Folks

If you've used Emirates business class please give me your experiences and how it compares to other airline business class.

THX

Mark

B777 or A380? Two very different animals. The B777 very nice seats, but not all seats have direct aisle access. The A380's all seats have aside access. Given the choice of the B777 or A380, it's the A380. I find the B777 no different then BA seats. It's that on Emirates the FA are actually young, beautiful and nice. Better whisky choice then BA. In Business it's Chivas Regal and a Single Malt, that I don't remember.

Now, if you want whisky, last month I was on a China Southern A380 Business. I asked for whisky and they brought out a 750ml bottle of Johnny Walker Green Label and poured me a to the top full glass (no ice). Now that's drink service.

We flew Emirates business class last year from Fort Lauderdale to Johannesburg. Excellent experience all the way around. Booking, check in, gun permits, connections, lounge and of course the flight were all outstanding.

Mark,
We've flown Emirates business class 5 times from DFW to both SA and Zim, they provide a chauffeur that picks us up at our house (must live within a certain distance from airport, we are on the absolute fringe)and delivers us at the door to Emirates check in, we usually choose a longer lay over in Dubai and they provide hotel vouchers as well as a car to take you to the hotel where the hotel will give you meal vouchers and then fetch you in time to make your flight. The flight attendants have all been extremely nice. I don't sleep much on flights and twice one of the flight attendants stood/sat and visited with me for an extended period. On our flight this past May, two of the attendants offered to show us around Dubai during our layover.
As for carrying firearms, if you can read and follow instructions you should have no problems. Really straight forward process...you submit all of your info online (no more than 30 days before departure or less than three days before departure) and Emirates security will send you paperwork that allows the carriage of firearms. One note, there is no worry about your rifle not making the plane, when you present your boarding pass for boarding a note apparently pops up on their screen about your "special" baggage. Once with a 3 hour layover I had to wait about 5 minutes to board while someone verified it was on the plane. I like that.
We flew once on the A380, which I much prefer, but the 777 ER isn't bad. The A380 had a bar towards the rear of the plane which was kind of nice, the food has been better than average.
Their check in counter personnel are out standing, one gentleman at DFW gave me his cell number and email in case I had any questions or problems.
Finally, just last weekend I flew out of DFW on another airline and as I walked by the Emirates counter, the agent I spoke of above recognized me and walked over to greet me and ask if he could assist me in any way, even though I wasn't flying Emirates.
I've flown Delta, American, SAA, Air Canada, KLM and Air New Zealand biz class and Emirates beats them all, in my opinion.

In my opinion it ranks up there with Singapore Airlines, which I consider the best. Very courteous and accommodating, especially with firearms, excellent service, comfortable seating. As previously said the A380 is a different experience - aisle access from any seat, which all lay flat (same as all the Singapore Airline flights I've taken) and a nice bar area with seating. The 777s are good as well, but you need to pay attention to seating if direct aisle access is important to you. If you know what you want and wait, you can generally get BC fares for a reasonable price to Zimbabwe (I'm sure the same holds true for other African locations as well). If going to Zambia or Zimbabwe, it's easy to bypass South Africa completely - which is a plus in my opinion if RSA is not your final destination.

I’m in Dubai right now, I flew in yesterday on the A380 business class. This is my first experience with Emirates and it was great. I’ll definitely be flying them again. I head to Harare in a few hours on the 777.

Flew business class on the A380 from Houston to Dubai, then on the 777 on to Harare.

The experience with Emirates was so great that I considered it a part of the safari that I actually looked forward to.

Regarding the bar on the A380, it really made the entire experience much different. Just having a place to get up and go to, stand up and move around, make new friends, and watch HD TV (world cup soccer) made the flight go by much more quickly. It really did.

No more Delta and no more Joburg for me.

Others have pretty well covered it.

We've only flown it once, last year, and will again next month. While I didn't have as good of experience with the attendants, that was minor and am looking forward to flying Emirates BC again.

So what happened to the female British dentist who flew from London to Dubai had a single glass of complimentary wine, and was arrested and jailed for three days with her 4 year old daughter? All of this talk of premium Scotch on an Emirates flight through Dubai could land you in prison.

Mark, it will be really hard to get me on any other airline after Emirates, but maybe impossible on a domestic airline.

Absolutely everything they do from booking until back is done so much better. I’ve never felt so confident about firearms making it where they’re supposed to be. I’ve only done business class, but I just don’t think you can go wrong.

I use Travel With Guns as my agent.

quote:

Originally posted by Bud Meadows:
So what happened to the female British dentist who flew from London to Dubai had a single glass of complimentary wine, and was arrested and jailed for three days with her 4 year old daughter? All of this talk of premium Scotch on an Emirates flight through Dubai could land you in prison.

