Qantas or Emirates A380

[AndyGoodyear]

Hi everyone

Im flying my dad over to Australia early next year and booking his ticket through Qantas. I want to fly him London-Subai on the A380 and of course there are two choices - EK metal or Qantas metal. I haven't flown the A380 yet and wondered what peoples thoughts are on the two? I want him to have the most comfortable flight possible.

Thanks everyone

 

[elbarto]

What class are you going to be flying you dad over in?

 

[AndyGoodyear]

What class are you going to be flying you dad over in?

Aah yes I forgot that. Economy I'm afraid

 

[legroom]

Aah yes I forgot that. Economy I'm afraid

Hi Andy

With Qantas, you could pay to select an exit row seat to give your dad some relative comfort.

With Emirates, that cannot be done as it is only allocated at the airport on a first-come, first-get basis which gives you no certainty at all.

Assuming your dad is not too infirm, I'd lean towards an early QF booking to snag one of those exit row seats for him.

The IFE (movies etc..) on Emirates is better than QF's offering, however.

 

[ajw373]

Aah yes I forgot that. Economy I'm afraid

Economy, go Qantas. I flew EK earlier in the year LGW-DXD-BKK (DXB-BKK on the A380) and wasn't too impressed with Emirates service. Seat and IFE wise they are similar in terms of comfort and content, at least with Qantas you will get a bottle of water, unlike Emirates where you need to ask everytime you want a drink and then are given half a small glass worth.

 

[Must...Fly!]

If it were me I'd be taking QF metal. This way you can select seats prior to travel as others have pointed out which is the main benefit. There are also other benefits however these are minor such as the drink situation as pointed out by ajw373 and the snacks etc on offer at the self-service area of the QF birds which I don't think is available on EK.

 

[BoyZeus]

IFE, screen size and seat comfort on EK last week on the A380 was amazing - as for the inflight service, people on here have dubbed EK as the "United Nations" - indifferent.

 

[Steelo]

Seat selection is a significant factor. I do not understand why EK appears to allow you to select your seat but then when you go to check in it seems to make no difference - you get what you are given.

 

[AndyGoodyear]

Thanks everyone - great advice. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find QF metal all the way through (LON-DXB-PER then SYD-DXB-LON) but will choose Qantas as much as possible.

 

[Must...Fly!]

DXB-PER is only operated by EK on 777 metal.

This is the problem with the alliance as QF only operate 2 flights per day to DXB, QF1/2 from SYD and QF9/10 from MEL.

The EK 777 in Y isn't the best as it is 10 abreast which can be cramped, but it would only be for the one sector (DXB-PER) as you can get the QF (or EK) 380 from LHR (or 777 from LGW) to DXB and of course QF metal all the way from SYD back to the UK.

I do note the prices are very good at about 800GBP return in February.

 

[mannej]

DXB-PER is only operated by EK on 777 metal.

This is the problem with the alliance as QF only operate 2 flights per day to DXB, QF1/2 from SYD and QF9/10 from MEL.

The EK 777 in Y isn't the best as it is 10 abreast which can be cramped, but it would only be for the one sector (DXB-PER) as you can get the QF (or EK) 380 from LHR (or 777 from LGW) to DXB and of course QF metal all the way from SYD back to the UK.

I do note the prices are very good at about 800GBP return in February.

Isn't the seat pitch in the 777 34 inches, so cramped width wise not legroom wise?

 

[Must...Fly!]

Isn't the seat pitch in the 777 34 inches, so cramped width wise not legroom wise?

That is correct. I haven't flown Y on EK personally so mine is an opinion only gained from what I have read and having a peek back in to the Y cabin from my seat in J on an EK DXB-PER flight last year. I guess it is a downside but it's not like EK are struggling to get passengers on seats!

Despite being 6'5" I find I like my seat width just as much as the pitch (as the latter often evaporates due to recliners, especially on longer sectors)

 

[AndyGoodyear]

DXB-PER is only operated by EK on 777 metal.

This is the problem with the alliance as QF only operate 2 flights per day to DXB, QF1/2 from SYD and QF9/10 from MEL.

The EK 777 in Y isn't the best as it is 10 abreast which can be cramped, but it would only be for the one sector (DXB-PER) as you can get the QF (or EK) 380 from LHR (or 777 from LGW) to DXB and of course QF metal all the way from SYD back to the UK.

I do note the prices are very good at about 800GBP return in February.

Cheers. One sector on EK should be ok. I couldnt find the QF metal all the way back from SYD - LON - it was still QF SYD - DXB, then EK DXB-LON but I will have another look. Flying him out mid Jan and back mid Feb so the prices are quite a bit higher. Works out about 1250GBP

 

[jukebox333]

One sector DXB-PER B777 is still a long time when you've come off an A380... and despite the thrice (?) daily schedule DXB-PER, those flights seem to always get very full.

 

[AndyGoodyear]

Sorry to ask so many questions....

I've found QF1 from Sydney - London which is just displayed as the Qantas metal A380 with one stop. Does this mean it will be the A380 all the way through? I know that one or two sectors displayed affects SC's, but does it affect points? My dad doesnt collect QFF points but he will family transfer to me so SC's don't really matter.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Cheers. One sector on EK should be ok. I couldnt find the QF metal all the way back from SYD - LON - it was still QF SYD - DXB, then EK DXB-LON but I will have another look. Flying him out mid Jan and back mid Feb so the prices are quite a bit higher. Works out about 1250GBP

I don't often talk people out of QF but perhaps you could consider Malaysian. They would almost certainly be cheaper and you get A380 on the long legs LHR-KUL-LHR and A330 or 777 (9 abreast) from KUL-PER//SYD-KUL.

There is also SQ to look at, as you should be able to get LHR-SIN, SYD-SIN-LHR on A380 and just SIN-PER on A330/777.

EDIT: I did not realise you would be gathering points. Your post above is correct, it is the same aircraft all the way to London, just a stop in Dubai.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Is he a member of any freq flyer program ? If he is not a QF ff member, sign him up to Qantas freq flyer with your address (via Woolworth everyday card), Then later you can do a family transfer to your account of the points earned.

This is a frequent flyer site. Flying without getting miles/points is a heinous crime

If QF ticket & metal you may be able to try to use yours points to upgrade him to PE (depends on how good a son you really are )

Edit: post 15 made while I was typing this post

 

[AndyGoodyear]

Is he a member of any freq flyer program ? If he is not a QF ff member, sign him up to Qantas freq flyer with your address (via Woolworth everyday card), Then later you can do a family transfer to your account of the points earned.

This is a frequent flyer site. Flying without getting miles/points is a heinous crime

If QF ticket & metal you may be able to use yours points to upgrade him to PE (depends on how good a son you really are )

Does he need to be registered at my address to do a family transfer? He lives in London and the flight will be originating there - can I not sign him up at his London address and then he does a family transfer? And yes, not earning points is an incredibly heinous crime. I would very much like to upgrade him

 

[Mwenenzi]

No direct experience. I guess your surname is the same. To me just simpler if address & all correspondence (letter & email) to your address.

Several family members live in my Post Office box

 

[AndyGoodyear]

No direct experience. I guess your surname is the same. To me just simpler if address & all correspondence (letter & email) to your address.

Several family members live in my Post Office box

Great. I will do that.