My dad and I connected from Tampa same day, so we didn’t use Emirates’ chauffeur service, which is complimentary for first and business class passengers. Upon arrival we headed over to Tom Bradley International Terminal, where our Emirates flight was departing from. Emirates check-in is in Hall B, and opens at 11:30AM, so we were there right as it opened.
Emirates check-in signage LAX
Emirates uses the Korean Air Lounge at LAX, which I’ve reviewed in the past. It’s a really mediocre lounge — definitely the least nice of the major three alliance lounges. The food spread is really lacking for an international first class lounge, and they don’t even have champagne.
Fortunately Emirates plans to open their own lounge at LAX, and I’m told it should open later this month. While I’m not generally blown away by Emirates’ outstation lounges, I’m sure it will be a big improvement over the current setup.
Boarding was scheduled for an hour before our 3:35PM departure. My dad could barely contain his excitement, so we headed to the gate at around 2:30PM. For that matter I was pretty excited as well, as it would be my first ultra longhaul flight on Emirates — I’ve flown them in first class from London to Dubai, Singapore to Dubai, and Dubai to London, but this would be my longest flight on them… by a lot.
Emirates A380 LAX
Within a few minutes boarding began, and the process was very civilized, unlike on my recent Asiana A380 flight out of LAX.
Emirates 216
Los Angeles (LAX) – Dubai (DXB)
Thursday, November 13
Depart: 3:35PM
Arrive: 7:35PM (+1 day)
Duration: 16hr
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 2E (First Class)
At the door we were greeted by SFS (Senior Flight Steward) John and Purser Hatam, who handed us over to the first class crew. Since we boarded through the forward upper deck door, we turned left into the first class cabin.
Emirates’ A380 first class consists of a total of 14 seats. There are four single seats along the windows, and then three pairs of seats in the center of the cabin.
Emirates first class cabin A380
That’s actually a pretty compact layout. Lufthansa and Qatar Airways put just eight seats in the same space on the upper deck, while Thai Airways puts 12. So Emirates does have the most compact A380 first class layout.
The cabin is of course totally blinged out. It’s obnoxious. It’s gaudy. It’s freaking awesome.
Emirates first class cabin A380
Emirates first class cabin A380
I had selected seats 2E & 2F, which are the pair of seats in the middle of the cabin.
Emirates first class A380, seats 2E & 2F
The partition was initially up when we boarded, though we of course lowered it since we were traveling together.
Emirates first class A380, seat 2E
The Emirates cabin is just indescribably kitschy yet awesome, between the lit mirror, minibar, and snack basket.
Emirates first class A380, seat 2E
Like, seriously, why on earth would Emirates install a minibar with room temperature drinks when first class passengers can order what they want when they want, presumably served at the right temperature? The answer is simple — because they can.
Emirates first class minibar
The same goes for the hilarious snack basket. It’s placed at your seat upon boarding, removed before takeoff, brought back after takeoff, and removed again before landing.
Emirates first class snack basket
In a drawer at the bottom left of the seat is a writing kit, which I may or may not consistently take with me. 😉
Emirates first class writing kit
Opposite that is the adapter.
Emirates A380 first class power port
Then on the left side of the seat are the basic seat controls, whereby you can put your seat into the upright or fully reclined position, as well as open and close the doors to your suite.
Emirates A380 first class seat controls
Then on the right side is the entertainment and seat controller. You can actually push a button so that the entire iPad-sized screen pops out, making it easier to use.
From it you can control all functions of the seat, as well as view the airshow, select your entertainment, etc.
Emirates A380 first class control screen
Emirates A380 first class seat/entertainment control screen
Emirates A380 first class seat/entertainment control screen
In addition to the purser supervising the cabin, there were three cabin crew working first class — German (who was Argentinian), Tina (who was Canadian), and Cheryl (who was Indian). I could tell immediately they were awesome.
So full disclosure, I’ve decided the excellent service we received on this trip may have something to do with my dad’s adorableness. He had literally found out a couple of hours before boarding that we were flying Emirates, and he was over-the-moon excited. So upon boarding they asked where we were headed and for how long, and my dad quickly spilled the fact that he just learned where we’re going, and has no clue where we’re going next. Meanwhile I let them know it was my dad’s “round” birthday, and they just took amazing care of him.
Since we were deprived of champagne in the Korean Air Lounge, we quickly ordered some. While Emirates serves Dom 2004 after takeoff, they serve Moet & Chandon on the ground (the same champagne they usually serve in business class). Works for me!