First of all her problem was with immigration, not Emirates.

Sadly, you are only hearing one side of the story.

She had two passports.

One British, which requires no VISA to visit the UAE.

This passport has expired, so she cannot travel on it.

She also had an Iranian passport, which requires a visa to visit the UAE.

She was refused entry, was told to fly back.

She got obnoxious, and started demanding they issue her with a 96 hour BUSINESS VISA.

They refused, as she is not on a business trip with an invitation!

Of course, the British media, only mentioned her expired passport ONCE in their many articles.

But, the ONE GLASS OF WINE, was mentioned in every paragraph.

Everyone enjoys the free drinks EMIRATES offers on their flights - as well as other airlines of course.

But, they did not want to show how stupid this woman was, so being an Arab country, blame it on a glass of wine.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

It actually gets worse.

A friend wrote a comment on the comment section under the article, explaining this little pesky fact.

They deleted it!!?

Of course they did. Didn't fit the narrative

I found this update on some the the B777 planes. I agree that this is a great improvment over the current B777 business class seats.

https://thepointsguy.com/2018/...business-an-upgrade/

Back in November, Emirates shared that it would be (finally) getting rid of the dreaded business class middle seat, going from a 2-3-2 configuration to a 2-2-2. Still not aisle access for everyone, unlike with the 1-2-1 arrangements of the world’s leading business class layouts, though.

Another caveat: This does not apply to all 777s, but for now at least only to 10 planes, the 777-200LR model. The first to receive the update has been introduced on the daily Dubai (DXB) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) route.

I flew this route on a trip from FLL to Cape Town (CPT) via DXB. The outbound trip featured the carrier’s old business product, but my return flight just so happened to incorporate the newly updated plane on the DXB-FLL leg. (The trip to and from DXB lasts more than 24 hours, so two planes are needed for a daily rotation — and with only one already in the new layout, you can still get the old version.)

So, how did the two versions compare? Was the retrofitted plane an upgrade, a downgrade or an even swap? Read on to find out!

Bye bye, first class

For starters, if you’re looking to travel this route (or any route) operated by Emirates’ 777-200LR aircraft in first, the new configuration is unquestionably a downgrade. On the old version, first class occupies the front of the plane, taking up roughly two-thirds of the space between doors one and two. The eight suites are spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 layout, including closing doors and all the carrier’s signature bling.



Unfortunately, the new layout eliminates first class altogether in favor of a two-class configuration. First-class flyers, you’re out of luck on this particular aircraft.

The new layout

In the old configuration, the business class is arranged in a 2-3-2 layout, split into two different sections. A two-row mini-cabin lies just behind first class, between doors one and two. The remaining four rows are separated from the mini-cabin by the second set of doors, lavatories and a galley. The end result: a total of 42 angled-flat seats.

The new layout essentially takes this cabin and shifts it forward to take the portion of the plane formerly occupied by first class. It also adds a 180-degree lie-flat seat. The new layout is an improved 2-2-2, with four full rows plus two additional middle seats in between doors one and two and the remaining two rows just behind. However, the galley that previously split up the two business class cabins has been removed, replaced with a “social area,” as Emirates calls it, thus creating one large business class cabin.


Photo by Zach Honig / The Points Guy
The new configuration results in four fewer business-class seats but allows the carrier to add additional economy seats in the area formerly occupied by the last few rows of the old business class. The number of economy seats on the new layout thus jumps from 216 to 264.

Another interesting choice Emirates made was to remove the middle overhead bins in the business class cabin. The end result is a much more spacious feel, and even though we were among the last business-class passengers to board, we still had no problem finding space for our rollaboard suitcase, large backpack and travel stroller.



If you’re trying to figure out which configuration you’ll be flying on, here are a few clues that will let you know you’re on the new one:

No first-class cabin
Business class will start at row 1
Economy will start at row 14
New colors, new patterns

My first thought upon boarding the new configuration can be summed up in one word: gorgeous. The cabin was warmly lit, and the cream-colored seats with the diamond stitching were stunning, though the fact that they were essentially brand new certainly didn’t hurt.



I also loved the aisle-side armrest, which could be raised or lowered with the push of the button at the end. This allowed me to get in and out of my seat with relative ease in the middle of lunch when my daughter decided (obviously) she needed me to take her to the bathroom, without needing to put away my tray table.

The old seats simply don’t compare, with the dingy gray and maroon color scheme and an overabundance of white, made even more unattractive by the harsh lighting upon boarding.



