After a summer of using low-cost airlines like Wizzair and easyJet to travel around Europe, it was a relief to step back aboard an Emirates 777-300 for its full-service business class on my flight back to Dubai from Budapest.
They say you don’t ever really value something fully unless you have tried living without it.
Budget carriers have their place for short business trips and their schedules can be very convenient. But working on board is a chore as you jockey with families and larger travellers who can barely squeeze into their seats.
Step into the spacious, well-organised world of Emirates business class and it is a very different story. From the smiling staff with hot towels and a welcome drink to the plug for the charger at your elbow, you can instantly relax and get on with your work. The comfort of the Boeing 777 has not changed that much since it first entered the Emirates fleet in 1996 for the new kangeroo route to Australia, then via Singapore, and I also reviewed that flight.
The Budapest 777-300 is now configured for business and economy only, so there is no first class, a dying luxury in these days of tighter corporate and personal travel budgets.
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Read more:
[ Wizz Air flight review: Budapest to Luton reasonably cheap but not always cheerful ]
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Still that has the benefit of making business the new first class. A few years ago you could only get a beef fillet right at the front of the plane. Now beef fillet with chili butter is served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables are on the menu in business class.
What a contrast to the awful sky cafes offered by the budget carriers. Full silver service with a choice of three appetizers, three main courses and three desserts plus a cheese board.
Business class comes with other perks. The quick dedicated check-in desk. The fast track through security, enabling me to avoid a lengthy queue.
Even the security was faster for those with the right boarding pass. Inside the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport you are forced to walk through the duty free, and then head up the escalator to the Sky Lounge that Emirates shares with other airlines and certain credit card holders.
This is a comfortable lounge with huge blue soft chairs, flight information and non-stop CNN and BBC. It was only disappointing to have the FT Weekend available midweek.
But then everybody uses the internet and the Sky Court automatically logged me into the Wi-Fi as a frequent guest. My Emirates-Citi credit card also grants me access.
Catering facilities in this lounge are limited, with a tray of deli items to enable you to make your own sandwich, and Hungarian salty snacks made mainly from sauerkraut.
At least the coffee machine is good and the internet high-speed. Budapest currently enjoys the fastest internet in Europe, more than 100 mbps is par for the course.
Ferenc Liszt is small by comparison to London or Dubai airports, so it is only a five-minute walk to the gate. Again as business class passengers you get special treatment with your own access channel and I quickly found seat 6A which has extra legroom by the cabin door.
Indeed, this particular seat is well suited to those wanting more personal space and quiet as there is nobody either directly behind or in front of you.
We arrived ahead of schedule at Dubai International Airport. The Smart gate made entry a breeze, so I did not need the fast-track pass handed out to the business class passengers.
Priority business class baggage also worked brilliantly, with our luggage among the first to emerge. Then business class passengers get to enjoy a complimentary limousine to take them home.
In Budapest, you have to make your own way to the airport, about €25 (Dh106) for a Mercedes taxi or €3 for the Mercedes bus service introduced in July that used to be empty, but this secret is now out.
Travelling in style may not be quite what it used to be, but Emirates still sets a very high standard.
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
Power: 218hp
Torque: 330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 402km (claimed)
Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Law 41.9.4 of men’s T20I playing conditions
The fielding side shall be ready to start each over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed.
An electronic clock will be displayed at the ground that counts down seconds from 60 to zero.
The clock is not required or, if already started, can be cancelled if:
• A new batter comes to the wicket between overs.
• An official drinks interval has been called.
• The umpires have approved the on field treatment of an injury to a batter or fielder.
• The time lost is for any circumstances beyond the control of the fielding side.
• The third umpire starts the clock either when the ball has become dead at the end of the previous over, or a review has been completed.
• The team gets two warnings if they are not ready to start overs after the clock reaches zero.
• On the third and any subsequent occasion in an innings, the bowler’s end umpire awards five runs.
South Africa squad
: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Specs
Power train: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and synchronous electric motor
Max power: 800hp
Max torque: 950Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Battery: 25.7kWh lithium-ion
0-100km/h: 3.4sec
0-200km/h: 11.4sec
Top speed: 312km/h
Max electric-only range: 60km (claimed)
On sale: Q3
Price: From Dh1.2m (estimate)
Turning waste into fuel
Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
▪ Electricity - 1.1904 units
▪ Water- 31 litres
▪ Diesel – 26.275 litres
Diriyah project at a glance
- Diriyah’s 1.9km King Salman Boulevard, a Parisian Champs-Elysees-inspired avenue, is scheduled for completion in 2028
- The Royal Diriyah Opera House is expected to be completed in four years
- Diriyah’s first of 42 hotels, the Bab Samhan hotel, will open in the first quarter of 2024
- On completion in 2030, the Diriyah project is forecast to accommodate more than 100,000 people
- The $63.2 billion Diriyah project will contribute $7.2 billion to the kingdom’s GDP
- It will create more than 178,000 jobs and aims to attract more than 50 million visits a year
- About 2,000 people work for the Diriyah Company, with more than 86 per cent being Saudi citizens
