Dubai to Bergamo in Economy with flydubai. Seat, IFE, meals: how to fly for 6 1/2 hours on a MAX
Sleeping in a hotel near the airport in Dubai has merits and demerits. Among the latter is the remoteness from the [...]
Flydubai
DXB
United Arab Emirates
Sleeping in a hotel near the airport in Dubai has merits and demerits. Among the latter is the remoteness from the Burj Khalifa and the surrounding area where the city lives late into the night and, of course, the distance from the sea. But if you are staying 24 hours for a business meeting or between flights, a hotel with some greenery and a swimming pool may suffice, and among them the Le Meridien Dubai is definitely a good choice.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- B737
- Class:
- Economy
- Treat:
- DXB - BGY
- Price:
- press trip
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If you then, like me, have a flight shortly after 7 am, Stand literally a few feet from the airport earns you a good half hour of sleep and resets the stress of transfer. Returning to Milanor after following the opening day of the Arabian Travel Market. early May, flydubai offered only one option: the flight scheduled for 7:20 a.m. with arrival at Bergamo Orio al Serio at 12:20 p.m.
Check-in at Emirates Terminal 3
Sleeping at Le Meridien, I set my alarm for 4:45 a.m. and got a car half an hour later. Ten minutes later I was at the entrance of the Terminal 3 where, instead of sunrise, it felt like mid-morning, such were the people in the check-in lounge. T3, Emirates and flydubai (and the airlines that have a codeshare agreement with them such as United Airlines and Air Canada) proceed to the acceptance of passengers not flight by flight, as is done almost everywhere, but per class.
After making me travel in Business from Bergamo to Dubai a couple of days earlier as the company's guest at the Arabian Travel Market, flydubai had booked me back in Economy, while reserving for me one of the best seats in the rear cabin: 6A. That is, a front row seat next to the window with extra legroom.
So, I got in line at one of the Six 'islands' available for Economy check-ins in the main hall (while Business and First passengers conduct check-in operations in a dedicated area of the terminal for them). Nothing dramatic: within ten minutes I was at the counter and two minutes later had suitcase shipped and boarding pass in hand.
The immigration was even faster, thanks to the E-gates to which Italian passengers are also admitted. And, having also gone through security, I refreshed myself with cappuccino and brioche at one of the many cafes dotting T3 before proceeding to the Gate B3, located at the northern end of the huge building.
The one to Milan/Bergamo is one of the many flights that flydubai operates from the terminal that until a few years ago was used exclusively by Emirates because its T2 (on the opposite side from the two runways and where the company also has its own Business lounge) is now saturated.
As many people know, Sheikh Al Maktoum a few weeks ago gave the green light back to the development of the Dubai World Central airport (some 40 km south of the city) into a $35 billion, 260 million-passenger-a-year airport that will open to traffic in a decade. But until then, all flights will remain at Dubai International.
Boarding with the bus
I arrive at gate B3 just as the green 'boarding' sign lights up.. After their passports and boarding passes are checked, passengers for Milan/Bergamo are seated in a large hall with plenty of seating and even a toilet.
Ten minutes later Economy boarding is called. (Business passengers will reach the plane later, aboard a VIP van dedicated to them) and through two flights of escalators we reach the interpista bus.
As had happened a couple of days earlier, the trip takes about ten minutes wandering among droves of A380s and B777s from Emirates. A spectacle. As long as we reach our Boeing 737 MAX 8, which, like all flydubai aircraft, does not use jet bridges and is parked in a huge apron on the north side of the airport.
Passing through the MAX door, I run into the same cabin manager who had 'pampered' me in Business Class during the flight from Bergamo, who greets me warmly, gives me a small bottle of water and escorts me to my seat.
