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My name is Peter and I manage the Reservations and Distribution function for EK (Emirates Airline) based in hot & sunny Dubai. I am happy to help any fellow interliners and to assist with general info or suggestions for UAE and the region. There are a lot of misconceptions about the UAE, and people frequently confuse this country with Saudi Arabia. I travel a lot so may not always be able to respond immediately.
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Hello. I met a couple from there on the train in London. They made it sound fabulous and very affordable. Dubai is very close to the problematic area for us right now though and I am very "american looking". My hair is darker brown though. This may sound weird to some however I have been in the travel industry for a while and know it can be very important to be aware of these things in certain countries. Would you sugggest this destination for us now? Thanks
I don't know if the situation has changed in recent months, but I spent a month in the Middle East in 2000 (literally just before all of the troubles started up again) and had no problems whatsoever with regards to my nationality.(American SWF) In fact, people in Syria, who are undoubtedly the *nicest* people I've ever encoutered in my travels, were thrilled to have an American visit and wanted me to tell my friends at home that they aren't all terrorists. I felt like everyone was looking out for me.
I can't wait for things to settle down so I can return to the ME. Oman, Lebanon, and the rest of Syria are pretty high on my wish list. Believe it or not, Muslim countries have been my favorites to travel in.
Realist, come visit me on the DL ramp in CVG!
Hi there MK & realistfa,
It’s always interesting to read of other peoples perceptions of the area.
I guess if you look at a map, it does appear in the thick of things.
In fact our relatives often phone to see if we are “OK”. We always have a good laugh about that.
There is and has never been the slightest problem here of any sort. There was no change after 9/11 either.
It is extremely safe and secure here for residents or visitors of any nationality, and I venture to say it is safer that CVG or LON or most places in the Western World.
Have travelled a lot within the region and have always been treated with the utmost courtesy and respect – as I treat others.
Agree with your experiences MK, and there has been no change at all in my experience.
We are Canadian and could be taken for American or Brit. No problemo.
The only areas I’d avoid these days are:
Israeli/Palestinian areas in the news.
Afghanistan (flights have just started up again DXB-KBL.
Pakistan (for the moment).
It is really a shame, as have visited Pakistan (Karachi mostly) many times. The people, food and shopping are absolutely great. It is a real shame that a few crazies can ruin things for everyone.
If you want to visit DXB and the UAE – absolutely no problem, apart from the crazy drivers and the fact that it’s getting a bit hot right now.
Come in the winter when the weather is perfect.
Cheers
Peter
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Personally, I wouldn't have a problem going right now; it's the wrath of those waiting at home that I don't want to deal with!
I belive in contra-travel---go when and where the others aren't going!
Bonjour Peter,
I used to work for EK but now I'm in the South Pacific (New Caledonia), working for a scheduled domestc none-IATA airline, and I'm desperately trying to get agreement for IDs or ZED with EK.
Could you help ??
Thanks a lot ....
Bonjour Serge,
Will certainly take it up with our staff travel people.
Please advise full details of your airline, and advise if you have contacted anyone already.
Rgds
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Bonjour Peter,
I sent already 2 Emails to Mr Taroub Sleiman but no answer ... Can I have your Email address to give you further details ?? Bye ...
SERGE
(Response to several earlier posts.)
Many people I work with and a few friends always question me about the safety of the places I have visited. My response is that I live in the murder capital of the U.S. So anywhere in the world I visit is safer than Chicago. They find that very interesting but still insist on clinging to their unfounded stereotypes. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]
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Hello Peter,
Just wondering if you got any staff travel news for me ... Brgds,
SERGE
Hi Peter,
I'll be traveling to Dubai in Sept for business and wanted to bring my husband and havent had much luck trying to find reasonable fares for his ticket. If I can get him there, I hope to spend an extra couple of days in dubai and could use a couple of 'must see' suggestions for that as well.
If you have any suggestions for either a cheaper ticket or things to do if you only have 2 days, I would REALLY appreciate it!!!
