Business trips - am I being ridiculous about flight safety?

[ThomasRichard]

I'm genuinely unsure whether I'm being daft here, so bear with me.

I have several long-haul business trips scheduled next year and I've started booking flights where I know the dates. We use a business travel provider so we are limited to the options they give us (company travel policy says we have to use them). The cheapest options either:

• include waiting around a Dubai airport for up to 6 hours in the middle of the night between connecting flights; or
• have short legs on obscure airlines with dubious safety records.

I wouldn't feel safe hanging around in a deserted airport in a country that imprisons women for reporting sexual violence. Dubai/the UAE in general is not somewhere I would ever go on holiday and I would never go myself or ask my female staff to go there for business either. One of my male members of staff is going on a business trip to Dubai, but as he's been there previously on holiday it's not a concern for him.

The flights that avoid tinpot arlines and dodgy connections are more expensive. It's my travel budget and I'm happy to justify that to my line manager, but I wondered what other people's thoughts would be in that situation.

Love Dubai airport and Abu Dhabi as well. Lots of very polite people to help you, always kind and considerate.
They have lots of lounges as well - as your flying business you’ll be fine to go into them.

I live in the ME - I’ve felt more unsafe in London than where I live.

Dubai airport is fine although very expensive. Good for people watching. Just remember you are a visitor in someone else's country and be a little sensitive to local sensibilities and you won't have any problems. No one is going to molest you.

I prefer layovers no longer than 2 hours. 6 hours is a massive drag. It seems like forever in the middle of the night.

You'll be fine in Dubai, seriously.

What are the tinpot airlines, can I ask?

Dubai airport is a major international hub. You will not be there alone, and there will be people from all over the world there with you.

Malaysian Airlines is not a tinpot airline.

Uzbek Air - tinpot

I love Dubai airport! There’s are loads of helpers in blue t shirts so I never got lost either! I was there in the middle of the night and saw the guy from grand designs

I live in Asia

Malaysia airlines are fine
Air Asia (Malaysia and Thailand-fine)
Air Asia Indonesia - hmmmm
Malindo - ok (food is terrible)
Jetstar -will Get you there but often delayed

Have been in Dubai at 4am many times -often can't get a seat and have to queue for the loos it's so busy .
Very safe - I always alone or with teenage dd, never had any kind of hassle

Dubai airport is meant for foreigners and always has lots of people-it's not a big deal, I would just go to the American Express lounge and enjoy the break. Dodgy airlines on the other hand are not ok unless they are the only option.

Jesus wept OP. Have you been living under a rock?

Dubai is a massive, busy, clean, safe, multicultural airport.

YABVU

Which airlines are you calling tinpot? Unless you're in Africa or very remote areas, there are rules around who can fly where and over which airspace etc. You seem to be worrying unnecessarily about a lot here!

Dubai airport is the busiest I have ever been in. Absolutely rammed at 3am

Yes there are rules about who can fly but they’re not the same all over the world. I’d say that the list of airlines banned from EU airspace is a good starting point for names to avoid.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_air_carriers_banned_in_the_European_Union

For those of you saying you wouldn't want to go to Dubai itself, don't believe everything you read in tabloids. I've been there loads, it's perfectly safe and is an absolutely wonderful place to be.

@foodtime and @ItsLikeRainOnYourWeddingDay

Couldn’t agree more!! WTH are you on about? DBX isn’t “ok-ish” it’s a superb international transport hub.

I’d actively fly that route where possible- I would t remotely avoid it.

MAS is also a great airline, one of my favourites and I regularly fly with them.

Jeez I wouldn't fly malaysian again if it could be avoided - utter shite and dry even in business class and in lounge on the short haul legs.

DHs seat wouldn't un-recline for landing. Stewardess came over to try to help, and walked off uttering 'nothing works on this stupid plane' as we were descending.

Dubai airport in the middle of the night? I'm amazed anyone would think it a problem. its one of the busiest times (which i'd find more of an issue than it being quiet).