Emirates first class Moet & Chandon pre-departure champagne
For my dad and I, it was our first of many “cheers.”
Emirates A380 first class seat
Boarding an Emirates longhaul flight is kind of like Christmas in terms of the gift giving involved. After we had our champagne we were offered a bunch of amenities, including slippers, eye shades, an amenity kit, pajamas, and a tote bag. I love how they give you a tote bag, knowing that you’ll walk off the plane with so much crap that it’s kind of needed. 😉
Emirates first class amenities
Emirates first class amenities
The slippers were extremely comfortable, as were the eye shades.
Emirates first class slippers and eye shades
Emirates’ pajamas are simple but comfortable. It’s worth noting they run on the large size, so if you usually get an “L,” an “M” should be more than enough.
Emirates first class pajamas
Then there’s the gorgeous leather amenity kit, which contains BVLGARI amenities.
Emirates first class BVLGARI amenity kit
Emirates first class BVLGARI amenity kit
There were also a pair of noise canceling headphones. They’re pretty basic, and this is an area where Emirates could really step up their game. Even American has Bose headphones in business class.
Emirates first class seat headphones
Emirates first class seat headphones
We were also given Fast Track cards for immigration in Dubai.
Emirates first class Fast Track immigration cards
Champagne refills were frequent, and about 15 minutes before our scheduled pushback we were offered Arabic coffee & dates. That was followed by hot towels.
Emirates first class Arabic coffee & dates
Emirates’ standard boarding music played throughout the boarding process, which I love.
At around 3:30PM we pushed back for our 15hr20min flight to Dubai. The cabin was completely full, and it’s interesting to note that we were the only non-Middle Eastern passengers in first class (which I mention because I find on Emirates a majority of the passengers are typically Western). Apparently a Saudi Arabian princess was seated across from us (I can’t imagine why she chose Emirates with a connection over Saudia nonstop). 😉
The safety video played during the taxi to runway 24L, which took about 10 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1-gB1TaoUY
We made it to the runway at 3:50PM, at which point we were immediately cleared for takeoff.
Emirates A380 airshow taxiing to runway
Emirates A380 airshow taking off
The takeoff roll felt really quick. I’m not sure if it was the quantity of champagne I drank on the ground or what, but the takeoff roll was what I’d expect for a Dubai to Kuwait City flight, and not a Los Angeles to Dubai flight.
Emirates A380 airshow taking off
Emirates A380 airshow taking off
As we climbed out the purser made the typical “welcome aboard” announcement, including the usual “our international cabin crew come from 17 countries and speak 13 languages.”
Emirates A380 airshow climbing out
Emirates airshow
Emirates airshow
Emirates airshow
About 15 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off. My dad was having problems with his entertainment system, which the purser was incredibly focused on fixing. We kept thanking him for trying, and he always responded with “it’s my duty, it’s my work, don’t thank me.”
I also quickly logged onto Emirates’ Wi-Fi network. You’ve gotta love that Emirates now offers 10MB of Wi-Fi for $1, and then you can purchase additional increments of 500MB for just $1. So it’s basically free. It’s not the fastest Wi-Fi in the world, but it does the trick for email, social media, etc.
Emirates OnAir Wi-Fi
As we climbed out one of the two shower attendants came by our seat to give us shower spa brochures and also ask if we wanted to make appointments. Typically you only have to make an appointment if you plan on showering in the last few hours of the flight, since that’s when everyone seems to want to shower. I told her we both wanted to shower, but it didn’t have to be in the last few hours. She told us just to let them know when we were ready.
Emirates A380 first class shower spa pamphlet
Emirates has a massive a la carte menu whereby you can order what you want when you want. And unlike on Etihad, I find that they don’t usually run out of options.
Emirates first class menu
There’s a single menu you can order from for the entire flight, which read as follows:
Then the cocktail/liquor list read as follows:
And the wine list read as follows:
The menu on Emirates is overwhelming to say the least, so I have a very simple strategy for tackling it. I start with some nuts and champagne, and then I love both their caviar and Arabic mezze. I’m usually almost full at that point, so I just have soup if it sounds appealing, and skip the main course. Then I usually have dessert at some point later in the flight. And that’s exactly the strategy I used on this flight, and also what I recommended to my dad.
I started with a glass of Dom and some nuts.
Emirates first class nuts & champagne
Then I asked that they serve us the meal about an hour into the flight, which they did, almost to the minute.
Emirates first class table setting
As usual, there was an extensive breadbasket.
