Dubai or Zayed as options, unless going direct.

[Mr Moofo]

https://www.skyscanner.net/transport/fl ... oPlusStops

You will not be going anywhere on a tight deadline and increased security with certainity via Qatar/ Emirates/Eithad for the next 3 or so months

And for the small premium in price, for that dustance and timing I would be going direct ...

[Wscad]

@weeksy. Have a look at Manchester direct to Shanghai then on to Korea. No need for a visa . Two Chinese airlines, hainan airlines and another one

Mrs flew to shanghai for Chinese New Year, lots of westerners transiting, but cost of flights have leaped since it all kicked off in Iran. Plus no need for a visa for China

[weeksy]

Doesn't matter now.

[Mr Moofo]

@weeksy. Have a look at Manchester direct to Shanghai then on to Korea. No need for a visa . Two Chinese airlines, hainan airlines and another one

Mrs flew to shanghai for Chinese New Year, lots of westerners transiting, but cost of flights have leaped since it all kicked off in Iran. Plus no need for a visa for China

What are the Chinese airlines like ?

[Wscad]

Chinese airlines update..........Hainan airlines fly direct to Beijing from Manchester

Juneyao airlines fly Monday Wednesday and Friday . Manchester direct to shanghai. Boeing Dreamliner. Mrs says it’s good. Much better than Aeroflot

[Wscad]

Chinese airlines update..........Hainan airlines fly direct to Beijing from Manchester

Juneyao airlines fly Monday Wednesday and Friday . Manchester direct to shanghai. Boeing Dreamliner. Mrs says it’s good. Much better than Aeroflot

Many flights from shanghai pudong airport to South Korea

[ZRX61]

In related news:
Roomie & son just cancelled their 10 day Italian holiday in early May as the fuckers just tripled the hotel room rates.

[weeksy]

Well it seems if we need to we can book via Virgin Atlantic for £900 each using Flex, which you can cancel up to 4 hours before the departure time. That's flying direct to Korea.

Just need things to fall into place.

Then work out how to pay for it

[wheelnut]

Anything transiting the ME is going to be dodgy, but flights are running elsewhere, even Cyprus, with no real issues.

We’ve got our usual turkey flights booked and will be going (assuming the flight goes ahead).

Got no long haul booked currently though.

[IccyV2]

I think you said it doesn't matter now, but FWIW I definitely wouldn't do it.
The FCO official advice is not to travel to the ME.

It is being hammed up by certain elements of the press but it's not nice for anyone not used to incoming, loud bangs and windows and doors rattling in the night tends to upset folk, and there is always the chance of it going really wrong and you'd be stuck for a long time. You are genuinely more likely to get stabbed in London than getting lit up here and we've got a couple of spare en-suite bedrooms, but it would still be disruptive if you've got a life to be getting on with somewhere else.

[demographic]

Ha, I have a sister who lived in Doha for years and a lot of the gulf states get a huge amount of their goods through the straight of Homuz, depend in desalination plants and this war is causing massive insecurity and instability.
As a person who detests spending extra time in airports I'd avoid it like the plague.

[Mr Moofo]

I have some friends who are on a 3 month long trip to Vietnam - they are cutting the trip short due to rumours about China vs Thailand stopping supply of aviation fuel