Review of Emirates flight from Dubai to Madrid in Economy

Intro

Hello amigos,

This is the last part of my India series. Covering the second leg of the trip between India and Madrid.

Previous flights on this series are: 

So now…back to Dubai where EK513 had left me…

what to do for 9 hours in DXB in transit?

Sleep… Priority Pass gave me acccess to the sleeping pods for a number of hours I couldn't recall. But this what I badly needed at the moment.

I knew there was Shake Shack in the UAE, so I thought I could give it a try…

But maybe a burger was a bit too unhealthy for breakfast.

I chose to go to the Merhaba lounge instead and try to get a shower, freshen up and have something "healthier" for breakfast. 

At the merhaba lounge

I had already tried one of the merhaba lounges on the inbound trip, I didn't love them, but they were what was available. 

My PP card didn't cover showers, so I had to shove something around 40 EUR or so. I thought it was worth it, considering that over 24 hours had passed since my last shower. They gave me a shower kit along with the towel…better than other shower lounges were you're just granted access to the shower and that's it. 

Once freshened up, it was time for food!

Not too amusing though… 

The views were…meh.

Maybe i need some relaxation…mimosas will do.

Finally some real food showed up.

Done with food and after checking emails…it was time to go to my gate.

boarding the beast

Boarding didn't take too long and was relatively efficient. 

This time I seated way back as I wanted to see the flaps and etc in action.

Alas, we didn't get one of the newer planes. While it was still within the acceptable range, the cabin was starting to show its age.

My seat

Views from my spot

One of EK's biggest pros in my opinion is ICE. Its amazing.

The menu for the day…another relic from pre-Covid times I guess.

electrical outlet

I ended up with a full row for myself. Hurray!

Enroute to Madrid

Flight occupation wasn't to heavy, and thus boarding was completed quickly and we were on our way back to Madrid

A nowadays rare sight in the western world:

This is another awesome feature of ICE

A tiny A320 between its larger siblings…

I was amazed by the whole operation of EK at DXB. Seeing all these behemoths lining up for take off; and the thought of all the people being carried by those planes…and then we took off.

The views of Coruscant, ehem….Dubai were great! 

Burj Khalifa dominating the scene.

We then passed over other Dubai hotspots

Then there wasn't much to see…

Then the service began… I pampered myself with red wine and coca cola

I initially asked for the Beef… which was quite good

But I felt curious about the turkey, I asked if they had some turkey left. The nice FA told me she would check if there was some spare…
…five minutes later she came back with a whole tray (I was only asking for the turkey but…okay!) 

Both were super good.
With my belly full it was only a matter of relaxing and watching some TV and the world pass by below. What a life! 

I then felt like having Baileys. But there was none. The FA offered me Kalhua instead, and I happily accepted.

I went to the WC, for reporting purposes. It was way better than IB's business WC!

Cabin view mid-flight

My row-cum-bed

The sun then set as we passed over Malta (I think)

Somewhere over the Mediterranean we were offered another snack. This once wasn't as good as the other meals. But it was appreciated. 

From then on the flight turned pretty much uneventful.
Arriving we had some words from the front office. Again, the plane was manned by a Spanish crew (is this usual at EK?)
 
The beast landed smoothly at Madrid…

And so my India trip was over.