Carluccio's, Dubai International Airport Terminal 3, United Arab Emirates

Originally we had assumed our flights would leave on both occasions from Dubai International Airport Terminal 3, the A Gates and had planned to go to Carluccio’s and Jack’s. It didn’t work out that way. We left to Kuala Lumpur at the B Gates, but were lucky in this regard on the way to Dublin.

We thought the time was going to be a bit tight to go to Jack’s so we headed for Carluccio’s.

We were welcomed with a smile and brought to a table in front of the open kitchen.

The interior was contemporary.

Originally we wanted to order juices, but they were already finished, so we had two still Al Ain water, one Penne Arrabiata, a Pizza Salami and one Amarena cherry ice cream Sundae.

The staff was efficient and friendly.

Our meal arrived quickly and was hot and fresh. It was delicious and the arrabiata not too spicy. The Sundae wasn’t too sweet and very indulgent.

We paid 183 AED (ca. 45.15 Euro or ca. 49.85 USD).

We enjoyed our visit, so we would return again, when connecting or departing from Terminal 3, the A Gates.

©2015

Flight with Emirates Dublin - Dubai - Kuala Lumpur and return in Economy Class

Our holiday in July 2015 took us to Malaysia and Singapore.

We booked our flights with Emirates to Kuala Lumpur via Dubai in economy class.

A few days before our departure we received an email containing the inflight menu and what was on offer at ICE, the entertainment system.
Check in in Dublin at Terminal 2 was done efficient and with a smile. Originally we had chosen all our seats online at the time of booking our flights, but for some reason on the leg between Dubai International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport it was changed. 
Since seat selections are complimentary we used this service on each leg, but we still sat  together and it was just a row or so behind the original selection we didn’t mind. Our luggage was checked through to Kuala Lumpur. We also liked that the baggage claim tag was stuck onto a separate card than the boarding passes or one of our passports.
On the return flight our seat choice was honored.

On this occasion we had purchased Fast Track security access from DAA for 5.99 Euro (ca. 6.65 USD) per person, online. It also included a voucher for free coffee. Without fast track the waiting time was approximately 15 minutes. We were through security with no waiting at all and took maybe two minutes or less.

We had lunch at Flutes, one of our favorite outlets airside in Terminal 2. A review is going to follow.

Afterwards we browsed the shops a bit and went to our gate when it was time to board.

All flights were on a Boeing 777-300 ER. The seats were comfortable and in a 3-4-3 configuration. Only on one leg nobody sat beside us in the aisle seats. All flights were booked out or near capacity and had families with small children, who were overall well behaved, on board.

The food was as always good and there were two main courses to choose from. It was either a fish and meat option or beef and chicken. On one leg the chicken was in hot demand. Some guests might have been scared by the idea of eating an unfamiliar perch, a fresh water fish. It was what we would have chosen in the first place, so it didn’t matter to us. We liked it. Of course the desserts and ice cream were the highlight. The meals reflected where we started from and the destination, for example there were curries and braised beef, a lentil salad and other dishes.
Vegetarian and other special dietary needs meals have to be pre-ordered.
Non-alcoholic beverages were served regularly. There were also tea and coffee, wine and liquor available after meals, plus there was the option to enjoy a snipe of Champagne for USD 15.

ICE, Emirates in-flight entertainment system had a wide selection, but on some older Boeings we had problems with the touch screens (They weren’t very intuitive or suddenly stopped in the middle of a documentary or film and it took some effort to get it working again.)
When it was functioning, we watched documentaries, a classic, foreign movies and played “Who wants to be a Millionaire?”.

Toilets were spotless clean. Only once I saw crew discarding left over juices and some of it splashed on the walls, leaving a sticky mess and a sweet smell in the toilet.

The crew was overall attentive and friendly.
The flight attendants on our leg between Kuala Lumpur and Dubai were a bit stressed out and tired, because their journey began in Australia.

