Emirates economy vs KLM economy.

So essentially 13.5hrs flying against 16hrs one way or 5hrs extra on a return trip....both use KLM is 17.5/31 seat size with Emirates 17/32...both have service that is Meh (KLM) to Emirates (meh Plus) ....though In flight entertainment is Emirates is a notch better...provided there something good coing out of Hollywood...which is a big if. Buts it's squeeze with both of them.

Since all of my "career limiting moves" have come 48hrs after a long haul flight in economy I'd go on time table. Principally if I'm going on business...... pick the timetable that allows you to Arr in TPE in the evening and go straight to bed, and do the same when you get back to DUB. Economy service with either is not going to be good enough to outweigh the jet lag.

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

Can I hijack this thread to ask of people’s experiences with Qatar economy class from Dublin? Thanks

I've done the above flight 3 times recently and found it not to be that bad tbh but then again I had nobody sitting directly beside me for any of those flight.

Only serious complaint I have with Qatar is the bulkey in-flight entertainment box's down by your feet, likewise with their A380s too.

Food was ok as well, plenty of choices to pick from if you pre-order on their website. I did however get the impression every time that they are not the most keen when it comes to serving alcohol.

Did you accrue air miles with KLM for the first two trips? You’d probably be close to a higher status within the program after a 3rd DUB-TPE.

KLM for the miles without a doubt

KLM without a doubt would be my choice. AMS fantastic for connections and not mobbed like DXB is.

To change things up (but depending on your choice and if this trip is for business or not), I recently did DUB-AMS-XMN-TPE, with everything after AMS with Xiamen Airlines (DUB-AMS was on KLM). The connection after an early morning arrival in XMN went very quick, two hour transfer without any issues. Don't expect too much entertainment (in English) on board, but that was fine with me.

On the way back they have multiple flights from TPE to XMN, so I intentionally picked the morning flight from Taipei to Xiamen, spending an afternoon and evening in Xiamen on a free 24-hour Chinese transit visa before taking the flight to AMS. I surprisingly found Xiamen a pleasant city (my first visit to China outside Hong Kong) and it made me more interested in visiting China again.

These Xiamen connections through AMS are often very well priced from Dublin, the above return trip was 398 EUR, while accruing KLM Flying Blue miles.

Is there really much to choose from on similar schedules between long haul economy on most of the majors? To be honest the metal makes a bigger difference to me - eg my oft stated hatred for 787 economy. When you get into premium economy and business there's a world of difference but actually on straight up economy I would spend more time looking at the planes I'm gonna be on and the airports I'm gonna connect in (looking at you, LHR). A 787 vs an A380 on any airline is gonna make a decision for me based on 787 seats.

Lapmo_Dancer wrote: »

The airline decides on the seats, not the manufacturer.

The airline does what the manufacturer lets them do. I will avoid Boeing where there's a choice. 10-across 777 and 9-across 787 are not pleasant and the vast majority are configured that way. That extra inch of shoulder space or elbow room on an Airbus makes a big difference to some.

I've done both for similar journies to Asia quite often, imo Emirates are a slightly better airline (noticeably better if you get an A380 on the DBX to Asia route), Amsterdam is a better airport than Dubai (even more pronounced for long stops where you can very reasonably leave the airport) and you save time overall with KLM. KLM getting me back into Cork (via AL) is the deciding factor for me, if I lived in Dublin it would be much of a muchness.