Emirates Airbus A380 Business Class Dubai to Sydney

Wednesday newsletters always feature a luxury hotel and/or flight review.

Today (November 12, 2014): Trip report – Emirates A380 Business Class Dubai to Sydney.

On October 24th 2014, I flew Business Class in an Emirates Airbus A380 from Dubai (DXB) to Sydney (SYD). The success of Emirates’ Business Class product is very much based on the comfort and space of its Airbus A380 fleet, and that’s why the mega plane is quickly being rolled out on all the major international routes. Comfortable seats, mammoth amenity kits, a huge entertainment selection, excellent food, a wonderful crew and a well-appointed bar on the upper deck make any flight in Emirates’ A380 Business Class a great and memorable experience.

Flying onboard Emirates’ Airbus A380 is totally different (and superior) as compared to the airline’s Boeing 777, since Emirates has installed a different Business Class product on both aircraft types (read here my review of my Emirates Boeing 777-300ER Business Class trip between Dubai and Brussels). If you can’t get enough of Emirates A380 trip reports, you can read here my trip report of a flight from Dubai to Amsterdam onboard an Emirates A380 in First Class.

Emirates features in my top 10 lists of the best airlines for longhaul Business Class, the best airlines for longhaul First Class, the most luxurious A380 First Class products, the world’s best airlines for in-flight meals, the best First Class lounges, the best Business Class amenity kits, and the best First Class amenity kits.

Have you ever flown Emirates’ Business Class? What was your experience? Leave a comment below.

• Trip:  DXB-SYD
• Airline: Emirates
• Aircraft type: Airbus A380
• Aircraft ID: A6-EEK
• Flight Number: EK414
• On time departure: yes (02.11 am)
• On time arrival: yes (10.22 pm)
• Miles: 7481
• Flight time: 13:11
• Seat: 23K
• Class: business (D)

In this review (more information & photos below my Youtube clip & slideshow):

1. Emirates Business Class Lounge at Dubai Airport
2. Business Class cabin
3. Business Class seat (+ best & worst seats)
4. Amenities
5. Meals
6. Entertainment
7. Other inflight experiences (crew, lavatory, WiFi, bar, chauffeur service)
8. Comparison with other Middle Eastern carriers (Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways)
9. My verdict (score)

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1. EMIRATES BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE AT DUBAI AIRPORT

Although conservative and functional in design, the airline’s lounge at Dubai International Airport is vast and impressive, overlooking the main concourse and its shops. It’s so huge that you will never have a problem finding a quiet spot to relax. Tasty international cuisine is available from various (warm & cold) buffet stations, as is Moët & Chandon Champagne. The shower rooms are a real treat if you want to refresh while waiting for a connecting flight. Treatments can also be booked at the lounge’s Timeless Spa. And an office space caters to those working as they travel. Evidently, free high-speed WiFi is available. The lounge gives direct access to most gates.

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2. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN

All of Emirates’ Business Class seats are located in 2 cabins on the upper deck of the Airbus A380, behind the First Class cabin. The first cabin contains the bulk of the seats (58 in total), while the cabin located at the rear of the plane (just in front the bar and the restrooms) contains only 18 seats and feels more intimate. With a staggered 1–2–1 configuration in Business Class, each passenger is assured of direct aisle access and a significant amount of privacy.

The cabin offers a warm feeling, with a lot of classy burled walnut veneer, gold trim and pearlised plastic that frames the seats (and which may not suit all tastes). The mood lighting during the flight was very enjoyable: the colors of the ceiling changed with the local time, and the starry sky panels added a touch of magic during the night.

For a seating plan of the Emirates A380, click here.

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3. BUSINESS CLASS SEAT (+ BEST & WORST SEATS)

Each seat comes with plenty of storage space, an in-seat power supply (so you can use your laptop for the duration of the long-haul flight), a side table for space to work, and a personal minibar, stocked with soft drinks (albeit not cooled). The seat can be reclined into a fully and very comfortable – albeit narrow – flatbed. A duvet is provided by the crew to enhance the sleeping comfort (so I arrived at Sydney feeling quite refreshed).

How to choose the best Emirates A380 Business Class seat?

• The window seats (A, K) are more private than the aisle seats (B, D, G, J) as they are sheltered from the aisle by the seat’s mini-bar cabinet and the enclosed footrest of the person behind. The window seats also benefit from the storage cabinets under the windows.
• The dual and more intimate seats in the centre of the cabin (E, F) are perfect for partners traveling together.
• Keep in mind that aisle seats (B, D, G, J) are slightly shorter when fully flat, extending to 70 inches (178 cm) as compared to 79 inches (200 cm) for window and central seats (A, E, F, K). Seat pitch varies from 48 to 39 inches (122 to 99 cm), with the central and window seats again offering more space as compared to aisle seats. Seat width is 18.5 inches throughout the cabin.