Thanks in advance.
regards
Sharon
[quote]Originally posted by Peter:
My name is Peter and I manage the Reservations and Distribution function for EK (Emirates Airline) based in hot & sunny Dubai. I am happy to help any fellow interliners and to assist with general info or suggestions for UAE and the region. There are a lot of misconceptions about the UAE, and people frequently confuse this country with Saudi Arabia. I travel a lot so may not always be able to respond immediately.
<a href="http://www.nonrev.net/correspondents/images/peter.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.nonrev.net/correspondents/images/peter.jpg</A> [/QUOTE
Hi Sharon,
You don’t mention if your hubby is entitled to spouse interline deductions, or whether it’s full fare or not.
Either way, let me know your full routing and dates of Travel and will see what we can come up with fare wise for him.
2 days isn’t very long in Dubai, but can give you lots of suggestions of things to do to fill them.
cheers
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Hi Serge,
Sorry for the long delay. Taroub was away.
She says that she has never received any email from you at all.
Can you advise your SITA address and will communicate direct.
Regards
Peter
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Peter,
My spouse also works for fx so we do get interline discounts from most airlines. We live in Memphis, TN USA and the routing I've been able to come up with is MEM-AMS-DBX on nw/klm or MEM-ATL-CDG-dbx on DL. The cheapest DL fare is $2000 US. Pretty pricy for a few days. If my hubby goes, I plan to stay a week (the meeting is tues-thurs). Dates of travel approx Sept14-21.
Again, any assistance would be greatly appreciated
Many thanks
Sharon
[quote]Originally posted by Peter:
Hi Sharon,
You don’t mention if your hubby is entitled to spouse interline deductions, or whether it’s full fare or not.
Either way, let me know your full routing and dates of Travel and will see what we can come up with fare wise for him.
2 days isn’t very long in Dubai, but can give you lots of suggestions of things to do to fill them.
cheers
<a href="http://www.nonrev.net/correspondents/images/peter.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.nonrev.net/correspondents/images/peter.jpg</A> [/QUOTE
Bonjour Peter,
I have NO SITA adress that goes directly to me, only Email; but she can try on NOUTYSB to start and hopefully the message will be forwarded to me. Can I send a new Email to Taroub mentioning your advise ? Looking forward your answer.
SERGE
Hi again Serge,
I have checked further. You still didn’t tell me what your airline is, but presume it is TY?
If it is TY, then we have no commercial agreement between EK and TY so there can be no interline agreement.
Presume you are not an SB employee, as we already have an interline agreement with them and a ZED fare agreement.
Sorry
Peter
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Bonjour Peter,
Yes, I'm a TY staff ... To bad not to be able to fly again ID on EK !!
Anyway, please look at our web site and discover our wonderful network : <a href="http://www.air-caledonie.nc/" target="_blank">http://www.air-caledonie.nc/</A>
Bye
SERGE
Hi Sharon,
Well I believe we could improve a bit on the full fare, but of course it’s still pricey for a few days..
Email me at peterquinn@canada.com
The FX discount is 50% I believe, but that would have to be ex one of our online Euro points LON/PAR/FRA/MAN/BHX/MUC/DUS/ZRH/NCE/MIL or ROM added to whatever other airline deal you could get transatlantic.
As regards what to do...
It will still be pretty hot in September, but that’s the way it is.
Suggest that a must-do is a 4 wheel drive dune bashing trip followed by a dune dinner.
Its great fun and the trips run every day. They pickup from your hotel every day and it lasts about 4 hours.
You get to see the sunset from the top of a very high sand dune after thrashing up and down them for a while.
Then an Arabic dinner with camel rides/belly dancers etc.
Arabian Adventures is about the best.
If you are in a town hotel, then plan a day at the beach. There’s always an onshore breeze, so it is fine no matter how hot it is.
Plan enough shopping time as there are some great prices on many things. Clothing shopping for manufacturers over runs in Karama. Anyone who come here always wants to visit the gold souk, and it’s rare that anyone leaves without buying (including us residents)!
