Tag: Emirates

Emirates resumes flights to Singapore from 17 Jun

Emirates expands list of destinations served to 29 cities as UAE starts accepting transit passengers again

Middle East carrier Emirates will commence flights to an additional 16 cities starting 15 Jun, as the country starts opening up its airport to transit passengers again, paving the way for connecting passengers between Asia and the rest of the world.

At the height of the coronavirus situation, the airline maintained a handful of destinations from UAE, although these links mainly serve foreigners who with to leave UAE and return to their home countries.

Full list of destinations served from mid June

Since this week, Emirates has begun slowly reintroducing flights to some destinations, including Pakistan, the Philippines, with the largest lot of 16 other cities from 15 Jun. The full list of destinations that Emirates will serve after 15 Jun, is as follow:

	Asia/Australasia	Middle East	Europe	Americas
Currently operating	Melbourne Sydney		Frankfurt London-Heathrow Madrid Milan Paris	Chicago Toronto
From 8 Jun		Lahore Karachi Islamabad
From 11 Jun	Manila
From 15 Jun	Hong Kong Jakarta Kuala Lumpur Seoul Singapore Taipei Perth Brisbane	Bahrain	Amsterdam Copenhagen Dublin Manchester Vienna Zurich	New York JFK

Emirates operating to Singapore three times a week in June; more in July

From Singapore, Emirates will be operating three times weekly to Dubai, with the first flight departing Dubai for Singapore on 17 Jun, and returning on 18 Jun.

Sector	Flight no.	Days of ops	Dep	Arr	Flight time	Aircraft
Singapore – Dubai	EK353	Thu, Sat, Sun	0050	0415	7h 25m	Boeing 777-300ER
Dubai – Singapore	EK352	Wed, Fri, Sat	1025	2200	7h 35m	Boeing 777-300ER

Emirates schedule between Singapore and Dubai, June 2020

In the month of July, this goes up to eight flights a week for the first half of the month, before bumping up to twice daily for the remainder of the month.

Sector	Flight no.	Days of ops	Dep	Arr	Flight time	Aircraft
Singapore – Dubai	EK353	See below	0050	0415	7h 25m	Boeing 777-300ER
	EK355	See below	2140	0050(+1)	7h 10m	Boeing 777-300ER
Dubai – Singapore	EK354	See below	0305	1500	7h 55m	Boeing 777-300ER
	EK352	See below	0920	2055	7h 35m	Boeing 777-300ER

Emirates schedule between Singapore and Dubai, July 2020

The dates which all the flights will be operating in July, as shown in the calendar below:

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
			1	2	3	4	5
SIN-DXB			EK355	EK355		EK353 EK355	EK353
DXB-SIN			EK354	EK354	EK352	EK354 EK352	EK352
	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
SIN-DXB	EK353		EK353 EK355	EK355		EK353 EK355	EK353
DXB-SIN	EK354	EK352	EK354	EK354	EK352	EK354 EK352	EK352
	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
SIN-DXB	EK353		EK353 EK355	EK353 EK355	EK353 EK355	EK353 EK355	EK353 EK355
DXB-SIN	EK354	EK352	EK354 EK352	EK354 EK352	EK354 EK352	EK354 EK352	EK354 EK352
	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
SIN-DXB	EK353 EK355
DXB-SIN	EK354 EK352
	27	28	29	30	31
SIN-DXB	EK353 EK355
DXB-SIN	EK354 EK352

Emirates will be operating its Boeing 777-300ER to Singapore for the time being – at least until the end of July. While the aircraft does not have the famous in-flight bar or the first class showers found on the A380s, Emirates will be operating the newest versions of its 777s, featuring the brand-new first class suites.

*Emirates Boeing 777-300ER new first class (photo: Emirates)*

The downside to this aircraft is the seat configuration in business class, laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration, which means that there’s always a chance in getting a middle seat. Having said that, I highly doubt all the seats will be taken up during this time, so if I’m travelling during this period of time, I’ll be less worried about social distancing.

