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.)

 

[Human]

I'm wondering whether anyone knows of any other Emirates fifth-freedom routes where the carrier charges are so low?

 

[CaptJCool]

May i ask how your finding them
I misread and thought it was sin to melb, looked for almost the whole year and couldnt find any F flights to show

Then tried melb to sin and found a few but all were 107k pts +$1226

They’re only low if you book ex Singapore


I looked up rewards tics on the QF website
First found days the EK flights operate then chose Rewards and First plus flexible
And then Checked return flight in both directions
Ex Melbourne those carrier fees are pricey

 

[SOPOOR]

They’re only low if you book ex Singapore


I looked up rewards tics on the QF website
First found days the EK flights operate then chose Rewards and First plus flexible
And then Checked return flight in both directions
Ex Melbourne those carrier fees are priceyView attachment 374937

Ahh thanks. Ive found your ones which are quite soon

If i choose anytime from july to march there is nothing

Excellent find

 

[CaptJCool]

Ahh thanks. Ive found your ones which are quite soon

If i choose anytime from july to march there is nothing

Excellent find

Ahhh
That sounds messy to book a year ahead….

Maybe people can only book these 1-3 months ahead of time

 

[MELso]

I'm wondering whether anyone knows of any other Emirates fifth-freedom routes where the carrier charges are so low?

MXP-JFK and ATH-EWR (and vv) are pretty low too.

 

[kermatu]

Some of the food in the Concourse A restaurants.

Scallops. Excellent.

Lobster roll. Fresh and pretty generous amount of lobster.

Then from the other kitchen which opened at 5am.




Chibab- pancakes with cream cheese and honey. Delicious combination.

 

[kermatu]

Forgot to mention that one other pax and I were met at the aerobridge and escorted to the lounge for transit. I was last out of the cabin so there may have been more.

Next flight DXB-GLA 07:20 on the A380.
Direct boarding from lounge is so civilised.
Fuller cabin but boarding / welcoming process felt smoother. Only thing missing was amenity kit. Purser said not available on this day flight. However the main FA on my side brought me one 5 minutes later.

Menus:

 

[kermatu]

Took advantage of eating what I wanted and when. About 90 minutes in:


Salmon, crab and caviar starter. Wasn’t sure what this would be like but the combination was excellent. Really tasty.

Beef consommé was underwhelming.


Lamb cutlets were superb. Tender, a little pink, quality and tasty. The veg in the background very tough. But the lamb excellent.

While eating this a FA came round with the chocolates. She quickly retreated when she saw I hadn’t finished. Sadly didn’t see her or the chocs again (so couldn’t see if it was again an underwhelming selection).

Couple of hours later:




Finally about an hour out the chicken tikka roll.

Not quite what I was expecting but was classed as a snack and was tasty.

Excellent service and some decent chats with a couple of crew. Being a daytime flight makes this easier.

 

[VPS]

Forgot to mention that one other pax and I were met at the aerobridge and escorted to the lounge for transit. I was last out of the cabin so there may have been more.

Next flight DXB-GLA 07:20 on the A380.
Direct boarding from lounge is so civilised.
Fuller cabin but boarding / welcoming process felt smoother. Only thing missing was amenity kit. Purser said not available on this day flight. However the main FA on my side brought me one 5 minutes later.

Menus:
View attachment 374980

View attachment 374981
View attachment 374982
View attachment 374983

View attachment 374984
View attachment 374985

Did you get PJ on the DXB GLA route

 

[kermatu]

Did you get PJ on the DXB GLA route

These and slippers offered first (I declined). Makes the purser’s comment even more nonsensical. Guess the kits cost a fair bit more than slippers so they don’t encourage, but to effectively deny they were onboard is poor.

 

[TheRealTMA]

These and slippers offered first (I declined). Makes the purser’s comment even more nonsensical. Guess the kits cost a fair bit more than slippers so they don’t encourage, but to effectively deny they were onboard is poor.

Must have been a work exchange purser. In EK F you can normally get them if you ask, and on DXB GLA etc.