Emirates also elected to adjust the wood-grain in the updated cabin, moving from a somewhat gaudy blonde look…

…to a darker, more elegant brown hue.



The console between the two seats housed the pull-out tray table on both flights, but it was much more substantial in the newer configuration. This is mainly due to the additional space needed to accommodate the individual minibar, which was stocked with sparkling water, juice, Pepsi and a glass. (Those minibars will not, however, keep your drinks cold.)



Another major upgrade involved the technology for ICE, Emirates’ in-flight entertainment system. If you’ve never flown Emirates business before, there are three ways to control what you’re watching:

The touch-screen TV
A detachable tablet
A retractable remote
Both the old and the new config offered these three options, but I found the updated screens to be significantly more responsive and sleeker looking.



In contrast, the older seat’s tablet felt dated and didn’t respond very well to my touch.



That being said, both the tablet and retractable remote were much less conveniently located in the newer configuration. If you wanted to use either, which was natural given that the large TV screen was quite a distance from the seat, you had to turn 90 degrees, and the remote was actually slightly behind the seat in its upright position.

Both seats offer a full outlet plus USB port to keep your electronics charged, which is essential on a long-haul flight, especially since Emirates’ 777-200LRs offer Wi-Fi. The plugs on the older layout were at the rear of a storage compartment along the side of the seat.



The newer configuration placed these outlets on the reverse side of the storage compartment but also included an HDMI input if you wanted to project your own content onto the sizeable screen.



Speaking of storage, each seat had the safety information card and Emirates literature in a front pocket underneath the TV, and the compartments adjacent to the outlets were similarly sized on the two configurations: good for a tablet or a magazine but not quite large enough for most laptops.

In addition, the storage areas on the floor differed significantly. On the older layout, you had cubbyholes between the two seats that were surprisingly shallow (my size 11 shoes were too large).



The newer model of seats provided a mesh pocket underneath the footrest that was a great spot to keep your footwear out of your way during flight.



Both configurations also provided a privacy shield that could be raised or lowered, but both were limited to the headrest area of the seat. Here’s the old layout with the privacy panel up:



And down:



Here’s what the newer seats looked like with the shield up (with the darker wood grain):



And down:



In all honestly, the privacy shield in the new configuration is (in my opinion) completely worthless. The fixed console between the seats is large enough that even with the panel down, you still need to lean forward to even see the person in the seat next to you. This is even more the case when the seat is fully reclined.

This brings me to one of the biggest selling points of the new seat: it’s actually a flat bed.



The older configuration still leaves you at a slight angle when in bed mode.

That being said, I didn’t find the newer version to be significantly more comfortable. While it’s always nice to be fully flat, I still slept solidly on the angled version.

Observations and Suggestions

Generally speaking, I found the newer configuration of Emirates 777-200LR business class to be an improvement over the older version. However, there are a few general things you should keep in mind:

1. For a family of three, older is better. I realize that I’m probably in the minority of travelers in that I like to take not only my wife but also my three-year old on 14+ hour flights, but we loved the older configuration as a family of three. My daughter took the middle seat and my wife and I were on the two aisles, giving her a contained area and allowing us to co-parent during the flight. In contrast, the new configuration forced us to choose which one of us would be on “primary” duty.

2. Avoid Row 6 on the new configuration. As I mentioned above, the newer layout has removed the galley at the second door and replaced it with a “social area” for business class. During the flight, this was set up with bottles of water and snacks for passengers to grab. Unfortunately, this happened to be just above my TV in Seat 6F. It wasn’t unbearable, but with plastic-wrapped sandwiches and bags of chips (all of which seemed to be opened there rather back at the passengers’ seats), you’re in for a bit of noise. Not only that, but the plane boarded economy passengers from door 2L, so you’ll be dealing with a steady stream of travelers coming down the aisle.

3. Consider sitting across the aisle from your travel companion in the new layout. This probably seems like a strange suggestion, but hear me out. The new configuration, while nice, doesn’t truly allow you to enjoy time with your companion. It was actually nice to have my wife across the aisle from me (my daughter took the window seat, as a budding #AvGeek like her father!). Because the new seats are relatively open to the aisle, it was much easier for us to communicate than it would’ve been if we were side-by-side.

4. If you prefer the old, you’re still in luck. As noted above, this new configuration only applies to 10 of Emirates’ planes. Most of the carrier’s 777-300ERs still have the old configuration, which TPG News Editor Emily McNutt reviewed on her flight from Cape Town to Dubai in 2016. These planes still have first class as well.