Not all destinations can be connected from Singapore – at least for June

Given the limited days of week that Emirates is operating into Singapore in June, connections are only possible to the following:

Destination	From Singapore	To Singapore
Amsterdam	1x weekly	1x weekly (overnight connection)
Copenhagen	1x weekly	1x weekly (overnight connection)
Dublin	1x weekly	No connection
Frankfurt	3x weekly	3x weekly (overnight connection)
London-Heathrow	3x weekly	3x weekly
Paris	3x weekly	3x weekly (overnight connection)
Madrid	1x weekly (7hr connection)	1x weekly (7hr connection)
Milan	2x weekly	1x weekly (overnight connection)
Vienna	3x weekly	1x weekly (overnight connection)
Zurich	2x weekly	3x weekly (overnight connection)
Chicago	1x weekly	1x weekly (overnight connection)
New York JFK	2x weekly	2x weekly (overnight connection)
Toronto	No connection	1x weekly (22hr connection)

The connections will significantly improve when July rolls around, with most connections available at least three days a week, although some long connection remains.

As you can see from the table above, the connections aren’t ideal in the few couple of weeks. Given Emirates’ scheduling of having all European flights departing Dubai in the mornings, you are looking at a minimum three-hour connection when you depart from Singapore. On the return flight it’s worse: practically every flight will require an overnight (at least 10 hours) connection in Dubai.

But then again, these services are meant for essential travel at the moment and not for mass travel, so if you really need to fly, the wait will matter not as much, but note that the Emirates lounges will be closed (at least for now).

Emirates suspended services to Singapore since March

The Middle East kingdom has banned visitors since mid-March, as well as forbidding citizens from travelling overseas.

Emirates has previously flew to Dubai four times daily, and also operates two daily fifth freedom services to Melbourne and Brisbane respectively. The Melbourne service was suspended on 22 Mar, while flights to Dubai was also suspended slightly more than a week later.

Unrelated to Covid-19, Emirates has applied last year to end the Singapore-Brisbane service on 30 Mar, but end date was brought forward to 14 Mar instead.

What to expect pre-flight and in-flight?

Emirates has also announced a comprehensive list of changes to its pre-, in- and post-flight experience, including:

Chauffeur drive: Emirates has suspended its chauffeur drive service around the world until July 2020.
Lounges: All lounges worldwide are closed until further notice.
In-flight meals experience:
- Special meals: A limited range of special meals can still be pre-ordered online 48 hours before flight. No children’s meal will be available in economy.
- Menu cards: A single-use menu will be provided in business and first; no menus in economy.
- Meal service: While business class and first class will still get multi-course dine on-demand meal services, Executive Traveller has reported that meals will be pre-plated and served on tray, and some items such as bread and crackers will be plastic wrapped
- Alcoholic beverage service: Welcome drink only in first class; no more cocktails in business and first class (mixed drinks still available); Only wine & beer available in economy.
Wifi: No free wifi for the time being. Wifi is still available for purchase.
Duty-free shopping: Not available
Children’s kit: Not available
Newspapers & magazines: Not available
Live TV: Not available

Final thoughts

The resumption of Emirates services to Singapore is yet another encouraging sign of recovery. I won’t hold my breath in waiting for the A380s to return, given that the Boeing 777-300ERs that Emirates is operating is good enough any day.

During this time, many airlines will understandably operate with significant modifications to their services in response to the threat of infection. While some changes – such as in-flight dining changes – erode the magical experience of flying even further, these changes are essential to instil confidence in air travel at least for now.

Having said that, my view is that this might be a good time for airlines to fully re-evaluate what’s truly necessary, even in premium cabins, and do their part in reducing waste in many areas, particularly around magazines, newspapers and even menu cards. In the long run, this episode might yield some positive results for airlines, customers and god knows, even the earth.

7 June 20

Standard Chartered Bank offers 100% bonus for transferring points to Emirates Skywards

Limited time promotion runs until 8 March.

Standard Chartered bank is offering a 100% conversion bonus for its cardmembers for transferring points into Emirates Skywards miles from now until 8 March 2020.

Standard Chartered Bank X Infinite Visa card

While the promotion is targeted at the X Infinite Visa cardholders, as long as you have a Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) credit card that allows you to earn points, you are eligible for the promotion.

Emirates Skywards programme

Emirates Skywards miles aren’t usually good value due to the number of miles required for redemptions and the fuel surcharges that come with it. Moreover, Emirates doesn’t belong to any alliances, so your options are pretty much limited.

However, with this offer, the awards become a lot more sensible. you can make a number of redemption options that are comparable to what you might normally spend on Singapore Airlines’ Krisflyer.

Emirates A380 business class cabin

If you have been converting your SCB 360 Rewards points to Krisflyer all these while, your effective mpd of 1.2 for Krisflyer is now worth 1.7 mpd if you are converting them to Emirates Skywards. Overseas transactions, which gives you 2 mpd if you are converting to Krisflyer, will be effectively 2.9 mpd for Emirates Skywards under this promotion.

