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There are business classes with wide, comfy seats and restaurant-quality food, and there is the Emirates A380 Business Class that makes you feel like you are staying in a luxury hotel with wings.
The seat and the route
Dubai (DXB) to Melbourne (MEL). Seat 23K on an Airbus A380 aircraft.
13 hours 25 minutes
Is there a loyalty scheme and sustainability program?
As the loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai, Emirates Skywards, allows you to earn both Skywards Miles and Tier Miles on Emirates and flydubai flights. You can also earn Miles with Emirates partners worldwide.
Emirates has a wide variety of sustainability initiatives from aircraft selection to technological investment, as well as practical solutions like reducing, reusing and recycling. The full list of ecological practices and reports on their effectiveness can be found here.
How was the airport experience?
Despite being one of the world’s busiest airports, departing in Dubai is simple and efficient. Terminal 3 is completely devoted to Emirates services and has a separate entrance for Business and First Class passengers, so I breeze into a check-in that is calm, quiet and immediate. Security and customs are similarly fuss-free and I can use the automated gates with a passport with an e-chip; this level of efficiency makes you feel like you are a local leaving home rather than a visitor.
If you are familiar with Dubai Mall, you will not be surprised that Dubai airport has plenty to keep the shopaholic happy from US fast food chains yet to make it to our shores (Shake Shack) to high end fashion. But with access to the Emirates business lounge, I do not stick around in the main terminal long.
Is there lounge access?
We like to think of First and Business Class as floating above the other classes in the rarified air, but at Dubai Airport it is made manifest with the lounge spanning the entire airport on a mezzanine level above the cut and thrust of the main terminal traffic. This is the largest business class lounge in the world and it is designed so that First and Business passengers can walk straight onto the top level of the A380 that is devoted to these two classes of air travel, there is no need to head back down to a gate and have everyone look jealously as you can get invited on first; you only board with your fellow fortunate travellers.
The lounge itself is wonderfully tranquil; there are buffets staggered along the length of the airport and there is also a fine dining restaurant, cigar bar and the Timeless Spa. I end up in a breakout space of lush armchairs with a New York Times, feeling like the jet-set of the 1950s and 60s.
How was the cabin and seat?
It is a very exclusive and clubby vibe to have a whole upper deck of the world’s largest airline dedicated to Business and First Class. Passengers file on quietly and almost disappear into their spacious pods giving a sense of the plane being far less full than it actually is.
The seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, and all seats convert to fully flat beds. I have been recommended 23K because the K seats have your mini bar with bottles of water, electricity outlets, side table and storage on the aisle side, ensuring you have more privacy as your seat is tucked into the window. It is also darker and easier to sleep at full recline. In addition, 23K is the front seat of the row so I have a magazine rack in front of me on the wall and a bouquet of orchids rather than another passenger.
The seats are extremely comfortable with 19.6”-20.6” wide seats, pitched up to 44” apart. Squint and you have private jet vibes with the skies all to yourself. If you do have to leave your seat you have a staggered seat arrangement so you get individual entry and exit path from seat to aisle.
Your ice entertainment system is on a 23” LCD touch screen with up to 6,500 channels of on-demand entertainment in more 40 languages – and you can shut out any exterior noise with your noise-cancelling headphones. You have no hope of exhausting the entertainment offerings here but I did manage to stumble across NOW: The Best of Indie Arabia Vol. 2 with modern takes on traditional tunes from bands like Apo & the Apostles and OUM. It is a nice way to say goodbye to the Middle East.
How was the in-flight dining and drinks?
Because I am in the air, and beyond the usual constraints of time, I say yes to a Breakfast Martini, the gin shaken with fresh juice. I am also steered towards the Moet & Chandon pairing experience, a relatively new offering celebrating the partnership of Emirates with the storied Champagne house. Moet & Chandon’s Michelin-starred chef, Jean-Michel Bardet, has created dishes that complement Moet & Chandon’s premium drinks. I opt for the Grand Vintage 2016 that goes fabulously with my poached scallops served on a bed of green melon with roasted almonds, as well as the roasted corn-fed chicken with a risoni risotto finished off with parmesan and chicken jus. I finish with a coconut cake with pineapple compote and pistachios and change into my Business Class lounge wear; this light-blue suit set with a cowl is made from ultra-soft and sustainable modal and I have been wearing it to bed every night since getting off the plane (washing days excepted).
What was the in-flight service like?
The cabin crew looking after my section of Business Class manage to be unobtrusive yet always there when you need them. To say nothing of the decadent Onboard Lounge situated at the rear of the Business Class cabin on the upper deck of the A380. Here staff members will shake you up something on the spot in what looks like a futuristic little floating bar pod with a selection of premium branded liqueurs and spirits, Champagne and classic cocktails, and a selection of hot and cold snacks. Move off to the casual booth seating for a chat or watch the 55-inch LCD screen showing the aircraft’s position and views from its external cameras.
A final thought
Two burning questions: is the A380 version of Business Class with a dedicated deck and its own private bar the apex of Business Classes? Why on earth has Airbus stopped making this aircraft and will they change their mind?
The writer was a guest of Emirates and Visit Malta.