Emirates first class bread basket
The first course consisted of caviar, which Emirates presents beautifully.
Emirates first class caviar service
Emirates first class caviar service
Then I had a selection of hot and cold Arabic mezze. While other airlines do a good mezze as well, Emirates’ is by far the largest.
Emirates first class Arabic mezze
Emirates first class Arabic mezze
Emirates first class Arabic mezze
Emirates first class Arabic mezze
Then I had a flavorful tomato and coriander soup.
Emirates first class tomato and coriander shorba soup
Service throughout the meal was top notch. Tina was doing a great job taking care of my aisle, while German was doing a great job taking care of my dad’s aisle (and my dad thought it was funny that his name was German, and made reference to the fact that he must have been in a tough position during the World Cup as an Argentinian).
At this point both my dad and I were full for the time being, so I decided to give him a tour of the plane.
Emirates airshow
I first showed him the bar at the front of first class, which is right next to the two shower suites. It’s a much smaller bar than in the back and isn’t really designed as a social area, but rather as a display area to showcase the great alcohol selection they have.
Emirates A380 first class bar
Emirates A380 first class bar
Emirates A380 first class bar
Emirates A380 first class bar
The selection is indeed excellent. In particular the Hennessy Paradis, which is the most expensive drink in the sky (sadly Emirates will soon be discontinuing it).
Emirates A380 first class bar
After that we walked through the two business class cabins to the bar.
Emirates A380 business class
Emirates A380 business class
Emirates’ A380 business class bar is pretty snazzy. It’s the first of its kind on a plane, and pretty damn awesome. I do think Qatar Airways slightly outdoes Emirates with their new A380 bar, but that’s the only part of Qatar’s new A380 that’s industry leading, in my opinion.
Emirates A380 business class bar
Emirates A380 business class bar
My dad just loved the bar concept, and we had a few glasses of Hennessy Paradis, which my dad enjoyed, to put it mildly. It’s kind of amusing how Emirates will serve first class passengers the first class drink selection at the business class bar. And the purser was absolutely on top of making sure the bartenders were only serving us the good stuff. 😉
It always gets a bit awkward when you’re being poured Dom at the business class bar, and another business class passenger asks for it.
Emirates A380 business class bar
Anyway, after a drink (or seven) it was time for a nap, so both my dad and I had our beds made. While Emirates has a great mattress pad in first class, the seat itself actually isn’t that spacious. As I said above, Emirates’ A380 first class is in a pretty tight configuration given that there are 14 seats in such a small area. And you certainly feel it when laying down, though it’s still a great product.
Emirates first class bed A380
I napped for about three hours while my dad napped an hour longer. When he woke up I asked him how he was feeling. “Benny, I feel on top ov zha vhorld.” Little did he know, he actually was. 😉
Emirates airshow
At this point I figured I’d have a snack, so I ordered the salmon and broccoli quiche. It was simple but tasty.
Emirates first class snack: smoked salmon and broccoli quiche
Emirates first class snack: smoked salmon and broccoli quiche
I also had a delicious lemon tart and cappuccino for dessert.
Emirates first class dessert: treacle and lemon tart
At this point I went for my shower. Emirates has two shower suites on the A380. As is the norm, one of the shower attendants “briefed” me on the shower, and then I was let free.
Emirates first class shower spa
The most amusing part of the shower suites has to be the sign at the top indicating that the maximum occupancy in the shower is two people. Hmmm…
Emirates first class shower spa maximum occupancy
Anyway, Emirates’ A380 shower suites are just so over-the-top-ridiculous. Like, seriously, look at them. You have the Dubai skyline painted on the wall, the floors of the suite are heated, and you’re given enough toiletries to stock a Bed Bath & Beyond.
Emirates shower spa A380
Emirates shower spa A380
Emirates shower spa A380
Actually, not only are the floors heated, but you can control how heated you want them.
Emirates shower spa A380
When people aren’t using the shower you can use the suites as restrooms, and I really do feel bad for the shower attendants, as half of their job seems to be making sure that the towel display is always in a perfect pyramid shape.
Emirates shower spa A380
Like, seriously, look at the toiletries. They’re from Timeless Spa, and you have your choice between the “Revive” and “Relax” collection. Where’s the “I’m-so-freaking-excited-I’m-trying-not-to-cream-myself” collection?!
Emirates shower spa A380
Emirates shower spa A380
As a first class passenger you get five minutes of water, though you can turn the shower on and off to extend your overall shower time.