For those lucky enough to lap up the 100,000 miles sign-up bonus (in the form of 250,000 360 Rewards points) last year, if you have kept your points, you can now change them for 140,000 Emirates Skywards miles – more than enough for a one-way business class trip to Europe.

Note that Emirates Skywards miles have a validity of 3+ years. Miles earned or transferred expires at the end of your birthday month after the third year mark from the time they are earned.

For example, if your birthday is in June and you earned the miles in February 2020, your miles will expire on 30 June 2023.

What can I use Emirates Skywards miles for?

The obvious answer will be for Emirates flights. Apart from Dubai, Emirates also flies to Melbourne from Singapore, as well as Penang from April 2020.

For 17,500 miles, you can redeem a one-way economy class ticket to Penang from Singapore, but don’t – it’s poor value. Instead, opt up for 27,500 miles in business class, or if you are feeling fancy, 37,500 for first class.

If you want to fly further, you can also opt for business class or first class tickets to Melbourne, at 62,500 and 85,000 miles respectively. This option is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, so the business class is a 2-3-2 configuration, similar to this one that I took from Dubai last year.

Emirates B777-300ER business class

Emirates doesn’t belong to any alliances, but they have a handful of partners you can use the miles on, including Qantas.

Qantas redemptions to Sydney or Melbourne are most useful in business or first class, at 60,000 and 90,000 miles respectively, plus fuel surcharge and taxes.

Qantas first class suite

One shortcoming of using Emirates Skywards programme is the high fuel surcharges you have to shell out.

Final thoughts

If you are a holder of this card and a fan of Emirates, this represent excellent value for redemptions on Emirates, given that there isn’t really many options to redeem Emirates flights from this part of the world.

With the 100% bonus, this offer has also become a much more attractive way of redeeming Emirates tickets, and in some cases, cheaper than using Krisflyer miles to redeem a similar itinerary on Singapore Airlines. The obvious downside is the huge fuel surcharge that comes with redemption, but in some cases, such as a first class experience on the A380, it’s definitely worth every cent.

26 February 20

Emirates to operate Singapore-Penang flights from April 2020

However, this is still not the world’s shortest first class flight.

In a surprise move, Emirates will start operating to Penang from 9 April 2019. The daily service will be operated via Singapore using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering three cabins.

Emirates is probably the world’s largest operator of fifth-freedom flights, given its reputation as the world’s super connector. However, there are still some cities that it is not serving at the moment, such as Penang.

After Emirates announced that it was going to pull its EK432/433 Dubai-Singapore-Brisbane flights, this new service came as a surprise, although not unexpected. Anna.aero has observed that with the cessation of the Dubai-Singapore-Brisbane flights, this new Dubai-Singapore-Penang service will allow Emirates to maintain the number of services between Singapore and Dubai at four daily.

Emirates will also be the only airline operating a widebody between the two city, and the only airline offering a first class service between both cities. This is, however, not the world’s shortest first class flight – that honour goes to Emirates’ Dubai-Muscat service, at 40 minutes long.

The schedule

The service will operate daily with the following schedule:

Sector	Flight No.	Departure	Arrival	Duration	Days	Aircraft
DXB-SIN	EK348	0230	1405	7h 35m	Daily	B777-300ER
SIN-PEN	EK348	1535	1715	1h 40m	Daily	B777-300ER
PEN-SIN	EK349	2220	2350	1h 30m	Daily	B777-300ER
SIN-DXB	EK349	0140	0455	7h 15m	Daily	B777-300ER

The aircraft

Emirates will be using the Boeing 777-300ER for this service, similar to the ones that they are using for the Singapore-Brisbane and Singapore-Melbourne service.

The aircraft carries 8 first class seats, 42 business class seats and 304 or 310 economy class seats, depending on which variant you are on.

For those eyeing a business class redemption for this short haul flight, note that this is the 2-3-2 configuration, which is alright for a short haul flight but may not be worth the cash. (Read here for a review of the seat I took from Dubai to Singapore.)

*Emirates Boeing 777-300ER business class seat*

In economy class, this will be in a 3-4-3 configuration, and I’ll be horrified to be disembarking in Penang with 300 other people on the same flight – the immigration facility there can be a little small so this will be a race to the front of the line.

Very affordable economy class fares

The launch fare for economy class is a very affordable… $117.10.