What are the best Business Class seats on Emirates’ A380?

• Seats 23A & 23K are the best Business Class seats on the A380 since they offer more legroom and privacy as compared to other window seats.

What are the worst Business Class seats on Emirates’ A380?

• IMHO, seats 7A & 7K are the worst seats: despite the fact that they have extra legroom (similar to seats 23A & 23K), they are totally exposed to the aisle and do not offer privacy at all (they lack a shelter).

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4. AMENITIES

All Business Class passengers received a thin but comfortable blanket, a decently sized pillow, a lovely duvet, a noise cancelling headphone, flight socks and earplugs.

Emirates wants to make a difference in the highly competitive world of airlines, and after take-off, one of the most luxurious amenity kits in the skies was offered to all Business Class passengers. The amenity kit was presented as a large and lovely toiletry bag, and it contained the usual necessities – albeit in luxe edition – such as toothbrush and toothpaste through to handkerchiefs and deodorant. The amenity kit for men also offered Gilette shaving foam and a razor, as well as moisturizers and aftershaves by Bvlgari. The women’s one was different, catering with more feminine product ranges.

Unfortunately, pyjamas were not offered on this longhaul overnight flight, despite the phenomenal Business Class product and contrary to its Middle East competitor Qatar Airways.

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5. FOOD & BEVERAGES

Upon boarding, I was offered the choice between a glass of water, orange juice or Veuve Cliquot. Before take-off, I also received a refreshing hot towel with a nice texture (hot towels were also served before lunch, 2 hours prior to landing).

Forty-five minutes after take off, a hearty breakfast was served. At first, it seemed odd, given the local hour (2 am), but it was delicious nevertheless: a fresh mango juice, a palette of tropical and seasonal cut fresh fruits, fruit flavoured yoghurt, and a bread basket (butter croissant and a pastry). As a main course, I choose the breakfast mixed grill which tasted excellent: grilled chicken medallion with herb butter, grilled beef steak, sauteed mushrooms, roasted cherry tomato on the vine, and potato slices with onion.

About two hours before landing, ‘lunch’ was served (at 7 pm local time, above Uluru).  As as starter, I choose the traditional Arabic mezze, which was delicious: hommous, muhamarra, tabouleh, aubergine makdous, moutabal and shanklish salad, complemented by local garnishes and a seasonal salad. The main course did not disappoint either: grilled beef steak, served with truffle jus lie, and accompanied by sauteed leaf spinach, grilled red cherry tomato on the vine, and roasted garlic potatoes. As a dessert, I choose the fruit selection.

For the hungry ones, light bites were contiguously available during the flight, from cold snacks (deli platter) to hot snacks (e.g. creamy vegetable pie, prawn cake skewers, nasi goreng) and sweets (lemon meringue tart).

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6. ENTERTAINMENT

One of the strongest elements of the Emirates A380 is the inflight entertainment system, the so-called ICE (information, communications, entertainment). ICE has an extensive range of new-release and classic films, television shows, box sets and audio options to choose from. You can choose from up to 1,800 channels of the latest and greatest movies and must-see TV shows, on demand and in multiple languages. You can also relax to music from around the world or play our range of fun games. The cameras installed in the tail, nose and belly of the megaplane also offer some fun moments, especially during take-off and landing.

The inflight entertainment is displayed on an individual giant 17-inch (43 cm) touch-screen that is supported by two hand-held controllers: one tablet-like device dedicated to the business class seat, including the seat controls ; and another smaller, standard inflight entertainment system controller. The touch-screen combined with the 2 controllers means that there is plenty of options to control your inflight entertainment depending on how the seat is reclined.

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7. OTHER INFLIGHT & GROUND EXPERIENCES

#CREW: the crew did a great job and was very friendly (addressing me by name, presenting themselves individually before take-off, and also thanking me in person for choosing Emirates before landing). All requests were dealt with promptly and cordially. Upon boarding the preceding flight segment on a Boeing 777, steward(esse)s explained the features of the cabin and seat to passengers individually, but this was not the case on the A380.

# BAR: At the rear of the upper cabin, you can find the A380 Onboard Lounge – a bar exclusive to First Class and Business Class customers and a hub of social activity throughout the flight. One could choose from premium spirits, exclusive wines, champagne, cocktails and beers alongside hot and cold beverages served by a dedicated bartender. It’s a good platform to stretch your legs while interacting with other passengers and the international crew.

#LAVATORY: the 4 lavatories for Business Class passengers are located at the rear of the plane. Two of them come with a window. All lavatories were kept very clean during the flight.

