Originally Posted by
kwri10s
Thanks, that really sounds like plenty of rope to hang myself with. I could see me getting stuck with plenty of $ for the extra hotel room. I'll keep reading eveyones ideas, but more on the fence about trying this after seeing how many gotcha are out there for me to screw up.
There really aren't that many gotchas.
The biggest gotcha would be not getting to DXB in time. Since you are going early and you are going on the FDX jumpseat, getting there on time is almost a non issue.
Since you are not taking the scheduled flight, you can use that unused DH money for your hotel, up to the contract rate, any transportation costs and you can use any remaining DH money to deviate at other times during the month. Any extra hotel costs should be minimal, but since DXB is cheaper than DEL, the real cost to you, if any, will be lower. If you're worried about the hotel rate, call the hotel now and see what they would charge.
Getting to the hotel is a no-brainer, also. The hotel picks us up in van or bus. Since you'll be with the crew you can ride with them. If you had to take your own taxi to the hotel and pay for it, the fare would be $10 at the most.
English is very common in DXB. You won't have any language barriers calling the hotel to arrange an extra night's stay.
The keys to making this work like it should are to request the mid-trip deviation in FOX, email both ramps detailing your travel plans, and call Jumpseat Admin to book the J/S.
Since you will be going with the crew through the whole process, this will be about as easy and risk-free a mid-trip deviation as is possible.
Good luck!