Emirates A380 First Class to Dubai
Emirates 204
JFK-DXB
A380-800
11:20A-7:50A +1 (sked)
11:20A-7:28A +1 (actual)
October 2, 2013
Seats 3EF
One of the nicest features of the Emirates JFK lounge is direct jet bridge access to the upper deck of the A380. At T-30, First and Business Class pax were invited to board from the lounge. Economy pax (presumably any guests) were invited to leave the lounge, go downstairs and board at the regular gate.
Once the FA greeting pax at the door saw our FIRST BP, we were quickly passed off to other FAs who escorted us to our seats. They don't call it Bling Air for nothing.
Coats were hung, PJs and amenity kits distributed, menus distributed, shower bookings taken. PDBs were offered including champagne, although an obvious and significant cut-back is the elimination of Dom at the gate and substitution with Veuve.
One of the negatives of the middle closed suites and EK's staggered layout is that you can't see outside. Once in flight it doesn't matter but I like to look out on take-off and landing. The middle pair are also less spacious than the window seats which get the benefit of the curvature of the fuselage for extra space. Since the cabin was only 8/14 today, we were invited to move to a window seat for take-off and landing. With an on time push back and short taxi at a typically quiet morning at JFK, we were #2 for departure. Love the onboard camera views...
Pretty cool shadow of the whale as we climb out.
EK offers dine on demand and our FA invited to eat at our leisure. Since we had breakfast only a couple hours earlier, we decided to wait a couple of hours before eating. But not the libations... the first G&T of the day, just before noon.
EK has a great IFE system including the ability to call any seat on the plane.
with a wonderful selection of recent Hollywood, Bollywood and movies from all over the world. Also, functioning WiFi today, although not sure why it didn't start functioning until we left US airspace.
At a cost of US$20 for 100mg of download/upload, I wound up paying $31 mostly because I forgot to manage sites that frequently refresh (Thanks Drudge!) and the ESPN Gamecast of the Tribe losing the AL Wild Card game to the Rays.
And my Bollywood fix for the month. I watched Rush2, an action movie Jr. and I had seen in Jaipur earlier in the year. But this time, subtitles let me understand what was really going on. The usual cast of eye candy for both guys and gals.
Time for lunch, with a wide variety of choices.
And the wine list.
One of the many things that I really like about LH is that they roll the starter cart down the aisle and you can actually see before you select. You can do that with LH's more open suite concept. Tougher to do in the EK configuration.
Finally...
Caviar with all the trimmings including soft blini pancakes and chilled vodka
Next up the Seafood trilogy, captain's table of fresh marinated prawns, think salmon tranche with cracked peppercorns, and delicate crabmeat tower, dressed with classic cocktail sauce.
The La Clarté de Haut Brion 2010 Péssac Leognan did nothing for me. It didn't help that it was not cooled nearly enough for my liking. Back to the Dom ASAP.
Cream of cauliflower and leek soup, rich creamy farmhouse vegetable soup, served with crisp golden cheese and chive sticks. Delicious.
So many interesting choices for the main, but I opted for the excellent Chicken lababdar, a mild Indian curry dish of tender chicken pieces cooked in a delicately spices sauce, served with mutter paneer and basmati steamed rice.
The 2010 Sequana Sundawg Ridge Pinot Noir from Russian River was excellent.
Mrs. SFO went light with just a salad and Grilled salmon, served an Asian-style soy and ginger glaze, accompanied by sugarsnap peas, bok choy and steamed yams.
For dessert, the wonderful Warm banana and chocolate cake , served with rich chocolate sauce and caramelized pineapples. And a glass of one of favorites, the 2006 Chateau de Suduirat Sauternes
Completely stuffed, I sat back and enjoyed some more movies...
And for the ladies...
And great subtitles...
At some point after lunch while it was still daylight, we headed to the back of the upper deck and check out the Business Class lounge. The lounge is a great idea and with the right mix of people can be a lot of fun.
Mrs. SFO stayed for 5 minutes and headed back to sleep. I stayed for well over an hour as we went from daylight to nighttime, losing count of the number of Baileys, making new friends with a couple of interesting guys... a thirty-something medical assistant going back to his job in Kabul, and a forty-something expat Brit living with his wife and teenage sons in Dubai. We must have had a good time as we all got "Polaroid" pics of ourselves from one of the FAs. And pleasant conversation with our purser, who was from Rabat and was excited to hear that Mrs. SFO had lived in Rabat for a couple of years when she was 5-ish and her dad was stationed with the USAF. Even in my now inebriated condition, I was able to find my way "home"... passing thru what looked to be a most undesirable Business Class, but what do I know?
Back in the pointy end, our FA had made up a bed for me in 4K. I popped a couple of Tylenol and moved over and passed out for about 3 hours.
Starry, starry night...
Time for a tour of the nicest bathroom in the sky, much nicer that the stark hospital like F lavs on the LH A380s.
How cool is it to be able to control the floor temp?
As we started out descent, I moved over to 4K and Mrs. SFO over to 1A for our approach and landing, some 20 minutes early.
An EK 747? Cargo perhaps.
Great flight and great crew although I'm not totally sold on the EK suites, at least the middle suites. Mrs. SFO and debated whether to do windows on the way home and haven't decided. The window seats feel more spacious affording outside views, but it is nice to be able to sit together. First world problems for sure. While the product is excellent, the 1-2-1 closed suite concept cuts down on the spacious feeling. I'd still rather be on a Lufthansa 744, a Cathay three class anything or an NH 77W.