There were turbulences over India, because of the monsoon season and the seat belt sign was on while passing through.

We had planned in a generous layover of around three hours each time we had to connect in Dubai to have enough time for a meal and to avoid generally stress. There’s nothing worse than running through a large airport to catch your flight.
Arriving in Dubai from Dublin we had a remote stand and had to take a shuttle to bring as to the B Gates. It was a fairly long ride, around 25 minutes.

We had ice cream at Haagen Dazs and on the return lunch at Carluccio’s, located at the A Gates.  Reviews for those are going to follow.

One important thing about Kuala Lumpur International Airport: There are two security checks, one directly at the gate, so it is not possible to bring water bottles on board.

Of course we will fly with Emirates again. It is one of our favorite airlines. We like breaking up a long-haul flight to the Far East in Dubai. The service is great and reliable, the food good and the entertainment system should cater to most tastes.

©2015 

Lufthansa flight Dublin - Frankfurt - Munich - Dubai - Dubai - Munich - Dublin

Originally we found a very good rate with Emirates to fly to Dubai, but then Lufthansa released lower rates. We thought it was better to pay less and fly more, so we booked Lufthansa.

Our first leg was from Dublin to Frankfurt International Airport, taking off shortly after midday. We had already checked in online the day before to choose our seats and print out the boarding passes.

The person at bag drop was friendly and our suitcase checked in quickly.

Security in Dublin was as always a breeze.

We had time for a quick stop at Starbucks before going to our gate.

During the flight we were offered non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee. There was also a vegetarian sandwich on offer, which I liked, but he not so much. The juices and water were very good.

The seat of the Airbus A321 took a while to get used to for me, but was comfortable then.

He was happy with the leg room. Even when the person reclined in front of him he had still enough space.

In Frankfurt we had a remote stand. There was a shower pouring down when we had to leave the plane. There was one bus in front and one in the back. The first was very full, so the driver didn't let anyone in. The second one wasn't willing to open the door, so we had to wait until the first bus left and the second moved into the correct position. A few of us were fuming. I think this should be a bit better planned and passengers allowed earlier on the bus if the weather is bad.

We had three hours to connect in Frankfurt, which was comfortable to have late lunch and browse the shops a bit.

Our plane, an Airbus A321 - upgraded due to demand from an A320 - between Frankfurt and Munich International Airport was also located at a remote stand.

We were served free drinks on the short flight to Munich.

In Munich we had another remote stand and also three hours connecting time before our overnight flight to Dubai.

Our plane to Dubai was an Airbus A330-300. It was a newer model, very comfortable and the inflight entertainment system easy to handle. It had a good choice, but I prefer Malaysia Airlines’ or Emirates' ICE. They have an even wider selection of movies and TV series and also a lot of World Cinema and Bollywood movies.

Dinner - chicken in our case - was served shortly after reaching cruising altitude and was tasty and healthy.

Afterwards liqueurs, coffee and tea made the rounds.

We both managed to catch around four hours sleep, which wasn't too bad.

No breakfast, but a snack was served with coffee or tea. It was a hard Florentine type biscuit and a bit meagre. We would have preferred at least a continental breakfast.

A day before our departure we checked in online again for our flight from Dubai to Munich and Munich to Dublin.

At the baggage drop off, which was very quiet, we were offered to change the seats on the leg between Munich and Dublin, but we had consciously chosen a seat at the back, because we wanted to avoid stress.

The aircraft, also an Airbus A330-300, but this time around was an older model on the flight between Dubai and Munich. The inflight entertainment system was hard to use and some passengers complained it didn't function at all. The flight wasn't fully booked, so a few could change seats.

The meal choice was pasta with mushrooms or chicken in paprika sauce, roasted vegetables and rice. We had the chicken, which we thought was okay. There was also a shrimp salad and a raisin cake, which he couldn't eat due to allergies.

