Flight to and arrival in Dubai

The Admiral’s Club closed promptly at 8PM.  We were one of the few people left when they asked us to leave.  I was impressed on the décor of the club and enjoyed my 6 hour layover in the club.  It was like an oasis in the midst of the airport.  There are so many people in the terminals.  Even though our flight did not leave until 9:45PM, we headed to Terminal E (I’m guessing that is the international terminal).  It was weird seeing KLM employees at the airport as I have never seen before.  It is not a surprise as Atlanta is a Skyteam hub and Delta is working more closer than ever with KLM and Air France.  I could tell that Delta has a very strong presence at this airport.  When I came to Atlanta back in March of 2005 for APhA conference, I had flown on United.  I departed from Terminal T near gate 10.  I remember the Starbucks that I had went to that morning for my departure.  The Admiral’s Club is located across from gate 10 so I had a déjà vu moment when I realized where I was when I stepped outside the club briefly to make a phone call.

The club had 2 computer stations for use and wifi was complimentary for members and one-day pass holders.  I asked the AAngel (agent) how to log on to the wifi and what the password was in order to gain access.  She told me that it would be my AAdvantage number and sure enough, it did work.  The only drawback was that I could only log on with one device at a time.  I enjoyed the atmosphere of the club and will be back next month as I purposed booked a connecting flight through Atlanta for 2 reasons.  
1) Double miles promotion going on with flights between Atlanta and La Guardia.  AA always gives out bonus miles for new service launches.  
2) The regional jet servicing Atlanta and La Guardia are the new configuration with First Class seating.  I wanted to try out the new service and will most likely get  my complimentary  upgrade.  I have never been on First Class with the regional jets as this is new for AA,

I am glad that I pulled the trigger last week in getting a Admiral’s Club membership.  There is a promotion right now in celebration of the reopening of the Heathrow Flagship Lounge and Admiral’s Club remodel that they are offering $50 off  the membership fee for new members.  That basically took the new member initiation fee off for me.  A day pass costs $50 per person so my visit  with 4 people would have been $200.  I am not saying that we got $200 worth of services, but it definitely helps justify my expenditure. Another reason for joining is that the AAngels are very helpful in irregular operations (irrops).  If for some reason a flight is canceled or delayed due to whatever reason, I can go to the AC and get them to help me instead of fighting with the general population at the gate in finding a way home.  I have heard stories of them being able to work their magic in getting people home and scoring upgrades for others.  I will have to keep track of my usage this year to see how valuable of a service it is to me for the future.

When we made it to Terminal E (the other side of the airport) via the tram, we proceeded to Gate 28 where our flight to Dubai boarded.  I found a power plug to charge my computer for the long flight.  Since we are standby for the flight, we had good chances of getting upgraded to BusinessElite (BE) seats.  The flight load looked good a few days before but somehow a whole bunch of active employees and their family decided to standby on the flight as well.  Two out of the four in my party was upgraded.  Since it was my first time flying on Delta, I was one of the two people in my part to get the BE seats.

I got to board before economy class and ensured that I had enough overhead space.  I got the lovely BE seat 10C next to the lavatory.  The seats are coffin or herring bone style where they are diagonal facing into the aisle.  At least there was no one in front of me.  I took some pictures before economy class boarded and got my enjoyed a pre-departure beverage as well.  One of the flight attendants came by to introduce herself as Kathy and that she would be attending to me on the flight.  We were handed BE menus and had several options for food.

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First Course

A Tasting of Two Appetizers
gravlax with seaweed salad and grilled artichokes with roasted tomato

Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

Mixed Green Salad
topped with yellow peppers, pecans and blue cheese
with ranch or basalmic vinaigrette

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Main Course

Choice of one option:

Three Cheese Vegetarian Spaghetti Carbonara
tossed with english peas and roasted cherry tomatoes

Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Shrimp Scamp
served with lemon risotto and sugar snap peas

Roasted Chicken Breast
glazed with lemon and thyme, served with eggplant stew and couscous

Crab Cakes
and lemon aioli, accompanied by baked Spaghetti squash and leeks with red pepper