The old souk areas in Deira and Bur Dubai (all very close as Dubai is quite compact) are very atmospheric with lots of interesting shops and stalls.
The spice souk with all the usual spices and frankincense & myrrh etc is very close to the gold souk.
You can catch an abra (small open air ferry) across the DXB Creek between the souks. Costs about 15 cents!
If you prefer air conditioned shopping, there are numerous huge malls with more shopping opportunities that we can ever use.
There are a zillion choices for eating out with lots of pubs restaurants and night clubs to refresh yourselves at.
I think just doing the above would fill up most of the available time you would have.
cheers
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Peter is it true you can only travel once a year on ek as a none rev.
Hi Pete,
I don't think that is generally true except for some categories of fares and staff, like parents. For example, there are some airlines which only offer us one ID75 per year, but they are in the minority.
If you tell me your airline I can look in the agreement in our staff travel manual.
Almost without exception deals between airlines are reciprocal, so whatever we get on your airline you would get on us.
cheers
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Hi...
Just to confirm what Pete is saying...
I can tell you that my guys (Swiss International Airlines) are on and off EK all through the year without restriction. (Thanks Pete for being so generous!) You may find that YOUR OWN carrier restricts ID00 applications to two per calendar year... that is quite common.
(Ps. I might pop down to DXB in December... I will be hassling you for restaurant/bar info if thats ok. Is a club called...Tornado (?) still going strong in DXB!) :-)
Hi Mark,
No problem, just give me a shout when you are coming down.
Pleased to report that the Tornado is still alive and well.
Don't forget that Ramadan is around 6Nov to 6Dec this year, so don't come too early in December as there won't be a lot happening.
cheers
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Hi Peter
I'm with SouthWest Airlines, Our nonrev Dep. has EK as only one nonerev pass per year. If that is not the case, then great. Cause I enjoy flying on EK and I do alot of trips to that part of the world, IE Bahrain, Maldives.
Hi Pete,
Sorry for the long delay in responding further.
In fact Southwest and Emirates have no deal at all between our respective head offices.
If you can get passes or reduced rates on EK, then this is a local deal between your head office and our regional office in NYC.
Nothing I can do to improve it for you.
Regards
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Hi Peter,
I have just posted a few questions on the main board (only just getting the hang of where to post so you get it directly!) about Dubai.
Your input gladly appreciated.
Cheers,
Mark
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Hi Peter (and all else),
Just got back from a fantastic long-weekend in Dubai. The trip started by my being met by EK's Mar-Haba service (nice touch!) and whisked through the fantastic DXB airport, to 3 days lazing on the sandy, palm-shaded beaches and fantastic restaraunts in the evening.
Although it is the height of being touristy, I do recommend the open-top bus tours of Dubai for first timers which gives you a great all-round view of the city and gives you great ideas of where to go while there. It is a hop on and hop off service and the ticket is valid for 2 days. You also gain free entrance to a number of poins of interest along the way (Dubai museum etc). The guides are great fun (we had one english expat guy and another young national who both clearly love the city) and are keen to give you all the info you need for your stay.
I look forward to my next trip (which with any luck will be sooner than even I think!)
Regards to all...
Mark
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Peter, just wondering if EK employees get any ID tickets on NW? I hard yes/no from conflicting sources. Thanks
Hi Echo,
There is no official interline agreement at all between the two airlines, so EK staff get no ID privileges on NW and vice versa.
There may be some purely local arrangement in USA, and if there was, your pass bureau should know about it.
cheers
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Peter,
I am with Delta (DL) and am trying to get from SIN to SYD around Sept. 9/10/11. I have 2 questions for you.
1) If I am flying on ID90 on EK, am I allowed to standby for business class. If so, does it matter if the ID90 is issued on a J or Y fare. With Delta, non-revs are almost always added to the F/J/C list regardless of pass type. I know this is not the case with other airlines.
2) Are these dates good? I know you only have the one flight a day. I will return around the 25th.
Hi there.
1. Not with a Y ID90. There’s always a chance at the airport, but it is not done as a matter of course either for our own employees or interliners.