There was a snack served with cream cheese, crackers and a muffin. Interesting enough there wasn't any cutlery offered, so seeing a neighbor's messy affair, I was more careful and found a solution to avoid that, by keeping the wrapper partly on. A knife would have been appreciated.

In Munich we had around two hours’ time to connect and had a remote stand again.

We slept partly on the Airbus A321 flight to Dublin and missed the food - it looked like the same sandwich we had had between Dublin and Frankfurt, but woke up in time for the drinks.

We liked the spotless toilets, the friendly service on all legs, ease of connections at the airports and the generous portions of Baileys and other drinks.

We think there is room for improvement in regards to head sets (Customers have to put on the soft part themselves and the headsets aren't keeping out the aircraft noise.), plus how a remote stand embarkment/disembarkment during bad weather is handled, a bigger breakfast "snack" when arriving in Dubai and offering cutlery for cream cheese.

Overall Lufthansa offers a good product, the food quality is good, the staff friendly and the inflight entertainment system is adequate, so we would use Lufthansa again on medium and long-haul routes, if the timings and value are right.

 ©2014

Flight Aer Lingus Dublin - London Gatwick / Emirates London Gatwick via Dubai International - Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

My better half found a good deal on Emirates' website from London Gatwick (LGW) to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK). We hadn't been there for five years and wanted to return. We were at first a bit concerned about the coup and unrest in Thailand, but it seemed peaceful enough, so we decided to book the flight. To get to London Gatwick we bought a separate flight with Aer Lingus from Dublin.

The flight from Dublin to LGW South Terminal was full. Previous experience had shown that a pre-booked seat wasn't necessary. On this flight we were unlucky and weren't able to sit together. We chose then two middle row seats behind each other. Thank goodness a lady was so nice to change seats with us when she realized we belonged together.

Next time we consider the payable option of choosing our seats when booking the flight.

We had pre-ordered a meal, because our flight left in the afternoon, and we thought we would be peckish. Since a few months in-flight catering is provided by Clodagh McKenna, an Irish chef and TV personality. We chose the quinoa chicken salad with multi seed crackers, gluten free chocolate cake, fruit salad and coffee. For those, who don't like coffee, there's also tea available. Overall we were happy with the meal. It was refreshing, healthy and tasty. We would appreciate, though, if the description of the ingredients would be slightly more detailed. The salad contains raisins. One of us is allergic to them, so he had to pick them out.

More choice in regards to the beverage selection would be also great, i.e. also juice or water.

We find it also a bit sad that the beef salad is no longer available.

This particular Airbus A319 was a former Iberian plane. When Aer Lingus bought it they didn't change the interior, so the first generation Recaro seats are a bit uncomfortable (too few leg room) and don't have a net at the seat in front to store items.

Otherwise the flight was event less.

Before our next legs to Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Bangkok we spent a night at the Hilton London Gatwick.  The review for this will follow.

The next morning we made our way to LGW North Terminal, where Emirates is based. The check in went flaw less and very few people were queuing.

Having heard only good things about Emirates we were looking forward to our first flight with them and we weren't disappointed.

The plane type was a Boeing 777-300ER. The seats were comfortable and there was ample leg room.

ICE, the entertainment system, offered a wide choice of movies, series, documentaries, games and music.

We were served lunch (prawn salad, chicken curry, chocolate dessert) and afternoon tea. Alcoholic beverages like beer, wine and liqueurs were also available.

I watched a documentary about Lance Armstrong and a few World Cinema Movies.

Connecting in Dubai was easy. To our surprise we were handed new boarding passes at the gate and advised our seat had changed. I thought I didn't read right. It stated we had been upgraded to business class - a first for us.

The plane type used was an Airbus A380. The Business Class configuration was 1-2-1. I had an aisle seat; he had the window seat. Our hostess introduced herself as Suzie and explained she and her colleague Fatima would take care of us during the flight. We were offered a welcome drink and had a glass of Champagne (Moet & Chandon NV Brut Imperial).