I'm a frequent traveller, usually alone. I may be odd in this choice but in order of preference I'd go:

1. big airline (Singapore, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Air France/KLM) with worse timings rather than smaller less renowned airline, or
2. long first leg, short second leg outbound so that the way home you're doing short first leg and the changeover whilst you're less knackered on the way home, then on the long flight to sleep as the last leg of the journey, or
3. anything other than turkish/uzbek/malaysian/low cost airlines for any leg

and in all cases, at least 2 hours layover. In the last 4 months I've had a cancelled initial flight so had to rebook in a panic, and a 3.5 hour delay so missed connection. Spent the whole 3.5 hours of delay and 7 hour flight stressing about the connection.

I'd also want to avoid layovers in countries where you need a visa to leave the airport (Russia, China etc), in case of drastic issues with multiple days delay (also been there, but thankfully in germany so could go to a hotel)

Interesting what you say about Air Asia Indonesia, Madame. Are they a different company to Air Asia or why do you place them under the others? I've flown Air Asia before and they were fine, in a low price sort of way. It´d be good to know if I should be more careful about them in future.

Dubai airport, fine.
Malaysian, fine.
Air Asia, fine.
Another suggestion, depending where you are going is Beijing as there is a hotel airside where you pay by the hour for the room ( not a knocking shop, just designed for travellers) so you can have a proper rest, buffet and a shower.
Also Beijing and Shanghai now allow up to 48 hours visa free exit provided you have an onwards flight. Last time I came back from Australia I booked a long transit deliberately, booked into a hotel near the airport, had a nice evening meal, breakfast, pottered around the local shops, had a swim and lounge by the pool, then back to the airport for an early evening flight. Much more refreshing than a couple of hours turnaround.

I haven’t been living under a rock, I just haven’t flown through Dubai before and what I’ve heard about Dubai has been limited to news about it being developed using slave labour and people being arrested and imprisoned for reporting rape to the police. I don’t think it’s particularly strange to not want to go to such a horrible-sounding place, and certainly not worthy of such contempt and derision

But you aren’t going to Dubai really, you’re going to the airport. Singapore airport is an airport the same as LAX. Or gatwick. visiting the airport isn’t the same as visiting the city, surely. I have spent the night in many airports and not experienced the cities they were in at all.

I've never been to Qatar
I just stopped off at Doha airport for a few hours ....

If you change flights at Heathrow you are not exactly "visiting London"

“I don't have particular concerns about Dubai airport, just the country in general.”

An airport has little to do with the country. I know you’ve already backed off from this a bit, but I’m surprised you didn’t know that Dubai is a major hub, busy and safe, and very much like all other major airports.

I do feel you are really NBU.
We have a similar setup and I fly to similar parts of the world but I have some control over my budget so I can say OK I'll spend the extra £100 not to have the long stopover and save elsewhere.
I chose a 23 hour stopover in Singapore once (hard life I know) to avoid flying Garuda. I did all the research and told them "here's what I'm doing". Also pointed out a full day involving actual sleep (booked a cheap but nice hotel) would leave me fresher for work.

Many flights land in the Gulf states during the night, purely because of the flying times from other parts of the world. Whenever I flew home to Bahrain as a child, I always landed around 4am because of the times from Heathrow. Personally, I would take a Gulf airport for safety over any of the awful London ones.

I’m sure the airport is very safe, after all your reassurance, but the jurisdiction is not. I had to smile a bit reading the completely opposite reactions on this thread (and yes I know it’s different!): www.mumsnet.com/Talk/living_overseas/3107289-DH-just-got-a-job-in-Dubai I’d never willingly visit the place and will avoid the airport as far as my budget allows me to do so.

I have control over my own and my team’s travel budget but it has to be justifiable. Spending an extra £1k on a flight to avoid DXB wouldn’t be justifiable in my view. Sending 1 person instead of 2 to avoid a crackers airline with planes held together with duct tape is a good plan, however.