TRIP REPORT | INDEX
Written by Sven Palac
Flight Zagreb (ZAG) – Dubai (DXB) data:
Flight number: EK130
Flight date: 18 July 2019
Operated by: Emirates
Aircraft type: Boeing B777-300ER
Aircraft registration: A6-EBQ
Departure time: 15:25
Arrival time: 23:00
Flight duration: 5h 35m
Flight Dubai (DXB) – Bangkok (BKK) data:
Flight number: EK376
Flight date: 19 July 2019
Operated by: Emirates
Aircraft type: Airbus A380-800 (2 class configuration)
Aircraft registration: A6-EUO
Departure time: 03:40
Arrival time: 13:15
Flight duration: 6h 35m
*all times are local
On 18th of August 2019, together with my group of six students and one teacher from one of Zagreb's high schools I flew from Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport via Dubai International with Emirates.
We bought our tickets for a return trip a month prior for 510 euros which was the best option for my group. The cheaper option was Qatar Airways for 450 euros, but with a layover of 15 hours at Doha Hamad Airport on our way back from Bangkok, which wasn't ideal for my group. I also considered flying from other airports in region but flying out of Zagreb was the best and cheapest option without doubt.
Flight from Zagreb to Dubai
We had completed our check-in online and chosen our seats 48 hours before the scheduled departure time. After we arrived at the airport, we dropped our bags and got our boarding passes in no time, we had some two and a half hours until departure. Some of my friends had few kilos of overweight baggage, but the guy at the check-in counter said he would ignore it. I am always amazed by the fact that Emirates has six check-in counters for its sole daily flight from Zagreb, one each for first class, business class and online check-in passengers and three for economy class. We headed to the security check and passport control one and a half hours before departure. After 15 minutes we were in the departures area.
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| View from security check (level 3) |
I personally really like Zagreb Airport. I never had any problems there. Check-in, security check and passport control on departure were always quick. I also love the architecture. Only thing that's bothering me are the announcements at the gate. Often, I can't understand them clearly. Boarding commenced 35 minutes before departure. Crew greeted us upon entering the aircraft in both English and Croatian. Around half of the flight attendants were Croats, Bosnians or Serbs. We were seated in the back of the aircraft where Emirates has twin seats on its Boeing triple sevens. Blankets, pillows and headphones were waiting for us at our seats. One of the flight attendants told me that the load factor was around 85%. My friend's in-flight entertainment system (IFE) wasn't working, so the flight attendant moved us one row back on seats reserved for crew and also made a funny comment that Emirates always sends “dinosaur“ airplanes to Zagreb which really was the case this time. This triple seven had a pretty old version of IFE. We pushed back on time, just after Korean Air’s Airbus A330 arrived from Seoul-Incheon and parked at the gate next to us.
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| Korean Air A330-200 parked at the gate just after landing from Seoul |
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| Interior of the airplane (B777-300ER) upon boarding |
We taxied for some 10 minutes and departed from runway 23 making a left turn just after takeoff. I tried watching a movie, but I found it very difficult because the quality of the screen was poor and the volume wasn't loud enough, so I eventually gave up. You could order a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the whole flight. Food service started after about 2 or 3 hours into the flight. We had a choice of chicken or salmon meal, but by the time the food came to us they didn't have any more salmon left. The food was very nice, I really enjoyed it.
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| Menu – Zagreb-Dubai |
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| Dinner |
We had great opportunity to see beautiful views of the Black Sea, Kuwait, Baghdad and Doha while flying and Dubai's remarkable sites such as Palm Jumeirah, World Islands and Burj Khalifa during the descent and landing.
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| Interior of the airplane (B777-300ER) over Kuwait |
Layover at Dubai International Airport
We landed in Dubai at 10.45PM (15 minutes ahead of schedule) and parked on a remote stand. The flight crew greeted us in Arabic, English and Croatian, it's always great to hear: „Poštovani putnici dobrodošli na zračnu luku Dubai-International…“ upon landing so far from home. After we got out of the rather cold aircraft, a heat wave hit us. I was wet by the time we got to the bus. It was 40°C at 11PM :).
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| A6-EBQ – our ride to Dubai |
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| Display in the bus showing Zagreb and Dubai time |
We got to the terminal building around 11.30PM. It took us another 5-10 minutes to pass security check for transfer passengers. Our onward flight to Bangkok was scheduled to depart at 3:40AM so we had some two and half hours before we need to be at gate C11 which was assigned for our flight.
There's really a lot to do at Dubai International Airport during your transit time. Howeverm as all airports, it wasn’t cheap for the most part, so we spent our time eating at McDonald’s, looking at airplanes landing and taking off, exploring Dubai Airport and buying something here and there. The souvenirs at Dubai-International were, to my surprise, rather cheap when compared to the prices of the souvenirs in the city of Dubai. If you're traveling through Dubai Airport you can pay in US dollars, British Pounds, euros or UAE dirhams, but in most cases you'll get change in dirhams (United Arab Emirates currency). What is funny to me is that for a bottle of water I paid 20 kunas (around €2.7) in Zagreb, but in Dubai I paid 2 dirhams (around 0.5€) for it.
I like the interior of Dubai International, very modern design reflecting the Arabic culture. Indoor palms are really cool, especially the golden palm :). I prefer the area around C gates, I find it quieter and nicer.
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| On my way to the gate |
Flight from Dubai to Bangkok
Boarding started on time, 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. The gate area was really packed. Flight was 100% full with two-class configuration on an Airbus A380-800. I was seated at the back of the aircraft at seat 82B. Again, blankets, pillows and headphones were waiting for us at our seats. We departed at 4:20AM, 40 minutes late, in a northernly direction, taking a sharp right turn shortly after takeoff and continuing over the Gulf of Oman. We were able to see beautiful views of Dubai and Burj Khalifa at night.
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| A6-EUO – our ride to Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi |
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| Staircase to upper deck |
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| Golden Emirates amblem |
Shortly after take-off, the cabin crew passed through the cabin with drinks and some small snacks. We could order instant cup noodles at any point during the flight. The sun started rising some 40 minutes after take-off, so the cabin crew made sure that all window blinds were closed so people could sleep in the dark. I personally didn’t want to sleep on this flight, because I wanted to enjoy the aircraft, so I started watching a movie. The IFE was great: big screen, great resolution, very responsive screen and a great remote control which also had a mini screen on in so you could watch two different pictures at the same time. Eventually, I realised that I am too tired to watch the movie, so somewhere over India I tried to fall asleep, which wasn’t very easy for me. I also tried asking the flight attendant if he can show me around the upper deck because that was my huge wish. He said that he would do that any other day, but not today because they had a VIP guest in business class upstairs. Two hours before landing the breakfast was served. The first breakfast choice was a classic omelet and the second one was chicken yakisoba which was a meal inspired by Asian cuisine. I decided to take the second option, it was very tasty and a bit spicy. I really enjoyed it.
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| View during the descent into Bangkok |
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| Another Emirates A380 near us |
While we were exiting the aircraft, one flight attendant greeted us in Serbian, which was a pleasant surprise. He also apologized that he didn’t realize earlier that there was someone from ex-Yugoslav countries. We had a decent walk to immigration and customs. The immigration took us over an hour. Immigration officers were very strict and impolite, they also took our photos and all fingerprints. It was very crowded all over the arrival and pick-up area. After immigration we met with our hosts shortly. I was amazed by the amount of people at the airport.
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