Dubai Airports on Wednesday announced the phased opening of Concourse A, the world's first A380 facility at Dubai International's Terminal 3. (www.arabianbusiness.com) More...
Terminal has everything but cattle chutes. I wonder why there is a need for 11 levels? Beyond arrival, departure, lounges, and shopping what else do you need? I understand it was going to be 12, but that's another storey.
Can't account for 11, but access to the terminal would be under the Apron, so that's one, then there is ground level which would be Ground Ops, Passengers area starting at 1st floor, 380 has double deck, with 2 levels of jetways, so Business/First access and lounges would be another. T3 concourse B and T1 both have Hotels within them, so that could be another 3 or 4 if they follow the same pattern. I guess there'd need to be some Offices somewhere, and Staff facilities, canteen and such like, and down below the Apron access corridor level I'd expect another level or two for the unseen Upmpa Lumphas of Utilities and Maintenance. When they first started building it began with a pretty deep hole in the ground, wouldn't surprise me if much of the background activities required to run a busy Terminal are hidden down there.
Dubai is my 'Home' airport, so every journey begins or ends there for me, with a chance to see how 'others' do Arrivals and Departures in between. In the last several years I've visited; LHR (T2, T3), LGW, DOH, MCT, DEL, UDR, GYD, FRA, BAH, MAA, DUS, BEY, KWI, MXP, SCQ, STN, HKG, LCY,LAX. SFO, IAH, JFK, ATL, YYZ, ORD, MIA, POS, PEK, PAD, EWR, PHL, BRU, VIE, PRG, AMS, HEL, CDG, BUD, GIG, GRU, YVR, I can't think of any that were significantly better than DXB, but I have tried to forget many that were noticeably worse. I admit a I may be biased towards DXB, but I try not to be prejudiced against anywhere else.
For an Airport that's currently handling 50+ million passengers, and ranks just outside the top 10 busiest in the world, I'd say the experience from Curbside to Seatbelt is one I look forward to more than dread.
As for the Shopping Mall reference, DXB doesn't count as a 'Real' Mall, where's the Shark Filled Aquarium or the Indoor Ski Slope. DXB was an early adopter of Airport Retail as a significant revenue stream, every Outlet seems to have ques at the checkouts 24/7. I compare that with the many times I've been leaving somewhere with some unused local currency in my pocket and nowhere tempting me to spend it, or even somewhere to browse through products I don't really need and certainly can't afford, to pass the time before I depart.
In the case of Abu Dhabi/Etihad and Doha/Qatar Airways, you may be helping them out when you fill your tank, but not DXB/Emirates.
a) Dubai has so close to No Oil left as makes no difference. Oil is not a significant contributor to Dubai GDP. b) Dubai Duty Free (airport retail) manages to bring in more than a few Bucks. c) Emirates somehow manages to make a profit.
Dubai Airport, Dubai Duty Free and Emirates are all owned by the Dubai Government, and far from DDF and EK being subsidised they pay dividends back into the Govt pot. EK pays the same Airport Charges as all other 150 or so Airlines using DXB, which has an Open Skies Policy, and EK buys its Fuel at DXB from Chevron, BP, and Shell, same as everyone else.
Due to the vast size of The A380.This leviathan,needs the large specially designed facilities.To accomodate them efficiently.The extra room and space needed.Has been predetermined.To be able to utilize the aircraft.To its fullest capacity.Being able to use more of them at the same time.Improving passenger boarding and cargo handling.Provisions and modification.Have been done ,in other airports.However,there are certain restraints,"Congestion">For gating and taxiing.When this aircraft has to share the terminal with other aircraft.
I'm recounting my experience of 7 hour 'waits' for connecting flights. "The revenue stream" seems to come at a cost of adequate seating for those that don't want to be part of the shopping experience. I'm not "prejudiced" (that, BTW is a pretty loaded word) against DXB. I'm just saying that I don't like the Airport because of the reasons I've outlined.
Your original comment makes more sense now with the added context you provide. I must admit my experiences are more 'straight through' as I'm departing or arriving, so I only spend an hour or two at most from Check-in to Gate, I've never had to endure a long Transit. I guess it could get a bit glum hanging around for several hours.
