The Emirates First Experience - What to Expect?

[Archphoto]

I'm heading back to AU in a couple of weeks and decided to give EK F a whirl BKK-SYD, as probably won't get the chance again anytime soon.

Have chosen my seat (1A), but if there's a better seat I should choose - let me know, it's pretty empty right now; had the entire cabin to choose from. Booked the Chauffeur as well, hopefully no problems finding my place, but I'm sure they'll contact me if any problems there.

Menu from this month looks rather good, and they have JWB on board, so I'll be very happy with that (of course I'll try their other whiskeys as well!!)

Any tips from those of you who have flown this route in F? I'm actually really looking forward to it, and hopefully the experience is a hell of a lot better than what was on offer in Y (on the 380) last year, where the crew seemed to be invisible and not at all interested. (A short, relatively empty flight, maybe they were chilling out.)

 

[kermatu]

The dine on demand was emphasised on my flights. Possibly because of the time of day acknowledging some people may want to sleep first, or have onward travel.

Caviar seems to be available on all medium and long haul flights irrespective of the time of the flight (I don’t think that used to be the case but happy to be corrected). clearly stated on the menus that it is unlimited. So must be available later in the flight, even for repeat pax. Doubt I’ll test that out. Don’t know whether it will be on short haul flights.

I usually have cognac or whiskey with a bit of ice, but had the Paradis without ice this trip and would say it’s better.

 

[kermatu]

Food and wine menus from the SIN-DXB flight. Should have said arrival time in DXB is 00:50. Departure and arrival times have most influence on the menu, I believe.







Haven’t taken a pic of the spirits list to date, but think it is the same as before.

 

[kermatu]

A mountain of caviar. Almost as tall as the vodka shot glass.


Everything in the Mezze serving was delicious and fresh.


Snapper was fine but the warm salad didn’t really work for me. Wasn’t hungry by this dish, to be fair.


Cheese board about 75 minutes before landing. Seemed a little smaller than in years gone by, but still very good. Accompanied with an apology from Joe that they’d run out of cognac glasses.

Outstanding flight. And despite full cabin and not closing the door to my suite, it was quiet and very relaxed.

 

[flyingfan]

Thanks but I am not sure PJs will be available on SYD-CHC.

I used to be able to get them before Covid trans-Tasman upon request along with other goodies in their tote bag.

 

[kermatu]

Transfer experience in Dubai.

Saw my name on an iPad held by an EK employee on the aerobridge. There were other names too but he ended up just escorting me. Said he’d take me to the lounge before my next flight.

Straight through security in seconds, then up the elevator to the F lounge. Being escorted probably only saved a minute or two but it completely absolved me of needing to determine which concourse I had arrived at and where I needed to be for my next flight. Thankfully concourse A for both. Nice service.

The concourse A lounge is massive and you are told to turn right or left depending on your departure gate. It’s one of my favourite lounges because it has so many different zones, a full restaurant, is quiet and peaceful and (most of the time) you board from the lounge to the aerobridge so no need to worry about queues.

Walked to the end where I sat down in a quiet spot. Requested and received a cold towel, water and ultimately 3 cups of fresh Arabic coffee. Then headed to the main dining space.

Menu


Enjoyed the terrine again.


And the scallops.

Returned to my previous spot and asked for a Bloody Mary which was OK. Then boarded via an elevator direct to the aerobridge. Fantastic.

 

[CaptJCool]

What is the consensus paradise with or without ice. Am a cognac newbie but it is on the list to try on Sat

I am not a big drinker of cognac but like it and personally would not add ice others may have a different view.

No no no. No ice!

Hennessy Paradis is BEST served Neat!


on my last flight back to Australia in October 2019 (BC) i indulged in 6. it was so damn good, and pricing up the bottle it paid for half my airfare F is for Fail-safe Trap, Right? Book Sat fly Tues as FF points Deval Belgium, Berlin & Stockholm Paradis here!

on the other hand, the outbound Reward trip began with Dom which is up earlier in the thread above.
my Wall walk Berlin Wall Trail 2019 - a novel Walk was only uploaded on the two years anniversary during the Covid slowdown which was the primary objective of the trip.


Also,
you can find some Seven F EK reports here Trip Reports Index

 

[Cruiser Elite]

FTR - this was served to me last July DXB-MEL:

I still think it may be the best red I have ever tasted! Well def in the air anyway

 

[TheRealTMA]

Selection of some of the good wines from EK F from 10 years of EK F travel.

 

[kermatu]

Dubai to Amsterdam 03:30 departure 09:20 arrival. 777 flight, with 6 of 8 seats occupied.

Boarded from the lounge. Ended up on the same single aerobridge but was still very welcome and civilised compared to previous (and subsequent) experiences.