Our interline deal with DL is as follows and presume you get the same on us:
Staff, retiree, their spouse and children below 21 are eligible for :
ID90 Subload on Economy
ID75 Subload on Business / First class
2. Still a bit early to tell for sure but 9 and 11 are expected to be pretty heavy. The 10th is forecasting lighter loads, so would go for that one.
The 25 Sep SYD SIN should be fine.
Feel free to check later on in the summer.
cheers
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Hi Peter,
I m your colleague based in KHI. I travel on & off to DXB for duty travel & training. I ve never been there in DXB on vacation s except once.
I ve my friends from Prague., they work for Czech Airlines in call centre, intend visiting DXB & SHJ in the 2nd week of Sept'.
I ve e-mail from them requesting suggestions & tips on what see.They are both female.
I ve given them the general info to the best of my knowledge & experience but i belive you r the best person for the expert & detailed advice on this.
I would really apprecaite your reverting to this request, enabling me to write them back in time before they fly Ex- PRG.
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Hi Irshad,
can you contact me on the company internal email.
Rgds
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Hello Peter, I tried to look for you in the company's address book & found out a number of staff with the first name Peter. Can i know your other name please....
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Well it's been a while since anyone mentioned DXB so I thought I'd share my trip experience. We had a great flight out of LHR with EK. Thoroughly recommend them as they are very helpful towards ID pax, the onboard service was good and we had no problems. We stayed at Le Meridien Dar Al Sondos Apartments, but the shuttle bus from the airport took 45mins to come and then dropped us off at the wrong hotel. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. Staff were quite unhelful and shuttles were always late. The restauarant was never busy but food took a long time to come. The only good things about it was it was central so would could walk to shops and we got a late check out.
I couldn't believe the amount of traffic there is in DXB. Cars everywhere, it's well seen that petrol is very cheap! We got ripped off on the water taxi tho', as the guy thought that he'd try to take us on a tour of DXB Creek for AED20. The water "bus" is half a dirham!! These things you learn! The gold souk is definately worth visiting and provided you are careful you can pick up fake LV bags there. I managed to get one for AED50!! The duty free shop at the airport is quite amazing but it was very busy last week, so we didn't quite manage to go as mad as we'd have liked. I think if we can get a better hotel to stay in we will be back sometime. There seems to be good rates at Accor hotels for ID travellers, but we were travelling at a very busy time so we couldn't be too choosy this time.
By any chance any photos of the gold souk, or better yet, you dressed head to toe in gold holding your 'replica' http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif LV bag? http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Keep'em flying
I'm off to Dubai in 2 weeks and staying with a friend of mine "downtown"... I'm a budget traveller, any more suggestions besides the 15 cent bus across the DXB creek?
Also, I'm flying into Abu Dhabi and I hear that there is a bus service between Abu Dhabi and DXB... anyone know anything about this???
Thanks!
Jodiendo
Gulf Air has a free coach for its own passengers ... see <a href="http://www.gulfairco.com/press/NewsDetails.asp?hID=446" target="_blank">http://www.gulfairco.com/press/NewsDetails.asp?hID=446</A>. Also car hire is not expensive .. you could get a oneway car hire with Hertz for about GBP 15 if you wanted.
Dear Peter,
I am a retired staff of KQ and wish to inquire whether we qualify for rebates on EK as retired staff. My husband needs to travel to KHI to see his mother who is not well and had an operation.
Thank you,
Tasnim
Tasnim,
Normally you will need to contact the staff travel office of your own airline to see what agreement you have with another airline rather than the other airline.
Peter;
We at Atlas Air have, currently on any given day, a minumum of 6 - 747 Freighters Flying for (and most often painted in the colors of) EK. Our company has not related that we have any non-rev off-line travel on the EK passenger flights. Can you help us out in this regard?
For an Atlas Air pilot contact regarding jumpseat and off-line travel please contact our pilot rep:
F/O Kevin McCabe, Chair-Jumpseat Offline Travel
kevinj.mccabe@gmail.com