Traveling and Connecting in Dubai

Imagine visiting and stopping over in Dubai, the rich city of gold and natural resources. With a visa, you can enjoy their delicate cuisine and the visually artistic city out there, but when you're stuck at the airport, there is very little to explore.

All there is to do is to shop the duty free goods at the airport. Whilst this seems like a dream, it also does not really fascinate the traveler whose main purpose is merely to connect to their next flight.

All in the name of Emirates, passengers have chosen the low cost tickets that Emirates offers for a trip from Johannesburg to London. But the ticket comes with the price of having to put themselves through long hours of waiting at the Dubai airport.

We spoke to Robin, a chef working in the northern parts of Johannesburg. She tells about a skiing trip she took to Switzerland with friends. What seemed like a bargain turned out to be emotionally exhausting trip that took away from the fun of skiing.

Robin and her best friend Greg had been planning this trip for months; they had booked tickets via the internet and chosen Emirates as the perfect airline because of their low costs. With the skiing gear neatly packed in their bags, and their airplane tickets ready, they boarded the glam Emirates plane that promised them a wonderful time ahead.

“Their planes are awesome. They have the best entertainment system and the best service we had ever seen in our lives. They are ahead and I respect them for their wonderful service, but we hadn’t anticipated the mishaps that would take place after our long flight to Dubai.”

With a selection of up to a thousand movies to choose from, comfortable seating and decent leg room, Emirates had quickly scored points for these two, but little did they know that this build up was only to be met with an uncomfortable transit stop and drama.

“I have never waited so long for a plane -- and only to have my luggage lost.”

After four long hours of waiting and airport wandering, Robin and Greg left Dubai feeling exhausted and not so enthusiastic about Emirates and the trip they still had ahead of them. The anxiety of waiting on the uncomfortable chairs made them lose out on an extra four hours of their sleep. And to make matters worse, when they arrived, their luggage had gone missing. For four days, they went without their skiing equipment. What seemed like a dream trip had turned out to be a nightmare, and all of a sudden, Emirates seemed like a catalyst to their misfortune.

Help them feel less anxious about transit stops. 

Robin and Greg are not the only people who avoid Emirates because of their long transit stop.

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“People have nothing against the Emirates brand. If anything they respect them,” says Victoria, a travel agent based in Rosebank. "But clients are not happy with the akward routing the airline offers. And most ask about Emirates but are sometimes not very keen on flying with them again because they just find it unnecessary to go to a destination they did not set their hearts on. It really leaves travelers feeling exhausted and at risk for mishaps."

Whilst people are looking for bargains and a means of getting to their preferred destination, they also weigh up the cost and hours spent worrying and rectifying mistakes made by airlines. Flying for these people, is a risk and not just a life risk but a risk of an incomplete experience. Flying and connecting means more hours of airport scuffle, panic, delayed flights and worst of all,  luggage loss. Flying and connecting means meeting your worse demons of loneliness and anxiety if you are  travelling alone. It means the worry of not reaching your destination in one piece.

So whilst people are keen on exploring, they are also looking for an easier way to get to their destination. They want as little hassle as possible and feel that losing even a minute on their trip are moments lost exploring. It takes away from the fun and experimentation of your destination, it dampens your mood and leaves you vulnerable to fights and misconduct by the airline. To avoid this experience, most people do not even consider Emirates when going to Europe. 

For frequent flyers, Emirates is one of the best airlines in the Eastern part of the world, but it is a limited one. To travelers, Emirates means Dubai. Any other destination brings forward the woes and worries. 

Make travel less of a gamble and more of a reward. 

Louisa: A business traveler

Louisa worries about the future. It is partly the media forcing us to consider the environment and economic climate, and partly her age, she believes. Either way she thinks about the future a lot and makes sure she plans ahead.

"I am very pragmatic about my planning. The future IS exciting of course, but you have to cautiously plan. Thats obvious. Thats not to say it isn't something to be savoured. They say that when you lust for the past rather than looking forward to the future, then you are too old. I'm definitely not there yet. "

Travel for Louisa is 90% work. Even when she goes on holiday it seems a bit like work while she is flying. "The last thing I want is to be on a plane when I am supposed to be taking time off- thats why I love the train."

That said, she doesn't actually mind the flying for work. Like all the frequent flyers we met, it becomes part of the routine. Indeed, Louisa even said she enjoyed it as time off. "I actually like the bubble you are in when  you fly. You can use your laptop and get on with work or you can just relax, read a paper and chill out before the world takes over again"

The perfect flight for Louisa is one from London City airport, where there is no waiting, she is straight on then off the flight, and it is less bustling and stressful than Heathrow. 

"I fly long haul a lot as I work in Asia and Africa and for that the BA flat bed is amazing. I mean, I'm good at sleeping on planes but that really does help. I have flown Emirates once and it really was world class business travel- though I usually have to fly BA as the company pays for it"

Louisa sees business travel as a necessity but worries about her carbon footprint. The solution for her would be to scrap low cost airlines, she laughs, but she does worry about the flying she has to do. She hopes trains will get better and cheaper, perhaps more like the TGV in France.