Bottom Line

It’s great to see Emirates starting to address what has been for years an outdated business-class product. While the carrier’s outstanding first class cabins get a lot of attention, many readers may not have the account balances to justify springing for that top-shelf redemption. While I wish the new configuration on the airline’s 777-200LRs provided direct aisle access for all passengers, it’s still a beautiful cabin with a lot of positives, so if you’re planning a trip to (or through) Dubai from or via FLL, I’d encourage you to aim for the updated product.

Final verdict? Upgrade!

I will be flying this exact flight and new configuration from FLL to DBX in one month. It’s interesting that the 777-300 ER from DBX is a 3 class configuration coming back to DBX but 2 class in the same plane model outbound. I have flown business on Emirates, Qatar and Etihad to JNB and found them all about the same- great! However Qatar has now added closed door suites in business since my flight last year. That must be nice. Bottom line is there is absolutely no comparison between the Gulf airlines and anything out of Europe or especially Delta. And they are all much cheaper than the competition .

Flown Emirates twice on both a380 and 777. As close to perfect as one can expect. It kind of made it where I’m only wanting to travel to destinations that Emirates services. Also their lounges are amazing.

I try to avoid flying any airline flight with 2 class configuration!

The only way they do it is to cram more seats, so don’t believe any bullshit they tell you.

I have no problem flying Business Class on a 3 Class flight, but my experience has not been very good on 2 Class flights.

EMIRATES BC has been our first choice for our annual safari since 2011. Had to fly Air France to Cameroon. Have flown almost all available airlines since 1995 annually for safari. Nobody compares to Emirate BC - our preferred method of travel. 380 SFO-DUBAI and 777 down to Africa.

My biggest complaint with BC on Emirates is they don’t fly the A380 from all US departure cities on the longest leg to Dubai. The B777 is used for a lot of US departure cities. It would be great to fly the A380 on the 14-16 hour leg to Dubai and the 8-9 hour leg from Dubai to Southern Africa.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
My biggest complaint with BC on Emirates is they don’t fly the A380 from all US departure cities on the longest leg to Dubai. The B777 is used for a lot of US departure cities. It would be great to fly the A380 on the 14-16 hour leg to Dubai and the 8-9 hour leg from Dubai to Southern Africa.

Well... if you still lived in Fresno, you'd be flying the 380 out of SFO. We all make choices and I'm thinking your trade off that now has you riding a 777 from the East Coast was worth it, huh?

I fly on Emirates 3/4 times each month. Usually I fly economy but I frequently splash out on Business or I get upgraded.
I think the Business service is right up there, on both the 777 and A380. A380 wins by a nose with aisle access for all seats and the bar area.
The food is really good and the entertainment system is the best I've seen. The Trolly Dollies are usually lookers too.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
My biggest complaint with BC on Emirates is they don’t fly the A380 from all US departure cities on the longest leg to Dubai. The B777 is used for a lot of US departure cities. It would be great to fly the A380 on the 14-16 hour leg to Dubai and the 8-9 hour leg from Dubai to Southern Africa.

Well... if you still lived in Fresno, you'd be flying the 380 out of SFO. We all make choices and I'm thinking your trade off that now has you riding a 777 from the East Coast was worth it, huh?

Best thing I have done in many years!!

I'll contribute my $.02. I have flown internationally about 15 times over the last 8 years, Africa and South America. With one exception BC on every trip. Last African trip was my first on Emirates. Without a doubt Emirates was the cleanest, best maintained aircraft I have ever been on, with the best food. Best amenity package I have ever received in flight. Flew both the Airbus and the Boeing on different legs. Having said that, to me the important difference between the two aircraft is whether or not you are trying to sleep. All of my flights were overnight. Having more seats across compared to the other airlines I have flown (AA, Delta)in BC thereby having the window seat folks having to crawl over you, plus less room around you made it harder for me to sleep on the Boeing Emirates legs. Full disclosure: I do need a CPAP machine to sleep, and Emirates was the first airline I have flown that made me jump though a lot of hoops to bring it on board (letter from my Doctor), plus Emirates is also the first airline that would not allow me to use the aircraft power supply and required me to bring a battery on board (extra weight in my carryon). Flight over to Joburg-everything went OK. My brand new battery would not hold a charge on the return trip, and of course no place to buy a replacement, and when I appealed to the check in folks and the flight crew to allow me to plug the machine in to aircraft power they all said no way, so no sleep on the return.
The Dubai BC lounge has to be experienced to be believed. Huge, great food and drink, even a separate champagne lounge that was pouring champagne that I know goes for >$100 a bottle in the states. When we were there, though, I wished the air conditioning would have worked better. Everyone I saw (including us) were sweating profusely, and my wife told me women in burkhas were going in to the ladies room and washing their feet in the sinks to cool off. Having said all this, I am sure I will fly Emirates again. I definitely think that they are the best value, especially in BC.

drj,

I think I remember you previously writing that Emirates gave you grief about the CPAP which I also use. Thanks for refreshing my memory. Seems someone in Emirates needs to get an understanding of medical devices. CPAPs are not that uncommon. The CPAP has never been an issue when I've flown on Air France, BA, Qantas, KLM of several domestic carriers.