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Dessert

Fine Cheeses
selected to perfectly complement one another in flavor and texture
offered with fresh fruit (strawberries & grapes) and crackers

All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae
with your choice of sauces (chocolate or strawberry), whipped cream and chopped nuts, garnished with a pirouline cookie

New York Style Cheesecake

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Beverages

Cold Drinks
Coca-Cola Classic
Coke Zero
Diet Coke
Sprite
Fresca
Canada Dry Ginger Ale
Canada Dry Club Soda
Canada Dry Tonic
Mr. & Mrs. “T” Bloody Mary Mix
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Cranberry Apple Juice
Tomato Juice
Milk
Bottled Water

Hot Drinks
Coffee
Decaffeinated Coffee
Tazo Teas: awake, refresh, passion, wild sweet orange

Wines
Chartron et Trébuchet Rully Cuvée ‘La Chaume’ Burgundy, France, 2007
Grove Street Chardonnay, Sonoma, California, 2007
Heritage Road Grenache, Australia, 2006
Louis Martini Cabernet Reserve, Sonoma, California, 2005
Deen de Bortoli Vat 5 Botrytis Semillon, Riverina, Australia, 2007
Penfolds Club Port, Australia, NV

Champagne
Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Brut, France, NV

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We were served hot nuts in the customary ramekin.  Meal service began 90 minutes upon departure.  I was greeted by name  when my order was taken.  I wanted the beef as my first choice but told the flight attendant that chicken was my second choice.  She told me that I would definitely get one of those two choices.  I had a hard time getting the tray table out as the compartment was well hidden.  I had to push it in and then pull it out as it was spring loaded on the bottom.  I felt the tray table was a bit far from my seating as compared to Business Class on AA, I could lie back and eat comfortably.  I played around in my seat trying to find the most comfortable position possible.  I got out my Vibram5 shoes as soon as the fasten seat belt sign was turned off.  I also took  a picture in the bathroom when I got a chance so I am a member of the “Laviator” club now.

We were first served the appetizers.  I ate the roasted tomato and tried some of the lox (gravalax) and as well as the seaweed salad.  The only thing good was the soup which I really enjoyed.  It was awesome and I made sure to use my wheat roll to soak up the excess soup in my bowl.  I did not like the lox nor the seaweed salad but at least I tried them.  

The mixed green salad was decent and much better than the ones I have gotten on AA international business class.  I went with the ranch as I was not feeling the vinaigrette.  I did go liberal in using the ranch dressing.  I used the technique of dipping my fork  and then attacking the salad.  I skipped on the yellow peppers and bleu cheese. 

For my main course, I was given the chicken and was a little disappointed that the beef entrees were all taken.  I saw the catering load on a sheet on the way to the bathroom.  Twenty four beef and twelve chicken entrees were available.  The chicken was good and I liked the eggplant stew as well.  The couscous texture reminded me of cornbread.  I could not finish everything but did devour the plump and juicy chicken.  Kathy was very attentive and came by several times to refill my beverages and served the next course as soon as I was finished.  

Dessert was brought on a cart so that we could see what we were getting.  I went with the fruit and cheese plate.  The grapes were sweet but the strawberries were more perfect.  They were very juicy and not a bit tart.  I also asked for a sundae to satisfy my sweet teeth and treat myself after a month of dieting and losing more weight.  When asked what toppings I wanted, I responded with a request for everything.  The flight attendant was happy to hear as people usually get the plain vanilla.  She said that it broker her heart that they did not want any toppings.  The ices was very good and not a frozen pre-made sludge that I have grown accustomed to on AA.  I also got a cup of decaffeinated coffee to wash it down.  I was thoroughly stuffed after the meal service and was very impressed by the service.  The cabin smelled very good before we were served dinner.  I enjoyed my meal while watching “Date Night” with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.  That movie was one of the funniest ones that I have seen in a long time.  I busted out laughing several times.  Luckily, no one around me got hurt (including me with food as a choking hazard).

