When I moved to Dubai on August of last year, I knew that there would be a chance to try Emirates and the Airbus 380. It is known the high level of service and quality Emirates provides in Dubai and also how they are using the A380 to differentiate from other airlines when it comes to service and amenities for their customers. Before getting here I had read about the Emirates Terminal in DXB and how this massive building is able to manage millions of passengers in a year also how Emirates is the biggest customer of the A380 and is providing exclusive amenities to its customers.
Once you arrive to Dubai you see how Emirates is important to the growth of Dubai as one of the top tourist destination in the world. Dubai International Airport is the busiest international passenger based on traffic and is because of the massive footprint of Emirates in the country flying to more than 80 countries and more than 160 destination and the Airbus 380 is a big factor in managing those numbers. Emirates is the biggest customer for the plane with 119 of them in service more than 40% of the available planes in the world. If you add the foothold of the A380 plus Terminal 3 at DXB (Biggest passenger terminal in the world) you get Dubai recipe of having a record to show the world.
The Emirates Business Class experience start when you get picked in a BMW at you home/office and drop you off in the Business/First Class designated area at the airport. Is crazy to see the number of cars you can see in the road with the Emirates logo, but then you need to understand that an A380 has more than 70 business class seats. This initial service really set the mood for a smooth transition from your starting point to the airplane. Once you get out of the car you can select one of the many business class stations to do the check in, since the terminal is so huge they dedicate massive space for check in for all classes. My experience is that it takes 5 to 10 minutes for the check in as they have a good number of stations, after you get your boarding pass is onto the Business Class Lounge. The Security and Migration at DXB is a breeze, once you have your biometrics into the system you only put you passport on one of the smart gates and the doors will open to let you pass into the terminal. From the different airports I have been the efficiency in this one is phenomenal.
After you pass security there is a 5-10 minute walk into the terminal and towards the Lounges, one thing that I learned the first time is that the lounges (Business and First) are the size of the terminal; so if you flight leaves from door 35 you have an elevator that goes directly to the door and no need to leave the lounge to get to the door. Once you get to the lounge you can enjoy the big facility: have some food, enjoy a drink or just relax in one of the many areas they have for resting. The place is so big you can be get the right space for work, meditate, chat with fellow passengers while waiting for your departure. With one our to the flight boarding start, you will see it in the many monitors, the good thing is you check in from the lounge to the airplane.
After getting to the gate you can appreciate the size of the A380, for the airplane to work the airports needed to adapt multiple tunnels for the boarding, in some cases you can see up to 3 tunnels connected but usually there are 2: one for each floor of the airplane. Inside the airplane you start seeing beautiful details that are part of the Emirates brand, with some background music. Fun fact: in many of the boarding’s there are a couple of songs by Puerto Rican artists like Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, Chayanne!!!
The A380 has some features that makes it unique, in first class you have fully enclosed seats with dinning at your leisure and yes the opportunity to shower at 40,000 feet in the air… As of now I have not experienced the first class service but my current experience in Economy and Business has been exceptional so definitely the experience in first would be out of this world.
Business section is huge, since is almost all the second floor of the airplane, but you can see a great number of flight attendants ready to support you during the flight. Once you get to your seat, there is the traditional champagne to start the journey and while they make last checks before flight. You will find business seats to be spacious with ample storing place, the configuration of the seating brings good privacy but if you are flying with someone you could get center side by side seats that by lowering a small board you have the ability to share during the flight.
After approximately 45 minutes of departure you can go to the Onboard lounge where you can go and have a drink or snack while in the air and have an share stories with other fellow passengers. Going there and just be an hour of the flight there is a very enjoyable experience, personally have met great people from other parts of the world and also learn a little bit more from some of the great flight attendants that support us during the flight.
Food in the flight is excellent with always good variety and taste, you will not get hungry in the flight. Full dining service in your seat and cold/hot snacks in the lounge, and obviously a good variety of beverages with a full bar and drink menu. They also have snacks likes olives, peanuts if you only want to calm your hunger.
Once you are in the air is easy to forget you are cruising at more than 500 mph / 35,000 feet in the air with the personal service, big spaces and the entertainment available (called ICE more than 3,000 movies and music) will make the flight memorable. I will miss this level of service when I finally go back to America to suffer in those regular seats the airlines offers (:-)
The airplane is powered by four big engines, and you would be surprised at the low noise you hear when in the air, I have been in smaller airplanes where talking would have been more difficult. Engine noise was an important issue that they manage as you will find tough regulations regarding noise levels at some of the key airports like London Heathrow, Lufthansa did a study and found noise levels 50% lower than their 747. Its avionics was taken from military experience and was a first in commercial aviation, more than 300 miles are installed in each airplane. Some people has said that part of the delay was in part to the complicated process of installing all this cables. In total more than 4 million components are part of each vehicle.
The combination of great service by the Emirates team, plus a great airplane in the A380 makes the experience unforgettable. Is important to remember that the travel experience is not only the final destination. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….
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