I've never used Emirates but it seems to have an awful lot of satisfied customers. If price alone is the most important factor then obviously it's no-brainer - BA wins hands down at a saving of over £400 but before committing yourself, if it was me, I would be checking out exactly what I was getting and then make the decision on what was the best value for money. As a regular BA customer I can tell you from experience that the quality of service has been gradually chipped away over the years and you now get less and less for your money.

So I would want to compare things like luggage allowances, seat pitch, cabin service, quality of meals, whether drinks are included or paid for extras, IFE if that's important etc. Remember, this is a longhaul flight and you might find that you get better value in the long run using your BA airmiles for future shorthaul trips within Europe where standards are pretty similar across all carriers and, as long as you can afford it, spending the extra to travel on Emirates this time and have a much more comfortable journey.

SM

The only problem with saving your AirMiles for European flights is that you usually have to pay high airport taxes for the privilege, example when I wanted to use my Lufthansa miles for flying to the UK they wanted €147 for taxes when ther normal flight price at that time was just €99. So I usually save my miles for long or medium haul flights.

Sm stated that the BA product has gone downhill and I agree but so has Emirates, their famed good service is often just a memory and their seating (though I haven't been in the A380 yet which should be better) is very cramped. Their B777 flights must be some of the worst in the air, they actually squeeze in one more seat in each row than other airlines.

If finance is an issue then I would use BA but if not why not try Etihad, you would have to get a bus or taxi from Abu Dabi but the airline is far superior to the other two mentioned.

Check out one of the airline review sites such as http://www.airlinequality.com for passenger reviews.

when I wanted to use my Lufthansa miles for flying to the UK they wanted €147 for taxes when ther normal flight price at that time was just €99.

That's incredible

The implication is that on a flight that they are charging only 99 euros for, they are not only flying you for free but paying some of the taxes too into the bargain! Clearly, I'm never going to get my head round airline economics!

SM

I use Qatar airways, when i'm off to the sandpit, haven't used them since late 09, but friends use them and still have good things to say. Dubai isn't an especially long long haul flight so personally I would go for the cheapest option, which is why I use Qatar. When its West Coast USA/Far East/Down under then it starts to become more of a question of comfort.

Have you tried Virgin, their economy seating is much better than BA's and Emirates B777, there prices can be competitive sometimes too.

Hi Scoya, i flew economy with Emirates about 3 years ago and the flight passed away quite comfortably, it wasn't outstanding but it wasn't bad , its only 7 hours and space was fine, not sure about BA , but if you can save 400 then you can put that towards another aspect of your holiday. I know that Emirates is 30kg luggage allowance. In reference to using Virgin , i travelled to Cuba with them this year , we managed to get Premium Economy on the way out which was superb and good value , but on the way back we were subjected to virgin's economy which i thought was the most uncomfortable flight i've ever experienced, it was really poor. They served up a warm and squashed ham and egg wrap that was worse than what those celebs in the aussie jungle have to eat as a forfeit.

Have to admit that having used Virgin just the once to fly to Cuba I actually prefer Cubana! If the planes they use for Dubai are the same as those they use for Cuba then personally I'd try and avoid them.

SM

Thank you all for your input, it's most appreciated and food for thought. We're now looking at adding a week in the Maldives onto this trip, so will now keep an open mind on airlines for the time being.

So we'll now start looking at flights to and from Dubai (friend who lives there is arranging hotel accommodation for us), then flying Dubai to Maldives, probably AI accommodation. So we may now look for Flight UK/Dubai - Dubai/Maldives - Maldives/UK.

Thanks again and please do add any other suggestions you may have.

SMa wrote:

Have to admit that having used Virgin just the once to fly to Cuba I actually prefer Cubana! If the planes they use for Dubai are the same as those they use for Cuba then personally I'd try and avoid them.

SM

I agree. I would only fly Virgin if I could afford upper class, the seats in economy are awful, hard and cramped and the service poor. Virgin built up such a good reputation when they first started out but that was years ago and they are rapidly becoming a third rate airline.

The aircraft from Gatwick/Manchester vs Heathrow that virgin use are completely different. It's like two separate airlines. Heathrow 747's and the airbus A340's they use are far better than the newer Gatwick 747 cattle trucks.