This gives me pause on using Emirates.

THX

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Deerdogs:
I fly on Emirates 3/4 times each month. Usually I fly economy but I frequently splash out on Business or I get upgraded.
I think the Business service is right up there, on both the 777 and A380. A380 wins by a nose with aisle access for all seats and the bar area.
The food is really good and the entertainment system is the best I've seen. The Trolly Dollies are usually lookers too.

Well, I usually travel with my family and they're three of us. So the three across in BC is not a problem with my daughter in the middle. However, I was traveling single, I would hate to be stuck in the middle trying to get out in the middle of the night while the seats are all in the lay flat position. Another reason why the A380 is better then the B777, but that new layout on the B777-200 looks much better then the current B777-300.

I just checked our seat assignments for our 13 Sept flight. Outbound is a 777-200LR, with 2-2-2 seating. The next leg is a 777-300ER with 2 class service and 2-3-2 seating in business. Interestingly, the return from Joburg is also a 777-300ER with the same seating but with 3 classes of service. Last leg again is the same 777-200LR. Bottom line is all 777’s are not the same! As an aside, if you want to experience the first class lounge in Dubai while traveling in BC, you can- for an extra $100. Having been in both, I think it is worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
My biggest complaint with BC on Emirates is they don’t fly the A380 from all US departure cities on the longest leg to Dubai. The B777 is used for a lot of US departure cities. It would be great to fly the A380 on the 14-16 hour leg to Dubai and the 8-9 hour leg from Dubai to Southern Africa.

Well... if you still lived in Fresno, you'd be flying the 380 out of SFO. We all make choices and I'm thinking your trade off that now has you riding a 777 from the East Coast was worth it, huh?

Best thing I have done in many years!!

Of course it was. After all, you were moving away from Fresno!

I took the 777 from Dallas to Dubai and return and an Airbus from Dubai to Addis and back.

I understand that the Airbus finery exceeds that of the 777 on the long hauls, but it was the finest non-private flying experience that I've had, bar none.

Zero complaints.

Last month, we flew Emirates in Business, Houston to Lusaka via Dubai.

The Houston/Dubai leg was on the A380. It was awesome.

The 777 Dubai/Lusaka was nice, but I thought the A380 was much better.

On the way home, boarding the plane through the business lounge was also very nice.

I would definitely fly Emirates Business again for trips to Zambia or Zimbabwe.

I fly next Thursday from Houston - Dubai - Harare...………..

In Dubai now, overnighting in complimentary hotel.

You are right about CPAP education though, stewardess asked “is there anything I should know” when she saw my machine. It took a lot of strength to not say “ u better watch out all that pressure rally makes my dick hard,” but I didn’t. She had absolutely no idea what sleep apnea or CPAP is.

What does a business class ticket cost on average would you say? I have never flown anything but cattle coach.

quote:

Originally posted by LittleJoe:
What does a business class ticket cost on average would you say? I have never flown anything but cattle coach.

$4-$6k

Mike

LittleJoe,

Normal middle class people can fly business. We've been able to do it on Miles. Both Sadie and I charge everything on our Alaska Air Visa which has made our international trips way more comfortable. Emirates is a partner with Alaska. Sweet!

Mark

A380 from Houston to Dubai in June of 2016. Great experience. CPAP no problem in fact there was an outlet that permitted me to use it during the flight. I will fly Emirates whenever they offer service to my destination.

Lawdog: Emirates will no longer allow you to use the onboard power supply for your CPAP. You have to use a battery or not use it at all. They must have changed their policy since you flew with them last. No idea why it is in place, as no other major carrier that I have flown in the last two years has this policy.

Folks,

I just spoke to Shawn Kennedy at Gracy Travel. Emirates does require pre flight notification you're bringing a CPAP machine and you do need a doctor's note on the doctor's letterhead confirming you need to use your CPAP. That needs to be presented at least 5 days before the flight. All economy seats do not have a power port so you will need a battery. Business and first do have a power port that you can use. I know some will say they had a different experience but these are the rules as was told to me today.

Mark