Menu understandably focused on breakfast, but still had plenty of options.







Boarding experience as before but a bit tighter given smaller cabin and less time before pushback. Coffee, dates, towels etc. DP 13 the champagne, and PJs provided in the tote bag.

 

[kermatu]

Caviar of course.



The lobster salad was absolutely superb.

Then for breakfast:


Masala lamb. The couple across my aisle also had this. We all agreed it was excellent.

Another good crew. Disappeared behind the curtains while most were sleeping, but still attentive and responsive.

 

[TheRealTMA]

View attachment 329406
Caviar of course.

View attachment 329407

The lobster salad was absolutely superb.

Then for breakfast:

View attachment 329408
Masala lamb. The couple across my aisle also had this. We all agreed it was excellent.

Another good crew. Disappeared behind the curtains while most were sleeping, but still attentive and responsive.

Excellent. That’s the old 777. The new F on 777s is much more interesting! Unfortunately there are limited flights. We did DXB GVA last September just for the new F suites.

 

[dairyfloss]

I used to be able to get them before Covid trans-Tasman upon request along with other goodies in their tote bag.

Another here with success in the past on trans-Tasman F for PJs and amenity kits (guys & gals)… though they did have to fish around for a bit to find them. Must have been the leftovers from the DXB-SYD leg.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[SOPOOR]

Out of curiosity, are all destinations/routes/departures flights give the same experiences?

 

[kermatu]

Out of curiosity, are all destinations/routes/departures flights give the same experiences?

My understanding/experience is that the same route will have the same menu/experience for a month long period. I do not know how much variance there is beyond that. But as others have said, you can expect there to be a fairly high level of consistency across the network over a longer period of time, with some limited regional variation.

 

[kermatu]

Excellent. That’s the old 777. The new F on 777s is much more interesting! Unfortunately there are limited flights. We did DXB GVA last September just for the new F suites.

Sadly I knew in advance I wouldn’t be scoring the new 777 fitout. But nothing to complain about!

 

[Matt_01]

@SOPOOR these are just my observations based on my J and F travels.

Amenities - On most medium and long haul flights the experiences are about the same e.g. the amenity kits, PJs and the other stuff they give out is offered. On the short haul flights (prior to covid) the amenity kits, PJs etc. were available to F PAX but had to be requested this was just EK policy and it has never been published widely. As @dairyfloss mentioned the trans-Tasman in either direction could be hit and miss as I believe the stock was loaded in DXB and for the return in SYD/BNE/MEL as SYD-CHC and for a while back MEL/BNE-AKL are 5th freedom legs. Most of the time they were available.

Food service - On most medium and long haul flights you get around a 4-6 course meal service however it is dine on demand so if you want extra it is provided. There are a few routes which have a lighter meal service but this is often based on departure time and duration.

The wine list - The F wine list will normally have all the same wines as the J list and then a few extras. What is onboard depends on the departure location and availability. For the wine lists in F that I have seen the wines may have a retail value of $200-$800, wine choice will be up to the individual and the style of wine they like. As an example Château d'Yquem is available on most F flights but if you do not appreciate stickies (dessert wines) why bother asking for it.

Seating - in F the a380 and 777 are basically the same. There are around 7-9 777 aircraft that have the new F seating that was introduced prior to covid and these normally operates on specific routes. I have not flown on the new 777 F product but hope to at some point. In J the a380 is better than either 777 options.

Other comments - If I was travelling on a revenue ticket I would book the QF codeshare for the SCs and points. If travelling on rewards I will call EK and have my QF FF number changed to me Skywards No. as this cannot be done online. I have the lowest skywards status, so why do I do this, it is for the free wi-fi and if travelling in F or J IME the EK IVR seems to not only work on your status level but also class of travel. As an EK blue status pax if my booking was in F the call has often been answered within 1-2 rings. I was surprised at how quick calls were answered, it was much better than the QF P1 call wait times.

 

[Duffa]

Everything in the Mezze serving was delicious and fresh.

Jan 2022 DXB - CDG just after Covid reopening.
Very similar.

 

[NoName]

If we’re doing Mezze plates, here was mine - May 2022 BNE-DXB:




I know most people seem to love this but for me it was only ok. I have skipped it on a couple of subsequent F flights.

 

[kermatu]

Some of the items at your seat when boarding.



Quality and comfortable headphones.


Additional lotions and potions.

And my favourite element of the pre-departure service once the cabin is settled:

 

[kermatu]

Excellent Amenity kits.

Male



Female:


Both contain a dental kit, hairbrush, tissues, deodorant. Men’s also includes razor and shaving foam.

Both contain a pouch of Bulgari goodies.

Female:

Male: