Just doing some looking around for my trip this summer. For folks in and around Houston, the Emirates flights are an interesting option. Direct Houston to Dubai and then a connection from Dubai to Harare. Skip South Africa altogher. Need to learn a little more about transitting UAE with weapons and how problematic that would be. Price is just over $1500 round trip.

I saw the same thing the other day. If you're going to do it, make sure you use a good travel agent. Apparently some guys on this forum got a pretty good, um, pat down.. when they brought guns through Dubai and didn't have anyone to contact. Definitely worth looking into as it's about 50% less than a flight on Delta.

I have my wife and three son's booked w/ Emirates in June from San Antonio to JNB where I will meet them from here. Seems it was $6500 for the four of them.

I just booked for Zim in August, but had to go through JNB since the new Zim flights only operate 5 days per week and I needed the other 2!

I spoke for an hour on the phone with the Emirates people and got the dope on firearms. I will start the process immediately after SCI and will have plenty of time to double and triple check that all is in order. No travel agent and I anticipate zero problems.

BTW the Emirates fare dropped about $400 last week, making them THE way into southern africa.

DID they promised you a room for you all night layover in Dubia? or have they change the scheduel so your not stuck waiting all night?

Yes, you do arrive the evening of Day 1 and leave the morning of Day 2. I have not talked to anyone at this point, just searching around on the internet. I do like the thought though of going from the usual three connections (Houston-Dulles-Jo'burg-Harare) to two connections (Houston-Dubai-Harare). You usually end up with a several hour layover in Dulles and likewise in Jo'burg. Enough time to get bored, but not enough time to do anything. Replacing those layovers with one that allows for enough time to take a nap and get a shower, sounds good. I do understand, however, that you have had repeated problems with the overnight layovers in Dubai.

YES! Emirates will provide a hotel, meals and trsfrs on layovers of 6+ hours for 1st & Business and 8+ hours for Coach. I confirmed this with their agent and have in turn been confirmed for this complimentary service - you must ask for this service in advance.

Because of such great reports, I decided to try their Coach class and am looking forward to it.

i hope you have beeter luck with your promised rooms than i did. i flew to Dubia twice and was promised a room both time. and did not get the promised room either time. needless to say i will not fly on there airlines again.(quote from manager sorry no rooms are availibe but for 275 dollars we have a room you will like) i even had the little green complementy room card (still so sorry we have no rooms) unless you pay 275 extra dollars. and god help you if you have to call about lost items the phone rings but no one answers.

I'm with you ddrhook. I hope you have better luck than I do too. 3 times to Dubai with lay-over and only got the room once. Other than that great service, just makes for a long trip. Never went thru Dubai with weapons--almost did Qutar last year to Jburg--but ended up taking the Delta direct option.

Ed

Looks like there are hotels like the Holiday Inn Express or the Millennium that are at the airport that are under $100/night (assuming I am doing the currency conversion correctly!). Might make sense to make a reservation to lock up a room. Even if you add that to the ticket price, it is not bad.

The possibilities with emirates from the USA to Zimbabwe or Zambia are very intriguing to me. That said, I want to hear feedback from some guys who make the route with rifles before I jump on board.

Gentlemen,

The way I understand it, you need to inform Emirates when booking that you are going to be travelling with firearms.

You need to tell them this at least 2 weeks before travel.
You need to provide the serial number, caliber, make of the rifles and the ammount of ammo you are taking.

They need your passport copy, as well as any proove that the rifles are yours.

Invitation letter issued by the hunting authority of the country you are going to be hunting in - may be this just specific to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

From my own experience, they do provide hotel accommodation for long layovers for both First Class and Busness Class passengers.

I hope this is of help.

Travelling from Dubai to any destination with firearms is a slightly different.

One has to obtain clearance from the Airport Police, then notify Emirates with a copy of this clearance attached.

We have been doing this for so many years, and it works.

The only times we have had problems was due to the person manning the check in desk.

Here is an example.

We were travelling to Dar with our rifles and ammo.

The girl behind the counter wasn't sure what to do. She called her Supervisor.

He came, got behind the counter wit her, looked at the booking, then looked at the girl and said "where is the problem? All the details are here in the computer! Don't bother me with anything that is already approved and posted on your computer!"

Once the rifles and ammo are checked in and labeled, a police officer takes them seperately to the plane.

Does anyone know, do you have to claim the rifles and your other luggage if you have a layover and recheck them the next day or does Emirates hold them and the other luggage for the connecting flight? My recollection is that the layover from the Houston-Dubai to the Dubai-Harare flight is approximately 10-12 hours. I am sure a travel agent can answer the questions, but just thought someone on here might know.

Steve supplied the form required for this.

Mike,
I asked about holding the rifles and was told that yes they would hold them. All this was from an initial call to their res#, which is in INDIA - where else - but the agent did put me on hold every time I asked a specific question she was unsure about, to check with someone else - a supervisor? I will call and go over all this more than a couple times prior to departure next August. Hopefully that will reduce the possibility of any problems.

One thing I have learned about traveling around the world with firearms is that reservation clerks often lack the proper training but most supervisors will have the correct answer.

Hello everybody,

after reading here, i checked what are the prices for Emirates to fly from Zurich (where i live) to Harare.
There prices are much better than SAA or Swiss.
So i think i will use them for my next trip to Zim in 2013.
Now my question is:
Saeed mentioned, that you have to get clearance from the Airport Police in Dubai when you want to take your rifle with you. Is this also necessary when you stay in transit, or only if you leave the transit area of the airport?
Does anybody has an e-mail adresse of the police to contact them concerning the needed papers etc. I only found a telefon number, but as english is not my first language, i would prefer to contact them by mail.

