By KO
I’ll start with a confession : I was an Emirates virgin. Not sure why I had never flown with the carrier before; but having heard both good and bad things about the airline, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. However, the opportunity to try out the new A380 service from Dubai to London Heathrow was too good to pass up. I was returning from a visit to my parents in Kuala Lumpur and decided to return via Dubai.

My first impressions of Emirates were not good. I travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai in Business class (First not being available on this sector). Seats on this 6 hour sector were not lie-flat, crew were disinterested (barely making an effort to greet passengers as they boarded the aircraft) and I was ready to dislike this airline. Things changed from the minute I entered the Emirates First lounge in Dubai’s new terminal 3.

First Class Lounge


The lounge is very large; at 6 am in the morning it was very quiet. I had a quick manicure at the Timeless Spa (no queue at this hour of the morning) before sitting down in the dining area to have some breakfast. You can choose from a buffet or á la carte dining options and I opted for some Belgian waffles, which were very quickly brought to my table. Service is very attentive, the waiter asking me if I wanted a newspaper to read while I was having my breakfast. Not a bad way to spend a two- hour layover in Dubai.

Boarding the A380
The boarding gates for the A380 are almost directly opposite the entrance to the First Class lounge. Boarding was completely hassle-free, the boarding gate being almost completely deserted. After presenting your boarding pass, you take a lift down to ‘Boarding level 2’ which connects to the upper deck of the A380. (In contrast, deplaning at London Heathrow was completely chaotic – ramp staff struggling to connect aerobridges to the plane. Are they still not used to the A380 at Heathrow?)

The First Suite


The Emirates First Suite is a very nice product (although not unique to the A380). The suite has a nice grey leather seat which converts into a full flat bed, electronically controlled sliding doors, a ‘do not disturb’ button, a ‘pop-up’ mini-bar, a mini wardrobe and drawers for writing materials and toiletries. I found the seat very comfortable and, once converted into a bed (with mattress and duvet), I found it very easy to fall asleep in the suite. My one minor gripe : there isn’t a great deal of storage space in the suite for cabin baggage - sticking my standard sized trolley bag at the end of the seat almost obstructed it from converting into the full flat position.

Inflight entertainment


I know it’s becoming a little bit of a cliché to talk about how quiet the plane is.  There is so little ‘roar’ from the engines on take off that you wonder how this giant hulk of an aircraft is going to build up enough speed to get off the ground. Not sure if it was the quietness of the aircraft or the noise reduction headsets, but I was particularly impressed by the sound quality of the ICE entertainment system on this flight.  The large TV screens (23 inches?) in the First Suites help too.

Onboard service
There were 4 flight attendants serving the 14 passengers in First Class (a full flight!) overseen by a friendly Australian purser. Service was on a par with that I’ve enjoyed on Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, although the service style is a little bit more relaxed. I was shown personally to my seat at the beginning of the flight and addressed by name throughout the flight. The cabin crew also had time for a little conversation and were quite enthusiastic about showing me the features of the aircraft.

Dining is on-demand and I selected the caviar and a very nice lobster / prawn curry from the extensive menu. There’s also a decent selection of wines onboard though I pretty much stuck to Dom Perignon throughout the flight. Another nice touch : in-flight amenities (slippers, face towel, Bulgari toiletries, pyjamas) are presented to you in a nice, environmentally friendly canvas bag so you can take it all home with you.

The Shower


OK, so I had to try the shower! Was woken up 90 minutes before landing for my allocated time slot in the shower spa. These shower rooms are huge!  Each passenger in First class is allocated about 20 minutes in the shower spa with about 5 minutes worth of water available for the shower. I didn’t notice many other passengers using the shower facilities on this flight so I guess that I could probably have had a longer time in the shower if I’d so desired. A dedicated shower room attendant prepares the shower beforehand, laying out towels etc. There is a good jet of water from the onboard shower and a light indicator inside the shower lets you know how much water there is left for your shower. I emerged from the shower thinking what a fantastic way this was to end a long-haul flight, without the usual grogginess that I feel as I stagger off a plane. Time for a quick espresso in the onboard lounge !

Overall Impression


I’m in love with the Emirates A380!! Now if only we could reroute all our future trips through Dubai…