Scott: We flew roundtrip from New York – JFK to Milan on Emirates Business Class on an Airbus A380-800.
So, was it worth it?
Maddy: Absolutely, I loved this flight. It was my first time flying on Emirates Business Class, or Emirates at all, and it was well worth the points and the cash.
Table of Contents
Emirates Business Class Check-in and Security
Maddy: Your Emirates business class experience starts when you get to the airport.
There’s a special check-in line for business and first-class passengers, and priority baggage is also included. This means that your bags will come out first when you land, so you shouldn’t be waiting as long at baggage claim after your flight.
After you check in and get your tickets, you get to go through an expedited security line. It’s similar to if you have TSA precheck or clear, but it was actually faster than both of those lines.
So make sure when you’re there that you ask somebody where the business class security line is located because it is super fast.
Scott: And the faster you get through, the faster you get to the business class Lounge, which was delicious, relaxing, amazing.
Emirates Business Class Lounge
Scott: What did you think of the lounge?
Maddy: The lounge was one of my favorite parts, aside from the actual plane seat itself. It was next level. It was so serene and upscale.
The food was restaurant quality. The food did not taste like airport food, and there were plenty of options if you have dietary restrictions, you’re vegetarian, or if you want to eat all the meat that you possibly can, they have it.
And it is all you can eat.
Scott: Drinks of all kinds were included. There’s coffee, tea, juices, bottled water, and my favorite kind of water… alcohol.
They bring it to you if you like, or you can mix your own drinks.
Maddy: They also have a full-service coffee machine that can make anything from hot cocoa, cappuccinos, lattes, you name it.
Aside from the food and drinks, there are a lot of seating options, too. They have couches, tables, a work area with computers and printers, and the WiFi is free. It worked great for us.
Another thing worth mentioning about the lounge was that it wasn’t overcrowded. I know with a lot of lounges these days, you run into, “Are they overselling it? Will there even be enough seats?”
In both of our experiences in the Emirates lounges, we didn’t have an issue.
The bathrooms are well stocked, and they’re really clean. They have nice hand towels, lotions, and soaps.
The front desk also has these nice shower kits, and showers are available.
When we were in the lounge, we didn’t actually use the showers, but I did take a peek. They looked great — just like a hotel.
Another big thing about these Emirates lounges is that business and first-class board directly from the lounge.
Boarding
Scott: What’s really cool about boarding directly from the lounge is that when you’re in the lounge, you kind of never want to leave and go back into the loud terminal.
So instead of trying to time it or run to the boarding area, you can wait, and they call you when you’re ready. It’s really seamless.
Maddy: When you board the plane, the flight attendants hand out drinks.
Scott: We were greeted with champagne Veuve Clicquot, which I wildly mispronounced. But it was delicious anyhow.
Maddy: The first thing that you notice when you get on the plane and after they hand you that delicious champagne, there’s plenty of overhead bin space.
I know sometimes, sitting in economy, it’s a game of, “Will I be able to bring my bag on the flight, or will I have to gate check?” This wasn’t an issue. Each person gets a full bin, which is plenty of space for more than one bag.
Seating Layout
Maddy: And the seating layout is also really nice on this Emirates A-380.
Scott: What’s really cool now is you can preview how your seat is going to look when you book.
So, if you’re traveling alone and want extra privacy, you can choose one seat by yourself that’s closer to the window or one seat by yourself that’s closer to the aisle. But no matter what, you don’t have to climb over anybody if you want to go to the bathroom or walk through the aisle.
Now, if you want to sit with someone and you want to be close enough to talk or even touch, they call them the “honeymoon seats” that are in the middle.
Those are the E and F seats, and there’s a divider, so if you don’t know that person, or if you’re having a little tiff, you put the divider up.
Maddy: On our flight to Milan, we sat in seats 18E and 18F. Now, let’s talk about the seat itself.
Seat / Bed / Storage Space
Maddy: We’re pretty tall. I’m 5’8” and Scott is 6’2”. We were both able to comfortably and completely lay down.
There’s no shortage of legroom. The seats recline all the way down, and they’re pretty wide. It was really clean, and everything, at least on our flight, felt new and plush.
