I've already written extensively about Emirates' new first class, which I flew on Monday from Dubai to Brussels. I shared the most over the top aspects of the product, and also why I think it's a game changer as far as first class seats go. While I think the seat is exceptionally well designed and…
Continue reading: What I Don’t Love About Emirates’ New First Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Articles like these are why I LOVE your blog, @Lucky. Thanks for always providing a different perspective to things. I like that you took the time to take photos of the moving seat to illistrate your point too!
I didn't like it when I flew it a few days back. It reminded me more of a cramped apartment in Hong Kong rather than a suite of my own on board a flight. No way am I going back on it! I'll stick to AF/JL/GA. HD screen windows be damned
Bose headphones, although industry leaders in noise cancellation, are not particularly renowned for their sound reproduction. Are you conflating their cost with their sound fidelity?
Also, this:
Allegedly the fabric releases naturally nutrient rich sea kelp as you move around, preventing dehydration and stimulating circulation.
is arrant nonsense. "Sea kelp"? As opposed to land kelp? Are they suggesting that these pajamas actually cause you to end up covered in strands of seaweed? Why would "nutrients" inside seaweed applied to your skin prevent dehydration or stimulate circulation? You could easily "stimulate circulation" by lining the pajamas with sandpaper or broken glass -- would that be a good thing?
Yeesh.
Lucky i agree with you on the fact that those binoculars are very expensive similar if not more compared to pair of Bose headphones though the reason Emirates got the binoculars over Bose headphones is that i am pretty sure those binoculars are only on the 777's with the new first class (which there are very few of) though if they had have got Bose headphones they probably would have had to do it across all their fleet which would be very expensive (so really the binoculars is a bit of cost cutting while still making the product look great).
I'm surprised you disliked the pajamas. I never got a chance to try the old ones but I really liked the new ones -- I guess the top might be a little heavier than some airlines' pajama tops, but it's not nearly as heavy as Singapore's pajama top for example, and Emirates does have air vents in first class (at least in their older product -- not sure about this new product). The bottom half is also lighter than the top. And both the top and the bottom wash very well without shrinking or warping; I find myself using the Emirates pajamas frequently in the time since I flew with them.
Yeah, the "moisturizing" aspect is marketing b.s., but ... did you really expect otherwise?
@Lucky, what makes you so sure they want to roll these seats out on every plane? Perhaps they want them on specific routes for specific reasons. Hence why the limited destinations and the limited number of plans.
Maybe it's just me, but I keep trying these new first products, and when I leave the plane, I always say, "That was good, but CX First was better." I don't know why people are so in love with a crappy door.
What is it about Middle Eastern carriers and their reluctance to update their old products with their latest? It’s never really part of their plans when they release new hard products!
@Philip: They'd have to throw literals tons of money at it to retrofit every plane within a small period. Even if they managed one airplane per day, it would take them 3/4 of a year. That said Emirates obviously is at the other extreme. Two years and only 9 planes is indeed pretty pathetic.
I suspect that they want to replace plenty of jets post 2019 by new ones and thus avoid retrofitting a large portion of their fleet. But even then they could retrofit the new birds and fly the old ones around with the old product.
Lucky, what is this anti-gravity seat function that I keep hearing about? Did you try it? What does it do?
I'm surprised EK never followed its competitors (i.e. AF, CX, EY, etc. ) in allowing 2 people to dine together in a First Class suite. Personally I always find it better to have a conversation with someone while eating a meal on a flight.
Wait a second, I believe on the new SQ A380 suite it's not possible for couples to dine together as well. Regardless, thanks for this article and I look forward reading your SQ A380 new suite report!
Lucky, as far as I remember Emirates was supposed to provide Bowers and Wilkins wireless headphones on their new first class. These headphones are surely comparable to if not better than Bose. Wonder why you didn't get them.
You forgot to mention another downside:
Brussels? Geneva? Talk about boring destinations!
Shouldve added to JFK or LAX.