shelleyk

We may fly either Quatar or Emirates from US to Sri Lanka. Each has about a 7 hour layover. Which airport is better to transit through? Which airline is better?

Thanks.

Kathie

I expect that there will be some boycott of Qatar given its support of ISIS. Certainly the Dubai Airport is more glitzy than Doha's. Both airlines, Etihad and Emerates get good marks.

mrwunrfl

FWIW, I flew on Qatar Airways in Jan 2012 and thought they were fine. Faint praise given the raves and 5-star rating that the airline enjoyed at the time. DEL-DOH-DXB-DOH-IAH in business class (economy for the DXB flights). They have opened a new airport in Doha since that trip, so can't comment on that. I would choose Emirates.

julia1

Depends on which class you are flying in, I think. I've only flown first long-haul on Qatar and first and business long-haul on Emirates.

First is comparable, not much advantage one over the other as far as comfort. I like Qatar service and food better but that's just my personal preference and some people prefer service and food on Emirates. If you are on the Emirates A380, then the opportunity to take a shower adds another whole set of considerations. It's fun to try at least once.

For business class, Emirates wouldn't be my first choice. Quite nice but there are others which are better, including Qatar.

Just from taking a look walking through the planes, I think Emirates economy looks more comfortable and seats roomier, but that was on the A380.

As far as a 7-hour layover is concerned, Dubai gives you an easy opportunity to leave the airport and see a little of the city and its famous (notorious?) buildings if you want. Immigration is quick and easy, you can purchase a short-stay visa at the airport. Once you clear immigration, you enter a small hall with companies offering taxis, all sorts of tours and other services.

I asked for a car and driver to show me the city. For the equivalent of about $35 I had a new Mercedes and very considerate, helpful, kind and flexible driver for four hours. He arrived within minutes, asked what I was interested in seeing, made some suggestions and off we went for what turned out to be a very enjoyable morning.

In addition to showing me the downtown sights, my driver took me out to the Atlantis where we stopped and I went inside to admire the aquarium and have a cool drink. We also stopped at the historic museum which was actually quite interesting, and stopped at the beach near the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest building) so I could dip my toes in the Arabian Sea and take some photos. Lastly, I asked him to stop at a leather market where I purchased a beautiful small white camel-leather bag for my daughter.

Dubai airport is a short distance from the center of the city. Traffic can be very bad but even then it's just a short drive into town and back out again, leaving plenty of time to return to the airport for your connecting flight.

I've only had shorter layovers in Doha and never left the airport. The new terminal, for premium passengers, was open the last time I connected through there. It was very nice but even so, I don't think I'd want to spend seven hours there.

shelleyk

Thanks everyone. Alas, we are confined to economy on this trip. I am leaning toward Emirates.

Julia-Our plane would land in Dubai at 7;30PM and our connecting flight is at 2AM. I assume there is not much for us to see in the dark. Correct? I'm considering spending the night at a hotel and flying out the next night, but I don't know if I would see enough to make spending the day in Dubai worth the hassle of leaving the airport and going back through security the next day.

mrwunrfl

Maybe you don't have to fly out the next night.

I took a look at the EK schedule DXB->CMB for tomorrow, three nonstops:
dep - arr
02:45 - 08:45
07:45 - 13:35
10:40 - 16:40

If there was no significant airfare difference then I would almost certainly choose the 07:45 flight (arriving CMB only 5 hours later than the redeye) and spend the night in Dubai. It is a big city, the lights will be on so there will be stuff to see at night.

It would be worth the airport hassle, to me, to make the stop and just hang out in a hotel lobby for awhile before getting a good night's sleep.

But I would seriously try to fit a second night in Dubai to the trip.

http://www.emirates.com/us/english/p...n_arrival.aspx

shelleyk

Hi mrw-Thanks for the reply. I am still trying to determine if I want to go to Dubai at all. I am not interested in shopping or malls. I am interested in culture and history and the part of Dubai that interests me the most is the old quarter and the museum.

I can spend a night at no cost using hotel points, so all I would have to pay for is a taxi for the day and a couple of meals. I need to make a decision in a day or so because I want to book my hotels in Sri Lanka, the dates of which are dependent on whether I stop over in Dubai. Anyway, thanks again for your input.

MissGreen

I'd go First on Emirates rather than Qatar. I found that with Qatar the locals received better and more attentive treatment than myself and my husband despite us being all in first class.

needmorevacation

I just did a 2.5 day layover in Dubai- Emirates was fine, but Dubai I get nauseous even thinking about it.
Everything is fake, my tour guides were extremely rude and there is little to no 'culture'. I did enjoy the Dubai Museum however!

This trip I was DFW-DXB-NBO-DXB-DFW and the flights to/from DFW were on the 777, and lovely. The planes to/from NBO were very old and had a lot of issues.