They all have mattress pads too. I know on some airlines, you have to ask for it, but on our flight, they were handing mattress pads out to everybody — we didn’t even have to ask. And these mattress pads definitely made a difference when you’re laying flat. So make sure you get one of those.
There’s a lot of storage space. You get space by your feet, and there’s a cubby space next to your seat.
You get headphones, pillows, and blankets, and you can also ask for extras if you like. I saw some people getting extra blankets on our flight.
Inflight Entertainment (IFE) and WiFi
Scott: Let’s talk about the inflight entertainment. The screen is very large. It’s a really clear, beautiful picture.
Maddy: The screen is actually 23 inches. They had hundreds of movie options, too, and some TV options, although I think most of it was news. They also had games, and you can watch the inflight tracker if you’re into that, like I am.
Something else I wanted to point out was that in order to use the onboard WiFi, you need to have your Emirates skywards number. So make sure you have that handy, or you won’t be able to log in.
Amenity Kits
Maddy: The amenity kits they handed out were luxury. They were Bulgari amenity kits, and there were different ones for men and women. They included everything from hair brushes to razors to deodorant, perfume, and lotion.
There’s a mini mirror for the women. There’s shaving cream for the guys. They also gave out these really nice pajamas that were super comfortable and breathable.
They also gave you slippers and an eye mask.
Another thing I noticed with these Emirates business class seats was that you had a lot of privacy, so sometimes, if you get stuck with a seat without your tray table on the aisle, then you kind of feel like you’re exposed. That wasn’t an issue here.
Food / Meals / Drinks
Maddy: The food was amazing. They might as well have brought that lounge on the plane. It was the best food I’ve had on an airplane.
There are plenty of options as far as drinks go. They have juices, sodas, mocktails, coffee, tea, a full cocktail list, beer, wine, and yes they had that fancy champagne and whiskey and aperitifs.
Scott: We were served a delicious dinner on the plane. And not delicious for airplane food — delicious, delicious.
So what did we have exactly?
Maddy: First, we had this traditional Arabic dish. It had hummus, olives, and lamb. It was some kind of Mediterranean medley. It was really good.
And then, for the main course, we both had the braised beef short ribs.
Scott: You also had a choice of roasted chicken or prawns — so many choices. Everything looked really good. For dessert, you had various things like chocolate brownies, mangoes, fruit, or a cheeseboard.
Maddy: One thing we really liked was the little chocolates they gave out in addition to the dinner.
We were served breakfast, and there was also a light bite, which was like a mid-flight snack.
And if you got up and went to the bar area, you could go grab a sandwich or fruit, and they had tons of these mini pastries like chocolates and little cakes that you could just grab and go with.
The Bar
Scott: All right, I’ve never seen this on a plane before. There’s a bar. And a bartender. And it’s really good. They made me an espresso martini, and they could make pretty much any cocktail that you wanted.
So a real bartender with a real bar on a plane, you just feel like a baller. And there are seats around there, so if you want to hang out and socialize, you could do that too. Just really cool.
I didn’t really feel like socializing because I was wearing those really comfortable pajamas, but a lot of people were doing that. But I wasn’t trying to have a pajama party, so I just brought my martini back to the seat, and we had our little private party in our honeymoon seats.
Maddy: The staff was also super friendly, even though we were videoing and taking a lot of pictures. They actually offered to take our photos at the bar. So, we got to stand there and pose. It was really cute.
Bathrooms
Maddy: The bathrooms were stocked with toothbrush kits and lotion, perfume, and combs. They also had a full-length mirror.
Emirates Business Class: Is It Worth It?
Maddy: If you want to splurge, or you have a special occasion, or maybe you just want to treat yourself, Emirates business class is worth it.
Scott: What would you say sets Emirates apart?
Maddy: The food. The food is like you’re going to a nice restaurant. It did not make you feel like you were eating airplane food or eating airport food. It was amazing.
The second reason would be the friendliness of the staff. They definitely made it feel like a luxurious experience. They were willing to go the extra mile. They made you feel really special.
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