So the time has come where I take the family for our long waited annual summer vacation. The destination this time is Germany.
Brief Plan
I'm traveling with my wife and two kids for about three weeks across Germany. Through painful experience, I learned to plan my trip ahead and decide where I want to stay and what I plan to do each day. The plan is not carved in stone, but it sets right expectations, helps plan budget, be prepared and plan ahead for all activities, and most importantly, avoid wasting time!
While Germany doesn't lack in historical places to visit, I figured with kids of 12 and 7 years old, pure historical sites and cities will be of little interest to them. So there will be some, but only little of that. Mostly limited to those fascinating looking castles.
Beside that, our trip starts in Frankfurt/Mainz, then goes to Cologne. From there we will also go to Bruhl, Stuttgart, Gunzburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Berlin, and then back to Cologne for 2 days, mainly to attend a day of Gamescom, before heading back to Kuwait from Frankfurt.
The trip is gonna be a mix of theme parks, zoos, castles, and natural places. Our trip began August 2nd. So I'm already a bit behind schedule on that.
Day 1: Morning or night flight?
Route: Kuwait - Frankfurt - Kuwait
There are two types of people. Those who prefer morning flights, and those who prefer night flights. But both always want to have more leg space, and preferably better service.
I normally prefer direct routes when possible, and airlines that offer *Premium Economy. A poor guy's business class if you will. Mainly because it offers a bit more leg space, which is crucial for health reasons to me. I've been on flights that had such narrow space for legs, it should be illegal. Also Premium Economy provides a bit more service, and less noise.
The past two years I booked Lufthansa Premium Economy for my trips to Florida, and Norway. For my business trips to London, I always book British Airways Economy Plus as well. The experience was good, but the fact that Lufthansa only flies after midnight in Kuwait was always an inconvenience for me. As it means I must stay awake, and keep kids awake till we're onboard, and then struggle to get a decent sleep afterwards. And upon arrival at my destination, I'm already jet lagged, sleep deprived, and cranky. Add to that the hotel room may not be ready yet if I arrive before check-in time. With the destination being Frankfurt however, it still seemed like a no brainer at first.
This year however, and due to personal reasons, I only started planning for my summer vacation in begin of June, and prices were already skyrocketing. Lufthansa Economy was already way out of my budget. So I started looking at alternatives. I recall the last time I tried Emirates Economy, it was pretty good experience. And due to the fact that Emirates runs multiple flights from Kuwait daily, and Dubai airport being a main hub that connects to all major airports around the world, this meant I can have the flexibility of choosing the time I want. Also, their prices were extremely competitive, as they have so many connections and seats to fill. So I booked my flight to be about 10 AM, with 2 hours layover in Dubai, then 6 hours direct flight to Frankfurt, reaching little before sunset there. So I went for Emirates.
The Verdict
Dollar to dollar, Emirates Economy class provided decent leg space, and far better service than both British Airways and Lufthansa Premium Economy. I think the Premium Economy had more leg space. But the Emirates Economy was good enough. The meals were of same quality, if not slightly better.
Flight attendants were all good as well. And the entertainment system in Emirates Economy is the best I've seen in any Economy class, and far outperforms both British and Lufthansa. For one, their movies and tv shows collections are huge. I don't have stats to compare, but I had many things to watch.
This is debatable subject however. But let's go to the screens. Emirates had largest screen, with smooth touch interface. Both British and Lufthansa had smaller screens, some not even touch based, and the ones that were touch were not nearly as responsive. To top it off, Emirates has an extra game controller below the screen that doubles as a second screen as well. So you can enjoy watching Airplane live camera view on the controller, while watching a film on the main screen. I've never seen that anywhere before in Economy.
Granted, I wanted to take better picture when lights were on, but totally forgot! But you get the idea I hope.
Upon arrival, we all felt the trip went immensely smoother than our previous flights. Most probably due to the fact that it was in the morning and we all have had our share of in-bed sleep. The bit of sleep I lost the night before due to insomnia I managed to recover during our flight, and when we reached Frankfurt, I was fully awake, and in perfect mood. It made me realize how much more convenient it is to fly during the day, as opposed to against my regular sleeping hours. Some people seem to prefer night flights, and manage to have good sleep during it. Not me. Not us. Not often at least.
The only downside was that the flight was delayed on both parts of the journey between 20 and 40 minutes. Not a big deal, but I notice it happens far more often with Arabic airlines. Also, a bit of delay in Dubai airport gives you time to explore some cool antique shops!
So with that Emirates experience compared to other Premium Economy experiences being:
- Cheaper
- Better and flexible timing options
- Similar to, if not better service than the rest
Upon arrival at Frankfurt airport, and ironically after informing Emirates flight attendants of forgotten bag by some passenger, I realized I had forgotten my Bose headset. I have had Lost items experience from Emirates before, and within 24 hours they had emailed me about the lost items by themselves, and told me to collect it. They did not disappoint this time also. By the time I had collected my luggage, I went to Emirates office and asked about the headset. The guy immediately identified it, and within a minute it was back in my hands! Another reason to trust this airlines.
With all that in mind, I was already thinking I will be relying on Emirates Economy far more often in the future, and will be aiming for morning flights when possible. But now was the time to head to the hotel, and chill!
After refreshing, I even had the energy for a night photoshoot. I'm relatively new to night photography, so wanted to use the chance as there were some lights on around the Rhine river and I wanted to challenge myself and see if I can comeup with something. I still didn't get to editing them all, but here is a quick one for now.
It's already proving challenging, but as time permits I will keep updating my travel journal here. So follow to stay up to date :).