#INTERNET: Emirates offered 10MB of free WiFi to each passenger during the flight. An additional 600MB could be purchased for $1 USD. If you exceeded that limit, you could purchase yet another 600MB for $1 USD. The speed of the Wifi connection was ok.

#CHAUFFEUR SERVICE: one of the great things about flying Business (or First) class with Emirates is the complimentary chauffeur-driven airport transfers. Chauffeur-drive must be requested online, up to 48 hours prior to your flight. It is so nice to arrive at a foreign airport and to be whisked away to your hotel in a minimum of time.

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8. COMPARISON WITH OTHER MIDDLE EASTERN CARRIERS

The 3 major Middle Eastern carriers (Etihad airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways) are known for their excellent Business Class. There are some differences however that distinguish one from another (click here for more info):

• Chauffeur service: both Etihad and Emirates offer complimentary chauffeur-driven airport transfers, while this is not the case with Qatar Airways. A huge plus for Emirates and Etihad!

• Pyjamas: Qatar Airways offers pyjamas on overnight medium- and long-haul flights, while Etihad and Emirates only offer them in First Class.

• Duvets: Qatar Airways and Emirates offer duvets on medium-haul flights (to increase sleeping comfort), while Etihad only offers them on longhaul flights.

• Fleet-wide consistency: Etihad offers a consistent Business Class product across it wide-body fleet (with the exception of its superior Dreamliner B787 & Airbus A380 products, which were recently introduced), while Emirates and Qatar offer a more variable Business Class product across their wide-body fleets.

• Cabin interior & design: Etihad’s Airbus A380s & Dreamliner B787s feature an extremely elegant decor in their Business Class cabins (it doesn’t get any better at 30.000 feet), while Qatar’s A380, B787 and A350 cabins are very sexy with a red/white theme. Emirates features rather bombastic interiors, with lots of walnut veneer, gold trim and pearlised plastic, which is not to my liking.

• Cabin layout & seats: the best wide-body Business Class layout & seats are (in order from excellent to mediocre): (1) Etihad B787/A380; (2) Qatar B787/A350/A380; (3) Emirates A380; (4) Etihad A330/B777; (5) Qatar B777; (6) Emirates B777; (7) Qatar A330. So bottom line is to take the aircraft type into account when booking a flight on one of the 3 Middle Eastern carriers.

• Flat beds: Etihad Airways is the only carrier to offer flat beds (with 180 degree recline) across its wide body fleet. Contrary to their A380s, Emirates’ B777s have angled lie flat-beds (although they are still comfortable). Qatar Airways is currently replacing the (very uncomfortable) angled lie flat-beds on its Airbus A330 fleet by true lie-flat seats (after which the whole Qatar fleet will offer flat beds).

• Food: meals are delicious on all 3 carriers, but my best gastronomic experiences (so far) were always on Qatar Airways, followed by Etihad, and then Emirates.

• Number of meal services: on longhaul flights, all 3 carriers offer 2 meal services (one after takeoff, and one 90 minutes before landing). On medium-haul flights though, Etihad and Emirates only offer one meal; Qatar Airways used to offer a second light meal before landing but now seems to have skipped that as well. So there’s no difference here.

• Inflight entertainment: Emirates is the winner when it comes to the inflight entertainment product, with large screens and an extensive range of films, television shows, and audio options (but Etihad and Qatar offer plenty of choices as well).

• WiFi: onboard WiFi is offered by all 3 Middle Eastern carriers, but with a different price tag: Emirates offers the cheapest WiFi, while Qatar’s WiFi is just way too expensive, with Etihad somewhere in between.

• Amenity kit: Emirates has by the far the best amenity kit of the 3 airlines, with Etihad offering the least impressive Business Class amenity kit. Unfortunately, Emirates only offers them on longhaul flights, while Etihad and Qatar Airways offer amenity kits on both medium- and longhaul flights.

• Onboard bar: an onboard bar, exclusively accessible for passengers flying the premium cabins, is only present on the Airbus A380 aircrafts, which are now operated by all 3 carriers. But your chances of flying an Airbus A380, and thus socializing with other passengers in a fantastic onboard bar, are highest with Emirates, which has no less than 60 of these megaplanes in its fleet (Qatar Airways and Etihad own only 4 and 2 Airbus A380s respectively).

Read here my review of Etihad Airways’ Business Class in an Airbus A330.

Read here my review of Emirates’ Business Class in a Boeing 777-300ER.

Read here my review of Qatar Airways’ Business Class in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Read here our review of Qatar Airways’ Business Class in a Boeing 777-300ER.

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9. MY VERDICT

• Lounge: 8/10
• Seat : 8/10
• Food:  8/10
• Inflight entertainment : 10/10
• Amenity kit: 10/10
• Service: 9/10
• Cabin atmosphere (upper deck): 10/10
• Overall experience: exceptional: 8,5/10

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