- Introduction: Zimbabwe Via The Cockpit Suite
- Review: SWISS First Class Boeing 777 (MIA-ZRH)
- Review: SWISS First Lounge Zurich Airport Terminal E (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS First Lounge Zurich Airport Terminal A (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Senator Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Review: Corendon Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Marriott Tribute Portfolio
- Review: Corendon Amsterdam New-West, Marriott Tribute Portfolio
- Review: KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS)
- Review: KLM Business Class Boeing 777 (AMS-JNB)
- Flying Federal Airlines To Buffalo Range, Zimbabwe
- Review: Singita Pamushana Lodge, Zimbabwe
- Review: Emirates Lounge Johannesburg Airport (JNB)
- Emirates Premium Connections Service Dubai: My Experience
- Review: “New” Emirates First Class Airbus A380 (DXB-IAH)
For the return portion of our trip to Zimbabwe, we flew Emirates’ A380 first class from Johannesburg to Dubai to Houston. Emirates has a pretty consistent first class product, so I’ll only be reviewing the second segment, which was operated by an A380 with new interiors.
In this post, I wanted to focus on Emirates’ Premium Connections Service in Dubai, available to first class passengers. Long story short, if you’re flying Emirates first class and are connecting in Dubai, a representative of the airline will meet you and help you with your transit.
Even though I’ve flown Emirates first class dozens of times, I had never experienced this before, believe it or not. That’s because I almost always plan a stopover in Dubai when flying with Emirates, and that doesn’t qualify for this service. So for those who are curious, let me share how this works.
In this post:
Basics of Emirates’ first class escort service
With Emirates’ Premium Connections Service, you’re supposed to be met at the plane by an Emirates representative in Dubai when arriving in first class:
- This is only offered in Dubai, and not at outstations
- This is only offered if you’re connecting on Emirates on a single ticket, and not if you’re terminating your travels in Dubai or have an extended stopover (in these situations you can often take advantage of Emirates’ chauffeur service, or even Emirates’ stopover hotel program)
- It doesn’t matter how you booked your first class ticket, and whether you paid cash, redeemed miles, or upgraded; the only exception would be staff tickets
- If you’re connecting within 60 minutes, you’ll generally be brought directly to your connecting flight, while if your layover is longer than that, you’ll be escorted to the lounge that’s closest to your scheduled departure gate
- Note that there’s no escort from the lounge to the departure gate, so this service is only from your arrival gate to the lounge (though in the Emirates First Lounge Dubai Concourse A, you actually board directly from the lounge)
- The Emirates escort will accompany you to the lounge or your departure gate (with a short connection), and can help you cut the transit security line
- The mode of transport with this service will vary based on a variety of factors; you may just be walked, you may be driven in a golf cart, or you may be driven in a bus, depending on the type of connection
Our experience with Emirates’ Premium Connections Service
We had a roughly four hour connection in Dubai — our arriving flight parked at Concourse B, while our connecting flight departed from Concourse A. Upon exiting the jet bridge, there was a lovely Emirates representative who had a tablet with our names on them.
In our case, there was no golf cart or bus, but rather we were walked all the way from Concourse B to Concourse A. I suspect that’s the standard in this situation, given that there’s not really a practical way to take a golf cart between these areas — not only do you have to take a train between the terminals, but you also have to take multiple elevators or escalators.
Was there value to this service?
- For someone not familiar with Dubai Airport, getting around can be kind of complicated, so I’m sure others would appreciate not having to focus on navigating the terminal
- While I at first found the service kind of pointless, I really appreciated it when the Emirates representative cut the security line for us; people in the transit area can often be pretty pushy, and she was very firm with the way in which she made room for us in the line
- She then walked us all the way to the entrance of the Emirates First Lounge in Concourse A, and bid farewell to us
I can’t believe it took me so long to finally experience this. Is this the best first class ground experience in the world? No, it’s not as seamless as what you’d expect on Air France or (in some cases) Lufthansa, but it’s still better than what a lot of other airlines offer.
I will say, I do find it interesting how this is only offered for connecting itineraries, and only for getting to the lounge:
- You’d think there would be value in getting people quickly to the immigration checkpoint via golf carts, gate assignment permitting
- For those not departing from Concourse A (where boarding is from the lounge) arguably it would be most useful to have someone escort you from the lounge to the gate, to avoid that whole mess
However, I suspect these limitations are in place because of the size of Emirates’ first class footprint. Emirates has the largest international first class footprint in the world, and there can be well over 1,000 Emirates first class passengers in the air at any point. I can appreciate the challenging logistics of scaling that.
Bottom line
Emirates’ Premium Connections Service Dubai makes the transit experience a bit more seamless for first class passengers. Emirates first class passengers connecting in Dubai will be met upon deplaning, and escorted to the lounge closest to their departure gate. While this isn’t the most comprehensive ground service you’ll find in the world, it’s a nice feature that I’m happy to have experienced for the first time.
If you’ve been offered Emirates Premium Connections Service in Dubai, what was your experience like?
I got the escort, with buggy, on separate tickets with an overnight layover (shortish like 8 hours) through transit security to the transit hotel. Was in my case really helpful as at security I realized I left my phone on the plane (I'm certain all the Dom P2 I consumed had nothing to do with this) and the escort went back and brought it to me.
Have been very impressed by the connection servicecwhich comes into its own when the security area is busy.
If parked away from a gate the first class transfer bus has old first class seats!
Have to say the shower on the 380 is preferable to the showers in the A lounge which have a seperate toilet.
Traveled lon dxb akl return in first wasn't informed about the meet escort dxb the terminal are so big 2 lift's a train and security check a bit of a nightmare even traveling first class
Ben, it is gem niche articles like this that make me love your site so much and come back to it every day!
I have an EK F-to-F connection in DXB in a few months and I had no idea this service existed. I haven’t been through DXB in years so I will be glad to have this!
Your assumption is correct. For expedited immigration etc, there is Mahraba services. There are other VIP services available too, including utilizing the private terminal at DXB. These are at cost, though they are really inexpensive compared to other airports. It would actually be great if you reviewed them.
I have experienced this service from Stockholm to Melbourne. As someone who does not travel on a frequent basis, going through Dubai with this service was a god send. Kudos to Emirates. They know service
Ben, I think it really depends on the exact transit scenario. I was recently driven by bus (with a First Class logo on it and only 14 huge arm chairs in it) from A to C and it was gold in terms of comfort and time savings.
Is that what the new finishes in old F look like? I like it! Very tasteful and classy compared to the old which felt tacky and Trump-esque
I am an EK Plat who often flies on airpass or separate tickets... you still get the service even if on separate tickets as long as your through check-in (which is easily done by informing them at departure station and showing then your connecting ticket).
FWIW, during COVID they did offer this service for all arriving F pax, including those terminating their journey in Dubai.
I assume as travel started to rebound a decision had to be made in order to most efficiently offer this service, and connecting pax was where it could be offered the best.
Just to clarify there was no specific cost to this, it was included with your flights?
@ Jim Baround -- Yep, that's correct!
Yes it is included automatically for any arriving F pax that is connecting to another EK flight on same booking. Connecting flight could be in J (ie 2 class aircraft) however you do need to be arriving in F for this service.
If you are arriving in J on a 2 class aircraft connecting to F, you will not be offered this service.