*Emirates economy class fare from Singapore to Penang*

The $11710 price is in T class under the Saver fare family, with a base fare of $50. In case the T class fares run out, the next two fares, L & Q classes (also in the Saver family), runs at $70 or $90 respectively, so they are still very affordable after adding taxes and surcharges.

Redemption using Qantas Frequent Flyer

If you are thinking of splurging but refuse to pay $1,000 for a return business class fare, you can also use your Qantas points to redeem for Emirates flights.

Qantas and Emirates have a joint venture, which means that frequent flyer members of both airlines can use their points to redeem for virtually all flights on both networks.

While the flights have not been loaded into the award availability system, a look at QFF’s chart priced the flight at the following mileage:

Class of travel	One-way QFF points required
Economy	8,000
Business	18,400
First	27,600

No. of QFF points required for award ticket on SIN-PEN, one way

Note that Qantas imposes a surcharge for award redemption, so be sure to find out how much they are before redeeming your points.

But if you do splurge for a first class ticket, it’s a great chance to use the Qantas First Class lounge at Changi, given that Emirates customers and elite frequent flyer members will have access to Qantas’ network of lounges.

Final thoughts

This is definitely a rather intriguing new service, given that Singapore-Penang has been served by low-cost carriers for a while now.

For the record, the other carriers on this route include Silkair, AirAsia, Jetstar and Scoot, with Silkair being the only full service airline.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, given that airlines typically try new markets as a tag-on service, especially when they are not confident of the financial viability of the market. Using Singapore as the intermediary point, this will allow Emirates to soften the potential downside of the Penang route.

For now, I’ll be keen to hear if anyone is willing to blow $1,540 on a return first class ticket to Penang!

28 January 20

Changes to Emirates and Qantas chauffeur drive service

Emirates and Qantas both offer a chauffeur drive service to their business and first class passengers for the longest time, but this is now set to be tightened from 1 March 2019.

Emirates changes

Emirates will no longer offer complimentary chauffeur drive service for customers on any redemption tickets after 1 March 2019. This includes tickets redeemed using Emirates Skywards, or any other frequent flyer programme such as Qantas Frequent Flyer or Alaska Mileage Plan.

The service will also no longer be given to those who use miles to upgrade economy class tickets to business class.

Qantas changes

Qantas changes are a little more complex. From 1 March 2019, they will no longer offer chauffeur drive service to business and first class customers in Singapore and New Zealand, meaning that customers departing and arriving in these two countries will have to arrange their own transport. This also includes customers transiting in Singapore, who will no longer receive the service.

The service will also be scaled back in London to a 50-mile radius, down from 70 miles. Any customer travelling to outside of the 50-mile radius will now be required to pay an extra distance fee of GBP24.30 for every 10 miles.

Qantas First Class

The service remains unchanged in Australia, where its available at most major cities. Also, unlike Emirates, redemption tickets on Qantas-operated services are also still eligible for the service, where it is available.

What it means for customers in Singapore

For business and first class customers travelling on QF1/2 from Singapore to London, this means that they will no longer get chauffeur drive service in Singapore, but they will still get it in London.

However, for those a little savvier and book a business class seat on a Qantas codeshare service operated by Emirates, they are still eligible for a chauffeur drive service in Singapore and their final destination.

For redemption bookings, it’s a little more complicated. If you are redeeming your miles for a business or first class seat on the Qantas flight (QF1/2) between Singapore and London, you will get the chauffeur drive service in London. But if you use your miles to redeem for a seat on Emirates service via Dubai, tough luck – you will not get the chauffeur drive service.

Emirates B777-300ER First Class

Some history

Emirates was the first airline ever to introduce a chauffeur drive service for its premium customers. Qantas later introduced its chauffeur service in April 2013 to match what Emirates was offering, as part of the then newly-formed alliance, offering the same service to business and first class customers travelling from Australia/New Zealand to London, Dubai and the USA. However, over the years this has been scaled back, and now only the London-bound services receive the service.

7 February 19
FLIGHT REVIEW: Emirates B777-300ER Business Class, Dubai – Singapore
Emirates / 10 Jan 19 / B777-300ER / EK432 DXB-SIN / Business Class / 16A

After spending a day to check out Hilton Dubai Creek and to wander around the scarily huge Dubai Mall, I was back at Dubai International Airport at Terminal 3 barely 20 hours after touching down the night before from London, to catch my connecting flight back to Singapore.

Emirates provides four shuttles on the seven-hour hop between Dubai and Singapore each day. Of the four flights, two are A380 services that terminates in Singapore, while the other two are B777-300ERs that operates onwards to Melbourne and Brisbane.