We were handed the wine list, which included two white (De Bortoli Estate Grown Chardonnay 2012 Yarra Valley and Voyager Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012 Margaret River) and red wines (Les Fiefs de Lagrange 2005 and Te Muna Road Pinot Noir, Craggy Range 2011 Martinborough) as well as Quinta do Portal Colheita Port 2000 Douro.

There was also a large selection of spirits, beers, cocktails and liqueurs available. We tried the Patron XO Cafe. The coffee liqueur was excellent.

Our order from the light bite menu was taken. There were sandwiches, vegetable pie, Asian-style chicken fried rice, fried udon noodles, coconut tart, and instant cup noodles. We chose the Asian-style chicken fried rice. It was very tasty.

We were also asked if we wanted to be woken for breakfast and invited to join the bar at the back any time.

The amenity bag containing Bulgari toiletries was handed out and we were also offered to have our bed made.

The seat itself was very comfortable and at the press of a button turned into a lie flat bed. I thought it was romantic when looking up and the ceiling twinkled with star lights. There was enough room to either sleep fully stretched out or on the side.

There was also a minibar stocked with a Sunrasia juice, Voss water and other beverages.

ICE could be accessed via the IPad at the seat or via the large flat screen TV. Storage space was either overhead, in front of the seat or at the side.

The window blinds could be opened and closed fully automatic.

The seats were angled in a way that guaranteed privacy and nobody would disturb the neighbour, if they had to get up for some reason.

It was an overnight flight and if we hadn't taken care, we could have been easily overwhelmed with all the services provided and not slept at all. Lying flat definitely helps arriving more rested at the destination.

Continental breakfast consisted of fresh fruits, yogurt, croissants, pastries and bread, butter and preserves. He had as hot item the scrambled eggs with mixed peppers and I had the courgette and cheese omelette. There was coffee/tea, Champagne, orange or apple juice to choose from.

We were also given priority lane access at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. Immigration was a breeze and the wait for our luggage wasn't too long.

After ten days in Bangkok it was time to return to Dublin.

Checking in at BKK was hassle free again and waiting time very short.

Our planes was on the legs between Bangkok/Dubai and LGW the Queen of the Skies.

It seems we had a slightly older Airbus A380 between BKK-DXB, because the seats were slightly different than between DXB-LGW and ICE slightly more difficult to use.

There was only lunch service (we had fish), but there was also noodle pots as snacks available for those, who felt a small hunger pang.

Connecting in Dubai was longer than on the journey to Bangkok. We had to take the connecting train. Previously we were able to simply walk to our next gate.

My fiancé wanted to surprise me with a watch from duty free shopping between DXB and LGW. When asking the attendant if it was available she promised me she would check with her colleague if he had it in his cart, because it wasn't in hers. After waiting for ages I had to follow up and was left disappointed. It wasn't available.

The crew on this flight seemed to be generally stressed out and tired.

For lunch we had chickpeas and sweet corn salad with tuna, grilled chicken and blueberry streusel cake.

Later afternoon tea with cheese and chutney and chicken sandwiches, double chocolate cake and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam was served. Unfortunately the scone was with raisins again and no alternative offered, so my better half had to forgo it.

Arrival at London was on time. After crossing the longest  gate connecting bridge in the world we had to walk for about ten to fifteen minutes to Immigration, where a long queue had built up. It was moving fluid and within twenty minutes we were at the baggage claim to pick up our suitcase.

We enjoyed flying with Emirates, the comfort in both Business and Economy Class, the service, the delicious food and ICE.

After staying another night at the Hilton LGW we checked in for our flight with Aer Lingus back to Dublin.

We were sitting together even without having chosen our seats prior to the flight and hadn't any meal, because we had paid access to the Number 1 Traveller Lounge at the South Terminal.

The flight was eventless, punctual and the staff as always friendly.

Dublin International Airport was efficient and we were at home two hours after landing.

©2014