Emirates shower spa A380
So I typically wet myself, then turn off the shower while I soap/shampoo up, then rinse myself off, and then just stand under hot water for three minutes giggling. Because I’m on an airplane. At 35,000 feet. Flying at 600 miles per hour. Showering.
Emirates shower spa A380
The shower is actually quite spacious and water pressure very good, and I appreciate that the shower head is a handheld device, as opposed to being wall mounted. There’s a bench in the shower, which you’re advised to sit on in the event of turbulence.
Emirates shower spa A380
It even has an oxygen mask.
Emirates shower spa A380
What’s interesting is that towards the end of the flight they transform the first class bar into a soothing spa-like water display with fake candles, streaming water, and a floral arrangement. Why? Because Emirates.
Emirates first class bar transformation
And as is the norm as well, after the shower they put a fruit plate at your seat with a sweet mango dipping sauce.
Emirates first class fruit plate
At this point we still had about six hours remaining. My dad slept a bit more while I headed back to the bar. I started talking to John, the SFS, who was awesome. I also started talking to a new hire Thai flight attendant from Texas. The crews at Emirates sure are a diverse bunch, and generally really fun to talk to.
Eventually my dad came back to the bar for another round of drinks. SFS John was awesome and asked one of his female colleagues for their hats, so that my dad could pose in one. That was quite possibly the highlight of the flight for me.
Dad at Emirates A380 bar
One of the things I love so much about Emirates is that there’s so much to do, you really never get bored. There’s a bar, shower, Wi-Fi, bed, on demand dining menu, and the most extensive movie & TV selection in the sky. Time flies (no pun intended). While I love Cathay Pacific and think they have one of the best first class products, they don’t have Wi-Fi, a shower, bar, etc. So Emirates really can’t be beat if you’re like me and have serious airplane ADD.
About 90 minutes before landing breakfast service began. It’s a bit odd to be served breakfast in the evening Dubai time, but then again there’s not really a “right” meal to serve at that time, given that it’s morning at the point of origin.
I ordered a fruit plate and some fruit yogurt to start, which was served with a bread basket.
Emirates first class breakfast fruit plate
Emirates first class breakfast yogurt
Emirates first class breakfast bread basket
My dad had a deli plate for breakfast.
Emirates first class breakfast cold cuts
Meanwhile I had the french toast, which was surprisingly good for airplane french toast.
Emirates first class breakfast french toast
As you’ll notice, this cappuccino was served using the signature Emirates stencil — such a cool touch!
Emirates first class cappuccino
All too soon our 15hr+ flight was winding down. About 30 minutes before landing the captain came on the PA to give us updated arrival information.
Shortly before landing the purser came by my dad’s seat to apologize again for the IFE issues, and offered him a bottle of Dom Perignon to take along — very nice gesture!
At that point I changed out of my pajamas and stowed all the stuff I had taken out during the flight.
Our descent was incredibly smooth — actually, the entire flight was possibly the smoothest I’ve ever had, as we didn’t hit a single bump the entire flight — and we touched down in Dubai at 7:05PM local time.
Emirates tail camera approach into Dubai
Emirates tail camera approach into Dubai
Emirates tail camera approach into Dubai
We had a quick five minute take to the gate, where we arrived at 7:10PM.
Immigration queues were virtually non-existent, and on the other side of immigration we followed the signage towards Emirates’ chauffeur drive, where we were driven to the Park Hyatt Dubai.
Emirates chauffeur drive Dubai
Emirates chauffeur drive Dubai
Emirates A380 first class bottom line
This flight was just perfect, and to say that my dad was blown away would be an understatement. After the flight we called my mom and he said to her: “If you have never flown Emirates first class you have never flown first class.”
For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s a single best first class product in the world. Every airline has strengths and weaknesses, it’s just that some airlines have more strengths (Middle East/Asian carriers) while others have more weaknesses.
I just love how easy it is to stay entertained on Emirates. Between the almost-free Wi-Fi, bar, showers, and endless entertainment (they literally have entire seasons of many TV shows), you just can’t be bored on an Emirates flight. This was my first ultra longhaul flight on Emirates, and I loved them even more than on shorter flights. Staying amused on any airline for six hours is easy enough, but on Emirates it’s easy to stay amused even for 16 hours.
The crew on this sector was spectacular as well, better than I’ve had on many past Emirates flights. The purser was proactive, the first class crew was attentive, and the business class crew at the bar were a hoot to talk to, and really made my dad smile.
Emirates first class is hands down one of the top first class products in the world.
If you’ve flown Emirates first class, what was your experience?
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