Dubai Connect

[Princess Fiona]

I'll be travelling to Europe in Sep and my booking is eligible for Dubai Connect.
I'd love to know what the AFF experience is of this especially for J passengers on QF tickets and if the hotel is OK or if I should book my own with Chauffeur transfers?
I will arrive in DXB at 1400 and depart at 0730 next day. Both flights are on EK with QF code.

 

[crisco]

Chauffeur transfer only available if you are in transit for over 24 hours.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Chauffeur transfer only available if you are in transit for over 24 hours.

That's strange as MMB doesn't say this at all. Have options to book chauffeur for all sectors at SYD, DXB and MAN.
Do you have a link for this ?

 

[KVK]

Sorry, can't comment on Dubai, but I flew back from Bangkok late Feb this year. QF ticket but EK metal in J. Our Chauffeur did not turn up at the Bangkok hotel, so when we got to the EK lounge I queried about the no show. The lounge lady said there was confusion re QF tickets, so I asked her to check whether we could expect a car in Sydney the next morning. She went to great lengths and contacted Qantas to check. She assured me I had a car booked. Needles to say, when we cleared customs there was no car booked. The gentleman organising the cars was very harassed, very polite and very annoyed that he was bearing the brunt of irate passengers. His story was QF ticketed passengers were no longer eligible for the Chauffeur transfers. And yes, they all appeared in my MMB page. The upgrade to first eased some of the pain, but still annoying. Dubai might be different as I understand Qantas provide a car for their J passengers? Good luck, I look forward to hearing how you go as I am planning a similar trip later in the year.

I'll be travelling to Europe in Sep and my booking is eligible for Dubai Connect.
I'd love to know what the AFF experience is of this especially for J passengers on QF tickets and if the hotel is OK or if I should book my own with Chauffeur transfers?
I will arrive in DXB at 1400 and depart at 0730 next day. Both flights are on EK with QF code.

 

[eminere]

Chauffeur Drive is not available on QF-coded tickets for flights between Australia and Asia, only on EK-coded tickets.

 

[Joshua]

I flew EK-EK (operated & marketed) but on QF paper and used Dubai connect. Had a lot of trouble getting QF reservations to set it up (agent even gave their personal email to contact). If you have any trouble it's best to contact EK, they dealt with things very well.

The Le Méridien is used for J/F pax and is 'ok' at best. They have a separate wing and entrance for EK STPC. Sounds like you have quite a bit of time there so could do a lot better going into town. I arrived at 2100 and departed 830 ish so it was perfect to sleep and eat breakfast and get to the lounge. That said given the timezone difference, you might just want to sleep and it is only a few minutes drive away. Also it's free! I have photos of the room if you're interested.

 

[madrooster]

Chauffeur Drive is not available on QF-coded tickets for flights between Australia and Asia, only on EK-coded tickets.

CD is only available between AU and Asia on EK coded on EK metal. It's not available on EK coded on QF metal.

I flew EK-EK (operated & marketed) but on QF paper and used Dubai connect. Had a lot of trouble getting QF reservations to set it up (agent even gave their personal email to contact).

Did you have any QF coded sectors on the ticket at all?

 

[Joshua]

Did you have any QF coded sectors on the ticket at all?

None. It was ARN-DXB-LAX in F. Actually you just made me realise in the past 18 months all my QF sectors have been ticketed on other airlines and similarly all my QF tickets have been sectors on a bunch of other airlines. Fun.

Anyway my theory has been the problem stemmed from no published fares for ARN-LAX on EK (it's great backtracking). As such the system probably didn't recognise the flight connection as a legal/valid option for Dubai Connect.

 

[madrooster]

None. It was ARN-DXB-LAX in F. Actually you just made me realise in the past 18 months all my QF sectors have been ticketed on other airlines and similarly all my QF tickets have been sectors on a bunch of other airlines. Fun

QF res aren't supposed to go selling non-QF fares without a QF fare on the ticket... so how did you pull that one off?

 

[trixydoza]

QF res aren't supposed to go selling non-QF fares without a QF fare on the ticket... so how did you pull that one off?

You mean revenue tickets rather than award bookings?

 

[madrooster]

You mean revenue tickets rather than award bookings?

Correct, though I just realised Joshua's ticket could've easily been an award booking...

 

[Princess Fiona]

I flew EK-EK (operated & marketed) but on QF paper and used Dubai connect. Had a lot of trouble getting QF reservations to set it up (agent even gave their personal email to contact). If you have any trouble it's best to contact EK, they dealt with things very well.

The Le Méridien is used for J/F pax and is 'ok' at best. They have a separate wing and entrance for EK STPC. Sounds like you have quite a bit of time there so could do a lot better going into town. I arrived at 2100 and departed 830 ish so it was perfect to sleep and eat breakfast and get to the lounge. That said given the timezone difference, you might just want to sleep and it is only a few minutes drive away. Also it's free! I have photos of the room if you're interested.

