EK DXB-MLE

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Transonic
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EK DXB-MLE

Post by Transonic »

For our Emirates friends,

I'm planning to fly on a ZED to the Maldives in June. So far EK is the best bet by far, with 3x 777 flights daily from DXB. Has anyone tried these flights before? Are they're any “gotchas” as in lids or caps due to performance, freight etc. Do a lot of Emirate employees fly to the Maldives and hence an uber long standby list? Does Emirates steeply discount fares to MLE so that aircraft are always full with low yielding passengers? Or vice versa?


Thank you for any insight!!!
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Eric Janson
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by Eric Janson »

An alternative option:-

SriLankan has multiple daily flights between Colombo and Male - they also have Zed fares.

You can easily get to Colombo from Dubai - multiple carriers flying this route.
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Transonic
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by Transonic »

Thanks Eric,

Would you recommend a few days in Colombo?
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Eric Janson
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by Eric Janson »

Transonic wrote:Thanks Eric,

Would you recommend a few days in Colombo?
Colombo is nothing special - rent a van + driver/guide and go explore the island.

I'd recommend 10 days minimum to get an introduction to Sri Lanka - it's an amazing place. They have everything in a relatively small island. I believe there are at least 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Beaches
Wildlife (including leopards)
Ancient ruined cities
Tea Plantations
Hill country with spectacular scenery
Festivals (at the right time of year)
Amazing seafood

Only negative is that the prices are disproportionately high for that part of the world. Last tour I did in 2013 my Tour Guide/Driver had a really tough time finding hotels for less than $150/night - and for that you're not getting anything special.

If you only have a few days I'd recommend going down South just East of Galle to Unawatuna. Lovely beach there and you can do whale watching as well.

Check out some of the tourism videos on Youtube - it really looks like that.

Any questions - let me know. I lived there for 8 years.
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Transonic
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by Transonic »

Thanks Eric, It certainly sounds exotic!
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RB211
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by RB211 »

Transonic wrote:For our Emirates friends,

I'm planning to fly on a ZED to the Maldives in June. So far EK is the best bet by far, with 3x 777 flights daily from DXB. Has anyone tried these flights before? Are they're any “gotchas” as in lids or caps due to performance, freight etc. Do a lot of Emirate employees fly to the Maldives and hence an uber long standby list? Does Emirates steeply discount fares to MLE so that aircraft are always full with low yielding passengers? Or vice versa?


Thank you for any insight!!!
No "gotchas" for performance related items. one of the flights continues on to Colombo so that can affect the load.

I don't think EK steeply discounts the fares. The resorts are the majority expense of a vacation there. Most people likely go with some package deal.
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CLguy
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by CLguy »

I have flown the DXB-MLE flight that gets into Male' early morning many times. Have never seen the 777 ever close to being full. In fact the last time I flew that leg the flight was probably less than a third full.

Getting to DXB from YYZ and back is always the problem. The A-380 is always full so I hope you are not counting on that leg.
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Eric Janson
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by Eric Janson »

Found a very nice trip report with fantastic pictures. Some good tips as well.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-rep ... lanka.html

Enjoy.
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UKPilot
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by UKPilot »

I can second that, I doubt there would be any sort of performance issues on the DXB - MLE run. EK load factors are pretty high most of the time, but with it being low season in Male in June I don't think you'd have much of a problem especially with the frequencies. As mentioned, YYZ - DXB is a nightmare. I get that trip as often as I can and I would say at least 70% of the time it's oversold. The AC flight might be a better bet because it hasn't been running that long. Don't know the actual loads though.

Colombo is a good bet as it's a nice place to visit as well. Trivandrum in South India has a fair few flights a day to MLE as well. I'd be happy to take a look at the loads closer to the date.
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Transonic
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Re: EK DXB-MLE

Post by Transonic »

That's a very nice report Eric! Thanks.

UK Pilot, thank you for all the info and the kind offer.
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