Regards

Florian

Florian,

Yes, you do need a permit from the police.

But, this hould all be taken care of by Emirates, as long as you let them know during your booking that you will be taking firearms and ammo with you, together with the serial numbers, caliber and make of your rifles and the quantity of ammo.

Emirates said they need at least a week's notice in advance of this.

But I really recommend you give them 2 weeks notice, and get conformation before you fly.

This is the proceedure I have been following, not just with Emirates, but with all airlines that I travel on while hunting.

I flew with via Dubai many times and had 0 problems. I even stayed 2 days in Dubai and left the gun by the airport police and collected it there NO Problem.
Yes you have to tell Emirates well in advance to bring a rifle along.

Booked my travel reservations for late August today on Emirates. Tickets were $1550. I am looking forward to trying Emirates . . . and skipping Dulles, Dakar and Jo'burg.

which plane does Emirates fly, boeing??

Houston to Dubai, B777
Dubai to Harare, A330

Florian, you might want to reconsider that route as the EU has a ban on traveling with weapons to Zim. Those that pass through or originate in EU countries have to book a two-part trip with a separate ticket into Zim from a neighboring airport unless this ban has been lifted?

I'm resurrecting this thread to see how it went with those traveling through Dubai on Emirates with firearms.

I read on this thread that Emirates will put you up in a hotel for the layover if on Business or First. Here's my questions...

1) Did Emirates really put you up for the layover inclusive in the price of the ticket?

2) Any issues with the firearms?

3) Has anyone stretched out the stay in Dubai for a few days of sightseeing and if so what was done with the firearms?

Cheers
Jim & Joyce

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
I'm resurrecting this thread to see how it went with those traveling through Dubai on Emirates with firearms.

I read on this thread that Emirates will put you up in a hotel for the layover if on Business or First. Here's my questions...

1) Did Emirates really put you up for the layover inclusive in the price of the ticket?

2) Any issues with the firearms?

3) Has anyone stretched out the stay in Dubai for a few days of sightseeing and if so what was done with the firearms?

Cheers
Jim & Joyce

Jim,

I have met quite a number of AR members flying on Emirates through Dubai, and I cannot recall any of them having any complaints.

According to the airport police, there is no restrictions on the number of days that you can leave your rifles with them.

But, generally, all your luggage is held at the airport, so some arrangements have to be made for anything you might need for your stay.

Definitely considering it for my trip to Zim in October

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
I'm resurrecting this thread to see how it went with those traveling through Dubai on Emirates with firearms.

I read on this thread that Emirates will put you up in a hotel for the layover if on Business or First. Here's my questions...

1) Did Emirates really put you up for the layover inclusive in the price of the ticket?

Yes, and it is not limited to folks with business or first class tickets, it is true for coach class passengers as well. My understanding is that Emirates puts up all passengers who have layovers over a certain number of hours. You will be transported to the hotel, given a voucher for dinner and breakfast and then catch a shuttle back to the airport. The accommodations are okay, nothing fancy but very adequate.

2) Any issues with the firearms?

No. In fact, once you check the firearms in the US you never see them again until you arrive at your destination. You do not claim the firearms in Dubai. You have to get a firearms permit from the Dubai police but that is done through your travel agent working with Emirates. I actually think Emirates is very careful in keeping up with the firearms. The key on the permit is to start the process as soon as possible before departure (Emirates will only do it a max of 30 days prior to departure) and work with a travel agent that knows the process like Steve Turner.

3) Has anyone stretched out the stay in Dubai for a few days of sightseeing and if so what was done with the firearms?

I have no personal experience in this situation. Sorry, I cannot help.

Cheers
Jim & Joyce

See my input in red above.

My Father and I used Emirates thru Dubai for our recent trip to Pakistan, we were totally satisfied with Emirates but had problems with the Dubai Police.
We used Steve Turner for our tickets, and were only taking ammunition for the Danish's rifle, which we had approval for. Our visas were not issued in time for our scheduled flights and we had to postpone our trip for 1 day. Meliza from Travel with Guns changed our tickets and notified Dubai Police of the change, but when we got to JFK to check-in a supervisor from Emirates said that approval for our ammo had not been granted and he said he called Dubai but could not get an answer on approval.
We waited til the flight was getting ready to board, still no approval, so we took the ammo downstairs to a locker facility, which would not accept it, so we ended up giving it to the Police in the airport to be destroyed. (10 boxes of Nosler Custom in 300 Win Mag.)
The gentleman from Emirates was very polite and kept us informed as we waited on the approval, which did not come thru.
It surely seemed unreasonable to not get approval for a flight that was delayed 24 hrs, when we had approval for the flight the night before, when the ammo is in transit and never leaves your luggage.
No issues at all with Emirates other than Dubai.

I flew Emirates New York>Dubai>Harare. Steve Turner made the arrangements, and I couldn't have been more satisfied. Once I checked my firearm in New York, with the help of an agent from Emirates, I was good to Harare. I stayed at the Dubai International Hotel in the airport in Dubai. When I go back, I'll use Emirates again.

I have been trying to get a price through there online booking section of their website and I have been getting a message saying they are experiencing technical difficulties for over a year or so.

Flew Emirates out of SFO last summer overnight ed in Dubai Used Mel at Travel with guns Checked in guns at SFO Retrieve at Harare. Emirates paid for the overnight. Need to start Gun permit process at least 1 mo before you go It is issued 7 days before departure Use some one who knows what they are doing.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
I have been trying to get a price through there online booking section of their website and I have been getting a message saying they are experiencing technical difficulties for over a year or so.

Book through a travel agent if you are travelling with gun.