Photos would be great
I'm tossing up between taking the free hotel or just taking the chauffeur drives and booking my own

 

[crisco]

I am booked on an EK coded ticket BKK-DXB-AMS with a stopover in Dubai arrive 1300 and leave 0820 the next day and able to book CD in Amsterdam and Bangkok but not Dubai.

Terms and Conditions on Emirate's site.
Chauffeur-drive service can be provided at stopover points when the passenger has paid a fare (including applicable taxes) that allows a stopover. The service is not available in cities where the passenger is in transit (i.e. where there is less than 24 hours between connecting flights).

 

[roncritch]

Photos would be great
I'm tossing up between taking the free hotel or just taking the chauffeur drives and booking my own

We flew J PER-DXB-DUB and return in March. Had a 7 and 10 hour stopover respectively. Took advantage of the Dubai Connect both ways. Long walk to get to the car and the car booking area was very busy both times. However the hotel is only a few minutes away and the bed was very comfortable ( well so it seemed after to not-so-flat bed on the 777's!). Actually room and amenities could not be faulted. Both our stopovers were overnight , sorry can't remember the name of the hotel.

Crisco is wrong as car is supplied with Dubai Connect...Merc for F and Volvo for J.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Photos would be great
I'm tossing up between taking the free hotel or just taking the chauffeur drives and booking my own

Seems a lot of stuffing around getting from and to the airport in DXB for a 8-12hr stay. We did that once but now just stay in the airport hotel, which is above the EK lounges, then go to F lounge for dinner and breakfast.

Note that Dubai Connect (free hotel and transfers) is only available if you take the first available connecting flight in DXB. You can't decide to take a later flight out of DXB. Well you can but then there's no free hotel.

 

[roncritch]

Seems a lot of stuffing around getting from and to the airport in DXB for a 8-12hr stay. We did that once but now just stay in the airport hotel, which is above the EK lounges, then go to F lounge for dinner and breakfast.

Note that Dubai Connect (free hotel and transfers) is only available if you take the first available connecting flight in DXB. You can't decide to take a later flight out of DXB. Well you can but then there's no free hotel.

You could be right about the EK hotel in the airport.
But the next flight rule does not seem to be enforced...our 11 hour was not the next flight which was 3 hours....we just wanted to break it up a bit m ore with a shower and the 1st lounge at DXB.

 

[TheRealTMA]

You could be right about the EK hotel in the airport.
But the next flight rule does not seem to be enforced...our 11 hour was not the next flight which was 3 hours....we just wanted to break it up a bit m ore with a shower and the 1st lounge at DXB.

No, it's not the airport hotel. EK do not include the airport hotel for Dubai Connect.

Seems you were lucky! Flying F on EK we decided to skip the next available flight back (DBB-BNE via SIN on 777) and wait a total of 10-11 hours for the A380 so we could see some of Dubai, and EK refused the Dubai Connect hotel service saying this was only available on the 'default' connections. Was not impressed.

 

[Joshua]

From everything else I have read the rules are enforced so I wouldn't get anyone's hopes up. If you were flying F then you didn't miss out on much anyway. The actual airport hotel looks nice but I haven't stayed yet. Had a flight cancelled and a few people had to stay there because their work visas wouldn't allow them back into UAE...

Correct, though I just realised Joshua's ticket could've easily been an award booking...

Indeed. I wouldn't actually pay for "one of the most expensive flights in the world" as quoted by all those click bait sites
EK to LAX is their longest route and about 11000 AUD retail. It's about 4k for ARN-DXB. So yeah an award ticket that you couldn't book as revenue. You want to know the ridiculous bit??? It was a positioning flight

Photos would be great
I'm tossing up between taking the free hotel or just taking the chauffeur drives and booking my own

This is where I'd like to just link to my blog. But hey, here's a couple photos of the room.



Breakfast is included if you want it. I got myself a coffee but then waited for the F lounge. All the EK F lounges (even T1/C gates) are much better for food.

PF, I'd be really split in two minds with your situation given the timing. There are many nicer places out there. Depends if you've been to Dubai much and want to shop & look or you think you'll just want to grab sleep while you're there. Free and close is good.

 

[Rourke]

That looks exactly like the room I had at the Copthorne for Dubai Connect. The hotel was fine for a few hours' relaxation & shower, but the long walk to where all the buses should have been made it something I wouldn't opt for again.

 

[drross]

Chauffeur Drive is not available on QF-coded tickets for flights between Australia and Asia, only on EK-coded tickets.

hope not. we cancelled our hotel booked car (in august) for the one that QF offered us