For my flight to Singapore today, I’ve decided to check out the Boeing 777-300ERs, which Emirates has a handful of in addition to its humongous A380 fleet. I have tried the A380 business class from London the day before, so I wanted to see what’s the difference.

While Emirates most recently made news with its brand new B777-300ER first class product, the business class on the B777s have been under fire for its 2-3-2 configuration, which pales in comparison to many other airlines who have opted for a 1-2-1 configuration that gives every premium customer direct aisle access.

Emirates B777-300ER business cabin

A little more about Dubai International Airport (DXB): There are three terminals at the airport. All Emirates services operate out of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport (DXB), with other airlines operating at Terminal 1 & 2.

My check-in at the terminal was generally very smooth. Business and first class passengers have their own driveway and dropoff points, which leads to dedicated check-in counters, and also its set of immigration and security checkpoints. From the time I arrived at the curbside, I reckon I was in the transit area less than 20 minutes after I was done.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) Concourse B

Note that Dubai Terminal 3 is huge – there are three concourses: A, B & C. The check-in area will lead you directly to concourse B after you clear immigration and security, so please leave ample time if you are flying out of A or C gates.

Frequent flyers travelling through Emirates will know that business class passengers will be able to board directly from the lounge onto the upper decks of the A380 flights from Concourse A. My flight today was at one of the gates at the far end of Concourse B, so that means that premium cabin passengers will have to leave the lounge to head to the gate for boarding.

Given that the B777-300ER is a single-deck aircraft, boarding for business and first class passengers are done through the front door, while economy class customers boarded through the second door.

The seat

The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER is a three class product, with 8 first class seats, 42 business class seats and 310 seats in economy.

I was in seat 6A today, the first of the business class seats. Emirates seat business class passengers in a 2-3-2 configuration across 6 rows.

Emirates B777-300ER business class, seat 6A

My seat was a window bulkhead seat. Being at the bulkhead, the divider between me and my seat partner was extended, where the in-flight entertainment screen was stowed.

Note that this doesn’t extend to the middle column seats (seats DEF), as the entertainment screens are mounted on the cabin divider wall in front of them. For the rows behind, the screen is mounted on the seatback, so they do not have similar extensions in the seat divider.

Emirates B777-300ER business bulkhead seats

Honestly, the protruded extension was both a pro and a con: the benefit was that the window seat (16A & 16K) felt incredibly private, particularly in bed mode, but getting in and out was a little bit of a challenge.

The seat measured 20.5 inches across, not terribly generous, but fairly comfortable for the Asian frame. Right on the side of my seat was a little compartment good for an iPad or a laptop to be stowed by your side.

USB and power socket

In that little space was also a power socket, as well as two USB ports that you could use to charge your devices throughout your flight.

Between you and your seat partner was a drink holder, as well as a mini fold down panel that you could use to hold a small dish of nuts or a drink. I’m not sure if it’s due to wear and tear, but I found this very scary, it felt like my champagne will slip off and spill on me any time.

The service

As the economy class passengers were still boarding, the cabin crew came around to offer a round of drinks. To my surprise, there was a rose champagne available for pre-departure drinks, which I naturally opted for.

Rose Champagne for pre-take off drinks

The crew also came around offering an amenity kit. The kit bag itself wasn’t branded, but the amenities were from Bvlgari, containing: a body lotion, after shave balm, shaving cream, anti-perspirant, a small eau de cologne, shaver, dental kit and a pack of tissue paper. Pretty extensive!

Bvlgari amenity kit

Once we are at cruising altitude, the cabin crew came around to offer mattresses for all the business class passengers, as well as a round of drinks and nuts before dinner was served. As I really liked the Shiraz I had on the the earlier flight from London to Dubai, I decided to stick with that since it was served on this flight as well.

While dinner was being prepared, the cabin crew also came around to ask if we needed breakfast before landing. There was an option of a continental breakfast consisting of fruit, yoghurt and pastries, or an express breakfast consisting of a pastry of choice with coffee or tea. I opted for an express breakfast.

Dinner only commenced about 90 minutes into the flight, which in my opinion, was a tad too late. Bear in mind that this is a seven hour redeye flight that departed at 9pm, so as I didn’t eat anything before the flight, I was famished by the time I got on the flight. Even though I was watching a show on the in-flight entertainment, I found myself turning around every 15 minutes or so to see if dinner service was going to start.

