A first time for us was our Dubai stopover. Coming from a tie-up between Emirates & Qantas we were doubtful that a couple of days between flights could be as satisfying as those spent in Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. Once we’d explored via a “hop on/hop off” bus tour & a Dhow cruise, the city showed lots of contrasts between the modern shopping malls & skyscrapers & to the old historic & resident shopping parts. Plenty to do next time?

And so to the last leg of the trip, from Dubai to Sydney via a 13hour Airbus A380 flight – golly, such a long drag? Flying into the night & arriving at 5am means the airline expects passengers to sleep a lot. I suppose First & Business classes don’t have any trouble “enduring” the flight but I seem to only nap for short periods. Coupled with the airline darkening the cabin & limiting services, maybe Economy classes should get a discount?

For all the flights I think my ranking (based on aircraft comfort, service & quality of fittings) would be:
Emirates Boeing 777 (short haul, Glasgow to Dubai)
Qantas Boeing 747 (short haul, Sydney to Singapore)
BA Boeing 737 (long haul, Singapore to London)
Qantas Airbus A380 (long haul, Dubai to Sydney)