I have decided to have a crack at a TR of our upcoming journey to Sweden and Tanzania for this forum. We [me, Mr ShelleyB and ShelleyB-son (10)] are T-9 days away from setting off on the first leg of a 42 day journey that takes in Sweden and Tanzania. Why such an odd combination? It wasn't always meant to be this way. Our original journey was booked as follows as a mixture of Qantas classic rewards and revenue fares:
MEL-DXB-AMM Emirates J (CR) (STOP)
AQB-AMM-CAI Royal Jordanian Y (CR) (STOP)
CAI-DAR Egypt Air Y (Paid) (Transit)
DAR-ZNZ Flightlink Y (Paid) (STOP)
DAR-JRO Precision Air Y (Paid) (STOP)
JRO-DAR Precision Air Y (Paid) (Transit)
DAR-JNB Airlink Y (Paid) (Transit)
JNB-DOH-MEL Qatar J (Paid) (END)
But as you can see the first destinations we anticipated have become a little problematic in the last few months. After some discussion and with great regret we decided to skip Jordan and Egypt. Even though neither are directly involved, even aside from the possibility of local trouble, there is still the possibility of stray missiles and Egypt is likely to increase internal security at tourist destinations, which while it does increase safety it also gives it an inevitable military operation feel. Ultimately not quite the vibe we are looking for on our holidays.
So after a lot of internal discussion, checking of possibilities and preparation and discard of plans, we have settled on Sweden. One of the main limiting factors was the MEL-DXB-AMM were married segments, so we either had to discard them all and pay for alternatives (as 3 J class CR flights to Europe were clearly a pipe dream at this late stage), or keep the flights as transit only and add on paid flights from there. Ultimately we chose to keep them as transits with Sweden for a white Christmas as the ultimate destination. So now the flights look like this:
MEL-DXB-AMM Emirates J (CR) (Transit)
AMM-LHR-ARN British Airways J (Paid) (STOP)
ARN-KRN SAS Y+ (Paid) (STOP)
ARN-DOH-ZNZ Qatar Y (Paid) (STOP)
DAR-JRO Precision Air Y (Paid) (STOP)
JRO-DAR Precision Air Y (Paid) (Transit)
DAR-JNB Airlink Y (Paid) (Transit)
JNB-DOH-MEL Qatar J (Paid) (END)
So now the first leg is quite long as there's a few long transits - 9 hours in Dubai on the first leg, plus almost as long in Amman. The first was always in the itinerary (CR beggars can't be choosers) but the second a result of the limited options out of Amman on the same day we arrive. And sadly AMM will also very likely require collecting the bags (AFTER immigration) to check them in directly with BA as I think we'll have Buckley's chance of getting them checked all the way through from MEL-ARN with 2 separate PNRs on 2 different airlines, one of which is BA.
Despite the change in plans and the less than ideal route to Stockholm, we remain very excited for our journey. And it all commences with a bang with the EK A380 service to Dubai complete with Skybar, and finishes with Q-suites from DOH to MEL. Both of these experiences will be the first time for all the SB family.
I look forward to sharing updates as we go along. Hopefully not too many dramas as the first flight approaches.
MEL-DXB-AMM Emirates J (CR) (STOP)
AQB-AMM-CAI Royal Jordanian Y (CR) (STOP)
CAI-DAR Egypt Air Y (Paid) (Transit)
DAR-ZNZ Flightlink Y (Paid) (STOP)
DAR-JRO Precision Air Y (Paid) (STOP)
JRO-DAR Precision Air Y (Paid) (Transit)
DAR-JNB Airlink Y (Paid) (Transit)
JNB-DOH-MEL Qatar J (Paid) (END)
But as you can see the first destinations we anticipated have become a little problematic in the last few months. After some discussion and with great regret we decided to skip Jordan and Egypt. Even though neither are directly involved, even aside from the possibility of local trouble, there is still the possibility of stray missiles and Egypt is likely to increase internal security at tourist destinations, which while it does increase safety it also gives it an inevitable military operation feel. Ultimately not quite the vibe we are looking for on our holidays.
So after a lot of internal discussion, checking of possibilities and preparation and discard of plans, we have settled on Sweden. One of the main limiting factors was the MEL-DXB-AMM were married segments, so we either had to discard them all and pay for alternatives (as 3 J class CR flights to Europe were clearly a pipe dream at this late stage), or keep the flights as transit only and add on paid flights from there. Ultimately we chose to keep them as transits with Sweden for a white Christmas as the ultimate destination. So now the flights look like this:
MEL-DXB-AMM Emirates J (CR) (Transit)
AMM-LHR-ARN British Airways J (Paid) (STOP)
ARN-KRN SAS Y+ (Paid) (STOP)
ARN-DOH-ZNZ Qatar Y (Paid) (STOP)
DAR-JRO Precision Air Y (Paid) (STOP)
JRO-DAR Precision Air Y (Paid) (Transit)
DAR-JNB Airlink Y (Paid) (Transit)
JNB-DOH-MEL Qatar J (Paid) (END)
So now the first leg is quite long as there's a few long transits - 9 hours in Dubai on the first leg, plus almost as long in Amman. The first was always in the itinerary (CR beggars can't be choosers) but the second a result of the limited options out of Amman on the same day we arrive. And sadly AMM will also very likely require collecting the bags (AFTER immigration) to check them in directly with BA as I think we'll have Buckley's chance of getting them checked all the way through from MEL-ARN with 2 separate PNRs on 2 different airlines, one of which is BA.
Despite the change in plans and the less than ideal route to Stockholm, we remain very excited for our journey. And it all commences with a bang with the EK A380 service to Dubai complete with Skybar, and finishes with Q-suites from DOH to MEL. Both of these experiences will be the first time for all the SB family.
I look forward to sharing updates as we go along. Hopefully not too many dramas as the first flight approaches.