Dinner service

The menu for the evening read as follow:

Appetisers
- Roasted tomato soup with thyme and balsamic shallots
- Cold-smoked ocean trout served with pickeld potatoes, caper berries and herb creme fraiche
- Roasted beef carpaccio with pepper, persian feta,poached fig and tomato relish
Main course
- Seared beef tenderloin with mushroom jus, colcannon potatoes and buttered green beans
- Roasted chicken fillet with cacciatore sauce, sauteed green beans and creamed potatoes with tarragon
- Lamb rendang; slow-cooked spicy lamb and coconut curry, served with cauliflower masala and tumeric rice
Dessert
- Chocolate coffee crokine; dark chocolate and coffee mosse, layered with crunchy croustillant, topped with chocolate-coated coffee beans
- Jasmine tea baba cake; baba cake infused with jasmine tea and ginger syrup, topped with apricot ginger cream
- Seasonal fruit
- Cheese board
The appetiser options were… not great. I went with the ocean trout, which was pretty much standard. The appetiser came with a side salad and a bread roll, which unfortunately wasn’t sufficiently warm nor fluffy.

Smoked ocean trout appetiser

While I walloped the appetiser within a minute, it probably took the crew another 20 minutes before the main course came about. By this time, I was both hungry and sleepy, which wasn’t the best state to be in. When my main course was set down in front of my, I swear I almost bit the cabin crew’s head off screamed at someone.

Now, back to the topic at hand: the food. I went for the beef tenderloin, even though frequent flyer collective wisdom typically advise against steaks of any sort. Surprisingly, this was good. Now, I wasn’t sure if that’s an effect of my hunger, but every bite of the beef was sufficiently tender and not overly chewy, which tends to be the case for airline catered beef. I wasn’t expected mash potatoes (it wasn’t clear from the menu), so that on the side was a perfect match to the protein.

Seared beef tenderloin with mushroom jus, colcannon potatoes and buttered green beans

By the time I was done with my main course, my seat partner gave up on wanting his dessert and decided to head to bed instead. I pressed on.

For dessert, I chose the chocolate coffee crokine (when in doubt, always go for chocolate unless you have an allergy). It was way too sweet for me, and the texture was also too sticky for me. I took two bites out of it and, swiftly cleared my own setting, and brought everything back to the galley myself. I think the cabin crew was shocked.

Chocolate coffee crokine

After that, I requested for a peppermint tea, my usual go-to end-of-day drink, before heading to the restroom. When I got back to my seat, my tea took yet another long while to come. I had to go the galley to ask for it again, only to figure that the cabin crew who took my order earlier forgot about it.

When the tea finally came, I took two sips, and went to bed.

The next thing I knew, I woke up with less than an hour to go on the flight. I quickly changed up, and slowly figured that breakfast service was over. I asked for a coffee, which again, took forever to come.

Final thoughts

The service I received on this flight was probably the weakest link. Maybe it’s because my expectations were set from my last flight, and the exceptionally slow service really killed me.

It simply doesn’t make sense to have a 2.5-hour dinner service for a 7-hour redeye flight. While I understand most customers would have taken their meal at the lounge and went straight to bed, I observed that there were still plenty of customers eating. Some of these customers were travelling onwards to Australia, so all the more they needed their sleep given it was 3am in Brisbane at the time they boarded the flight, but chose to stay up for dinner anyway.

It could be a one-off incident, but the attention and speed to requests was simply appalling in a business cabin. Many a times, I found that I had to ask for items for than once, or in the case of my peppermint tea, it seemed like it was forgotten. This is clearly unacceptable for a business class service for a world-class airline.

If we put that aside, the seat actually worked for me. While the 2-3-2 arrangement may not work for solo travellers, I saw how it worked for families: two parents with a kid in tow enjoyed having the 3 middle seats, while couples who wanted to seat together weren’t limited to just middle seats. The Emirates seat was adequately designed, with sufficient storage for small items, even though there still isn’t a space for bags. Everything else worked: there was a power socket, USB ports, space for a drink and a place for me to stow my iPad or laptop.

A peek at the Emirates B777-300ER first class cabin

The food was tip-top, even if I’m not a fan of the plating, but bearing in mind that’s a very subjective matter. The choice of wines was adequate to a layman like me too, but the offering of rose champagne really blew me off.

Overall the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER business product is still a strong one. While this competes with the more private, 1-2-1 direct aisle access seats that airlines like Singapore Airlines and Qantas are offering, but if you add in other aspects, including its incredibly well-stocked in-flight entertainment, this is definitely no pushover.
30 January 19