[hightowerdubai1969]

It's a recession and times are tight. I'm an annual traveller to Dubai to see family, and for so many years, since they started I have always used Emirates. I grew up in Dubai although I'm Irish, but still felt some loyalty to the company and I know many people working there. Yet, times are tough, and this year, travelling to Thailand for a holiday, with my 9 year old son, I felt he was old enough for a trip, just the two of us, and I was swayed by the cheaper Etihad deal which would save me €250. I guess you get what you pay for. I am tall, just over two meters. I didn't fit into the space provided. On all four flights, we were given a menu with three items on it, and on all four flights only the vegetarian option was available. Including airport stopovers, checking in and waiting for baggage, connecting flights the journey was 25 hours. Not pleasant without a single decent meal I must say. In spite of booking with my super duper new air miles account on the web site, I still have the one mile I started with. Whilst sitting in an uncomfortable seat at Abu Dhabi airport in the plane, waiting the extra delayed hour, I got to watch the groundsmen throwing baggage out of the truck, including our own, on to the Tarmac with complete abandon. So I got to actually see the groundsman who smashed the picture I got for a friend and for the shampoo to break out over all my luggage requiring me to wash it all, dry clean the suits and wash the suitcase itself. Nothing greater after returning from such a long trip. In flight staff were very friendly, one even offered to get me some sandwiches for my son, who you can imagine after so much flying time was starving. She said an F & B Manager on the flight didn't allow her to bring my son the food. I'd dearly like to have met that manager, however he wasn't "able" to bring himself down to Coral Economy. As my young and impressionable son was with me, I made no scene, nor complained vociferously although I dearly wanted to. Do what you like to me, but never, ever take from my son's mouth.

It was a mistake to save €250, one that I'll never, ever make again. I'm a nobody in the UAE. However, my family and many friends are some bodies. I'll be spreading the word, and returning to where I should have stayed. Emirates. The one true National Airline of the UAE.