 

[SOPOOR]

They’re only low if you book ex Singapore


I looked up rewards tics on the QF website
First found days the EK flights operate then chose Rewards and First plus flexible
And then Checked return flight in both directions
Ex Melbourne those carrier fees are priceyView attachment 374937

I personally wouldnt pay $1200 odd each way on carrier charges alone, even if the Full price of the flight was $10k, which on paper makes it good value


ive just had a look, Sin to Mel F, there is one on 26 March, and about 10 per month until June 2024, and then NONE for the rest of the year

im pretty newbie for redemptions even though ive done about 3-4 in my life
but I thought redeemption availability was like zero unless you waited a the 1 year or 350days, the day they are released and snapped

so im quite shocked to see 10 days per month avaiaible from as early as 3 days time, but to be only avail for March, April, May 24

maybe its because of the route, or maybe pure luck

but for 100k +$88 even its just one way sing to melb, is something i will consider next time!

edit: ive just had a look, i thought Sing to Dubai might be cheap but it s 107k +$611 fees

i guess thats the equivalent pro rata for Melb to Europe being $1800 in fees

 

[kermatu]

I'll try the lounges in both the A and C concourses; I think the B concourse flounge is being renovated at the moment so not sure how I'll go there).

Just on this - I’d also heard that the B Lounge was being renovated. I assumed that might make the A Lounge more crowded. Definitely not the case. If anything was even emptier than I remembered. Later a staff member confirmed that B is definitely open. Small sections at a time shut off, that’s all.

 

[kermatu]

Female amenity kit has changed from my experience last year. A more streamlined kit though contents largely the same I think. Also comes with brush, dental kit, tissues and deodorant.

Extensive amenities available in the bathrooms as well (which the purser on my flight to Glasgow emphasised).

Male kits same as last year best I can tell.

 

[QF029]

I personally wouldnt pay $1200 odd each way on carrier charges alone, even if the Full price of the flight was $10k, which on paper makes it good value


ive just had a look, Sin to Mel F, there is one on 26 March, and about 10 per month until June 2024, and then NONE for the rest of the year

im pretty newbie for redemptions even though ive done about 3-4 in my life
but I thought redeemption availability was like zero unless you waited a the 1 year or 350days, the day they are released and snapped

so im quite shocked to see 10 days per month avaiaible from as early as 3 days time, but to be only avail for March, April, May 24

maybe its because of the route, or maybe pure luck

but for 100k +$88 even its just one way sing to melb, is something i will consider next time!

edit: ive just had a look, i thought Sing to Dubai might be cheap but it s 107k +$611 fees

i guess thats the equivalent pro rata for Melb to Europe being $1800 in fees

I'm flying back from Africa in a few months. I can get EK F all the way for 200k points but the fees are $1800. An alternative is to schlep my way to SIN (most likely) in Y and then pick up EK F SIN-MEL (they have availability). The main thing stopping me is my bucket list is to have a shower on the A380 which is not the aircraft on the route.

I don't think I can bring myself to pay the $1800. Decisions, decisions.

 

[kermatu]

Next flight GLA to DXB 13:15 departure. Upon checking in in the F queue I had assistance with my bag and then escorted to the priority security lane upstairs (but not beyond) which was good.

Standard EK outstation lounge. Single A380 flight enough to make it full. Lots of Indian dishes for lunch. I just had a coffee.

At the gate was invited by the staff from check-in to take a seat. Once boarding was called it was a free for all but I was fortunate to have an escort up the bridge so it was a bit more civilised than previous experiences in Europe.

Pretty empty F cabin. All the usual pre-departure routine. Champagne was Veuve with an apology that due to customs requirements the DP was not offered on the ground. Amenity kit provided in tote bag (wasn’t offered but immediately provided upon request).

Menus:








Same wine list as the flight up so no pic.

 

[kermatu]

Amuse bouche was cauliflower with panna cotta (I think) and lemon poached prawn in pea purée which was excellent.


Superb lobster salad.

Tomato consommé with lobster pieces. Yes, I like lobster!
The lamb was calling, but I couldn’t pass up roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on a plane.
Finally an amazing piece of beef in the sky. Pink, tender, delicious.


The affogato was excellent. Better quality ice cream than the QF one previously.

 

[kermatu]

Cassie was the main FA on my side. Outstanding service during the first half of the flight. Then pretty absent which meant the call bell was needed a couple of times for water etc. One request also completely forgotten. No big deal but unusual drop in the usual EK standard in my experience.



Chocolate selection definitely different to last year. But Cassie recommended some of the dark chocs which actually were pretty good.

Just over an hour out possibly the best cheese board I’ve had. The Le deux lait Basque was excellent but the truffle cheddar mind-blowing. If only I had a 3rd stomach…

 

[kermatu]

More food in the DXB F lounge - concourse A.


Terrine. Lacked a bit presentation wise compared to previous samples.


Ramadan special - Lamb ouzi. Delicious.


Some time later, Emirati breakfast set. Everything was excellent.

 

[Happy Dude]

They’re only low if you book ex Singapore

I thought I read somewhere that ex Honkers was also cheap?