Emirates Business class AKL-SYD

[Mattg]

I flew Emirates on my return flight from Auckland to Sydney yesterday, and was lucky enough to get an upgrade to business class! So, I thought I'd write a quick review.

When checking in at Auckland, the lady didn't mention anything about getting an upgrade. So, I was quite (pleasantly) surprised when I glanced at my boarding pass several minutes later and saw the word "Business" in big letters! I found out a bit later on that economy was (way) oversold, and that there were actually 40 upgrades on my flight. :shock:



I waited for the flight in the Emirates lounge. I must say, it's much nicer than the Qantas lounge next door. There are many more food options, including a buffet of various hot dishes, pies, small plates of salad, bread, etc. etc. There was also a great range of wine and spirits in the lounge, including Champagne. My only real criticism is that with three A380s all departing within 40 minutes of each other, the lounge did get pretty full. Oh, and the Qantas lounge has ice cream.



Our A380 waiting at the gate in AKL:



Walking into the business cabin on the upper deck, I was immediately impressed. The cabin looks modern, and the business seats are in a 1-2-1 staggered configuration, meaning all passengers get direct aisle access.

My seat was very comfortable, with ample space. The seat also had the ability to recline into a fully-flat mode for sleeping.



As we boarded there was a pillow and a set of noise-cancelling headphones on every seat.

As well as a large TV screen, there was a touch-screen remote control and iPad by the seat. To top it off, the Emirates in-flight entertainment selection is phenomenal. There is more than enough content on there to keep anyone entertained for days!

Also next to the seat was a small minibar, containing a small selection of water and soft drinks.

 

[travelislife]

4O upgrades! Was there a big group booked in economy?

 

[Mattg]

Here's a photo of the seat across the aisle:



After boarding, a range of different things came around. Pre-departure champagne, juice and water was offered, as were express immigration cards and hot towels. Post take-off drink and dinner orders were also taken.

Every time something new came around, I was served by a different flight attendant. While the service from all of the crew was friendly, it did feel just a little bit like you were on an assembly line!

My ordered drink, along with a plate of warm nuts was served promptly after take-off.



This was followed by dinner. This was the menu for the flight:



For the main course, I chose the salmon curry which was delicious.



And the cheese plate for dessert...



The cabin crew came around during and after the meal service to offer wine refills. But there was plenty more on offer at the on-board bar, located at the rear of the upper deck. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, but that bar is a very cool space and the crew on this flight were lots of fun.

I really enjoyed the flight. Emirates has an excellent hard product on the A380. And, although I've found the Emirates soft product to be hit & miss in the past, it was outstanding on this flight. The crew were all warm and professional.

 

[JessicaTam]

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

 

[Mattg]

There was one more surprise in store after landing in Sydney. I happened to know one of the passengers in first class, and they arranged to let me have a look around the first cabin after we landed. Now, I thought that business class looked amazing. But first was in another league of its own!



Testing out seat 2A...





And the private suite wouldn't be complete without a minibar...



I also got to check out the onboard shower. It's very impressive, although I did have a bit of a laugh at the sign outside saying "Max. 2 occupants in shower".



A most enjoyable flight across the Tasman!

 

[Mattg]

4O upgrades! Was there a big group booked in economy?

I honestly have no idea! I thought that school holidays might have been a factor but they haven't started yet in NSW, nor in New Zealand.

 

[marki]

WOW thanks for sharing

 

[Aussie_flyer]

The mini bar isn't refrigerated in either class just fyi. Nice report

 

[Conrad_S]

Looks like you had a good flight. We were on that flight I'd reckon. Unusual that they offloaded a passenger before leaving Auckland for "medical reasons"

 

[mushez]

I honestly have no idea! I thought that school holidays might have been a factor but they haven't started yet in NSW, nor in New Zealand.

Overselling is what EK do well, they will oversell Y by how many empty J & F seats they have free on all and every flight.

Chance of an op up is picking flights that are or will be in demand and they oversell so opt people of considered value up one class.

Have seen 68 opt ups on a flight before with EK and transfer a further 11 pax to next flight due to 79 pax oversold Y.

 

[Mattg]

The mini bar isn't refrigerated in either class just fyi. Nice report

Thanks for the heads up. I have corrected my post.

Looks like you had a good flight. We were on that flight I'd reckon. Unusual that they offloaded a passenger before leaving Auckland for "medical reasons"

Yep, that was the one! We were able 15 minutes late departing because of this.

Overselling is what EK do well, they will oversell Y by how many empty J & F seats they have free on all and every flight.

Chance of an op up is picking flights that are or will be in demand and they oversell so opt people of considered value up one class.

Have seen 68 opt ups on a flight before with EK and transfer a further 11 pax to next flight due to 79 pax oversold Y.

Wow - oversold by 79! Interesting. Have you received many op-ups yourself?

 

[Pushka]

Overselling Y when there are still several premium seats available makes a lot of sense. We have travelled on several EK flights out of Australia and have been upgraded Y to J, and J to F, on all but one flight. Travelling as WP and SG. Its why we choose Emirates on the Q website if the timing works.

 

[get me outta here]

Just off hand, what's the approx reward 'cost' of F tran tas one or both ways?

 

[Mattg]

Just off hand, what's the approx reward 'cost' of F tran tas one or both ways?

It would be 54,000 QF points (plus taxes) one-way in F. But F sale fares are also often available ex AKL/CHC for under $900.

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks Matt, and your report is inspirational for a little trip for a 40th Birthday pressie coming up.

It would be 54,000 QF points (plus taxes) one-way in F. But F sale fares are also often available ex AKL/CHC for under $900.

 

[mushez]

Wow - oversold by 79! Interesting. Have you received many op-ups yourself?

Tend to get an op up, one out of four times - Y->J that is. Never had a J->F

I would have more if I was more flexible with when I fly and plan further in advance picking times and days more likely to be of higher demand and oversell.

My last flight - EK405 - was op-up along with 26 others - I could see that was going to happen a week out by looking at Expert Flyer. Lost my seat allocation when I checked the morning prior at 8am, was the second time I knew well before boarding, without actually being told, that an op up was going to happen.

My next flight - EK432 on Thursday as well as EK434 on Friday both have zero chance of an op-up looking at all the factors right now.

You know you will be opted up, when you log in to manage your booking, and see your pre-allocated seat has been taken from you and you have none - combined that when you are checked in, you are given a different seat on your boarding pass - which is taken away from you in a split second as they simply need to allocate you a seat to check in, but they normally really like to hold out informing you until you are at the boarding gate - and when the boarding pass is scanned, it beeps 4 times instead of once - alerting them to an issue. When they are full, and very oversold so many op ups - they start to get the inevitable out of the way in the lounge or at check in to speed up the boarding process.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My ordered drink, along with a plate of warm nuts was served promptly after take-off.

View attachment 67623

What is the ordered drink? Coke? But strange glass?

 

[Mattg]

What is the ordered drink? Coke? But strange glass?

It's an espresso martini. Yes, I did think the choice of glass was a bit unusual.

 

[casanovawa]

Did the EK F flight over to AKL a couple of weeks ago, 54,000 QF points and $130 or so in taxes as i recall.... So not too bad value...

If I had the choice of over or back i would choose coming back as the menu going over from Sydney is a breakfast menu and breakfast options only get so exciting, the dinner menu looks more interesting...

But yes nice shower on the way over, fantastic treatment by crew, I'll do a write up and relate a little more about it soon...

 

[get me outta here]

What is in that drink, it looks intriguing? What's the dominate flavour, coffee?

It's an espresso martini. Yes, I did think the choice of glass was a bit unusual.