The Economy of the 737 MAX 8
In Economy, flydubai's MAX configuration is the classic 3-3, with The first row and the two at the wing exits that have more legroom. There are three bookable rates: 'Lite', which entitles you to carry-on baggage only /7kg) and free choice of standard seat, 'Value' which adds 30 kg checked baggage allowance and meal on board (which with 'Lite' must instead be booked online and costs 9 euros) and 'Flex' which also allows free rebooking.
Choosing one of the places with extra-legroom costs between 40 and 48 euros, depending on whether you choose the front row or those on the emergency exits, window, aisle, or middle seat.
It is money well spent, especially if you select the first row (row 6 in the case of two-cab MAX 8s) because the distance between the seat and the wall separating Economy from Business is about the same as exists between the rows of seats in Business (although there, of course, is additional legroom there thanks to the 'niche' that sinks inside the front seat).
Each place has A screen for the 11.6-inch IFE. But inflight entertainment is not included in the ticket price. Or, at least, it is as long as you bring your own headphones (which must be compatible with the socket) and make do with the audio section of the IFE.
On the other hand, if you want to accessing video content (movies, TV series, games), you need to swipe your credit card in the 'feritory' located immediately below the screen. There are two 'packages': one from 10 euro which includes series and TV programs and games, and one from 20 euro That gives access to the films.
The cost to have access to the entertainment package is . euros. As can be seen, in Economy flydubai maintained its low-cost philosophy (formula under which it had started flying in 2009), where one can choose the 'basic' fare (which here still entitles one to free seat choice) and then build one's own travel experience based on one's needs and preferences.
Returning to 'my' front row, the legroom is such that I have two whole windows to myself from which to enjoy the view.
The coffee table pulls out from the right armrest, where there is also a button to recline the seat. A 'conventional' power outlet is not there, but There is a USB-C port under the screen of the IFE with which you can charge your cell phone and other electronic devices (The location of the attachment, at least in the first row, is not the best because you have to pull out the table to make sure the cell phone does not remain 'dangling').
There is neither a cushion nor a blanket on the seat.. The headrest is adjustable in height and has two flaps that, if you want to sleep, can be pushed far inward to a position where the head is practically immobilized.
Breakfast omelets and metal cutlery
We take off that it is almost 8 a.m. and with a flight time listed as 6 hours and 35 minutes (again, as on the outward journey, no message about this came from the cockpit). An hour later we are served breakfast, with a choice between an omelet and an unspecified 'vegetarian option'.
I go with the first one and am served two trays: one containing the omelet accompanied by potatoes, spinach and turkey sausage, the other with bread, yogurt, a fresh fruit salad and a hand towel. In a plastic bag are salt, pepper, a paper towel, and, remarkable thing in Economy Class, metal cutlery.
Not bad for nine euros. The meal is certainly very hearty, and the omelet is left to be eaten. The service concludes with The offer of tea or coffee and with the delivery of a small bottle of water.
There is IFE but no wi-fi
The IFE is, of course, the same as Business (no wi-fi). The next four and a half hours pass between one of the Italian films, some music, a few naps that are the child of the early morning rise, and a few glimpses of the splendid views of Iran first and Turkey second, thanks to the beautiful sunny day that accompanies us all the way to Bergamo, where I land a few minutes later than the scheduled time.
Stepping off the ladder, an interstaff bus takes you to Orio's arrival hall, which has been greatly expanded in recent years.
And here, compared to Malpensa, there are two undoubted 'pluses': the speed with which bags arrive (five minutes from the time I reach the return tape). And the fact that the distance to travel to get out of the airport is very small, so much so that less than ten minutes after picking up my luggage I had already reached my car at the parking lot.
In conclusion
The Boeing 737, even in its latest MAX version, is not the most comfortable aircraft for flying long haul in Economy: there is only one aisle, the cabin is narrower than that of the Airbus family, and this falls back on seat width. In short, there is a risk of feeling a bit claustrophobic. Therefore, adding to the cost of the ticket those 40-50 euros each way to sit in the front row or at the emergency exits is worth the expense.
Pro
Against
- All for a fee