The amenity kit is different than the ones AA give out.  The socks are off better quality while the pen looked cheap.  I liked the style the case is made of with Delta’s kit.  American’s kit is rectangular  while Delta is more cylindrical.  I brushed and flossed my teeth before heading off to rest for the evening.  The only thing missing was the face mask.

I did check out the music selections on Delta In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system.  They had a wide variety of selections ranging from hottest hits today, to past hits, Korean/Japanese/Indian/Chinese pop, classical, jazz and even more.  I was thoroughly impressed with the selection that was offered on the flight.  The presentation could be a little better, but it is on par with AA’s IFE.  The only problem I had was that my seat reading light somehow was messed up.  It would work if I flipped the light head to the down position, but it made the seat control inoperable so I could not adjust my seat until the light went off.  I watched some of the  movie, “Bounty Hunter,”  before heading off to sleep for the night.  I only got in about an hour of sleep before being awaken by the constant traffic of people using the bathroom and flight attendants coming around to do their service rounds.

I eventually finished “Bounty Hunter” and it was a good movie.  It was not great but not bad either.  Not as funny as Date Night but seeing Jennifer Aniston again brought back so many Friends memories.  The full 180 degree seat was very nice and the duvet was very comfortable.  There was not much turbulence so I did fall asleep eventually.  I hit up the snack tray and grabbed as much as I could for my traveling companion in 10B as he was staying up as much as he could watching movies.  He eventually succumbed to sleep as well about 5 hours before we landed.  Snack choices included: Nature Valley granola bars, Milano Cookies, Twix bars, Ruffles chips, bananas, pretzels, peanuts, and bottled water.  I made sure to  grab some snacks for our companions stuck in the very last row in economy.  I made a dash to the back of the plane and they were sound asleep so I left them some snack gifts.  


I tried to rest 2 more times but it was hard with the foot traffic.  I watched “All About With Steve” and finished it over breakfast.  Sandra Bullock was very spazzy/annoying with her random facts and being loquacious in this movie but she did a great job acting nevertheless.  Although it was not an Oscar-worthy performance, she still did a great job with the role.  Bradley Cooper was hilarious with his reactions of being stalked by her during the movie.  This mid flight breakfast snack included: 2 croissants, fruit bowl (honeydew melon, grapefruit, and orange), yoghurt, and apricot marmalade.  I went with a glass of orange juice as my morning beverage.  

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Pre-Arrival Meal

Hot Roast Beef and Cheddar Cheese Sandwich
With horseradish mayonnaise, served with potato salad

Chermoula Chicken Breast
on a bed of citrus couscous, served with breadsticks and seasonal fresh fruit

Chocolate Truffle Cake

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I went with the Chicken Breast once again for my pre-arrival dinner entrée mainly because I don’t eat potato salad.  Even though I had breakfast only just an hour before, I manage to stomach down my dinner.  Where did lunch go? I guess we lost it somewhere in the time change.

This trip could not have had a great start had I not flown in BE to Dubai.  The food was amazing and the service could have been a little better.  I enjoyed watching our flight path from time to time and see where we were on this earth.  Our path took us over the US east coast, New Foundland, Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf to our destination of Dubai.  We arrived about 10 minutes late from the scheduled landing.  I saw the crew from the Cathay Pacific flight and it was awesome since I have never flown them before.  Looking forward to my First Class Award for LAX-HKG next year using AA miles.

It was a long 15 minute walk to immigration and customs.  We used the priority line for Premium Class passengers.  The officer was not the friendliest and asked where I was staying and wanted a contact number.   It was sweltering as soon as we got outside and eventually made our way to the taxi line.  We got a driver originally from Egypt and he took us to Marina Heights Tower at a cost of 80 AED ($12).  We waited around for our host to let us in to the apartment .  The place is very nice... kitchen, 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and a long balcony.  We went to the grocery store to buy some food for breakfast and snacks for the next day.  We checked out the gym, recreation room, and the pool on the 5th floor on our way up.  After we settled in, we feasted on Ramen noodles.  We were all pretty tired after putting everything away and retired soon to bed.  I suffered from jet lag so I tried listening to podcasts to fall asleep but succumbed to using the internet/facebook until I got tired.