Review of Emirates flight from Singapore to Dubai in Business

emirates airbus a380 business class (special fare)

DUE TO SIMILARITIES OF PRODUCTS, THE TRIP REPORT COMBINES THE EXPERIENCE BOTH SIN-DXB & DXB-LHR  FLIGHT

intro - the unbundled business class

Well……I accidentally unbundled my business class ticket

Flying business class is always an occasion for me, even more so when flying an Emirates’s A380. The privilege of chilling at the lounge and snoozing off at the comfort of the flatbed are just some of the perks that one may expect from a business class ticket. However, my pea brain clearly forgot that Emirates rolled out a fare type that left few people scratching their heads in 2019 – The “Business Special”.

So what is the “Business Special”? Essentially, it is Emirates' way to offer business class tickets at a lower price by removing lounge access, chauffeur service and advance seat selections. As this is a round trip between Singapore and London via Dubai, I paid around ~US$3300. This price is around 10 to 15 percent cheaper than the “Business Saver” ticket, which would have granted me access to the lounge and airport chauffeur service. Despite the removal of the aforementioned perks, luggage policy remained the same as other business class passengers (40 kg check in and two 7 kg carry on).

As excited (and pleasantly satisfied) as I was, In the interest of reporting, I will scrutinise how the fare reflects on passenger experience and discuss the value proposition of “unbundling” business class. 

( How can you not be excited for flying A380? Not once but twice in a day!!! -IN THE UPPER DECK)

Ground Experience in SIN

Emirates departs from Changi Airport from Terminal 1. Check-in counters are located at row 13 at the departure level. However, Emirates also operates early check in at Changi’s Jewel shopping centre. As Emirates have 4 departures a day on their flight to Dubai, there are usually staff available for help. Do note that EK353 and EK349 depart in close intervals with each other, so make sure the flight number is correct. 

The overly-excited me arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airport via taxi 4 hours prior to my departure. This turned out to be an incredibly unwise choice for me. The lack of a line for business class check in coupled with Changi Airport’s efficiency meant that I was through the immigration within 10 minutes. As previously mentioned, I do not have lounge access. For once in my life I complained of having too much time for plane spotting. Luckily Changi airport offered plenty of shops, cafes and rest areas for me to wander around.

EK353

EK353  | Airbus A380-861
SIN-DXB
Block Time: 0050 - 0415 
Actual Time: 0044 - 0342
Early Departure/ Early Arrival
Actual flight duration : 6hr58min

Boarding commenced at gate C26 at 2350. This is a full 1 hour before the stated departure time. I believe this was a prudent act to board a fully loaded A380 for an on-time departure. 

The boarding process was commenced orderly. Plenty of ground staff were available for help and proactively directs passengers to the right door. A hats off to them. On the side note, the moment ground staff directed me to take the upward-slanting jet-bridge, I simply could not resist the big smile on my face.

This is truly it, my first ever flight on an A380 upper deck.

 On the first leg, EK353 is a midnight departure at 0050. Operated by a 9 years old, GP7200 powered A380-800 of the registration A6-EON. 
This is a short 7-hour overnight flight with most passengers opting to prioritize sleep immediately after take off. Characteristically A380, its take off can only be described as "lumbering". However, once we reach cruising altitude, the strong tailwind allowed consistent speed in excess of 500 knots throughout the cruising phase. The majority of the flight occurs above the Indian Ocean and crosses into Oman before the arrival into Dubai. Cruising altitude peaked at FL400, with a top speed of 542 kts.

(The shear size of the A380 never cease to impress me)

The Seat & Cabin

As this trip report covers essentially the same product, I will combine the discussion of seats from both flights together.

I was seated on seat 12D on the first leg towards Dubai. This is a auto-assigned seat by the booking system, located at the larger main cabin. As this aircraft has yet to be retrofitted with Premium Economy, it retains a 3 class lay out. All B,D,G and J seats in the business class cabin are aisle seats. A and K are true window seats while E and F are couple seats.

Cr: Emirates

The cabin was clean and very well maintained. However, In classic Emirates style, the walnut wood really do make me wonder who approved the design. But I guess it also made the cabin…unmistakably……Emirates?

As this is a more than decade old product, plenty of bloggers on this site and out have covered this product. I can confirm that aisle seat complains on being very exposed is true, especially in a seat up position. The picture below illustrates how easy it is to see someone's activity when seated on an aisle seat. But hey, I never feel as exposed compare to any 787's economy class. Talking about extreme comparisons….

Furthermore, the middle aisle seat (D and G) also lacks access to storage boxes near the windows. This means that storage area are significantly lesser than A and K. That means, storage are relegated to the slot above the mini-bar and the cubby hole below the foot rest. luckily, the cubby hole was deep enough to put in a proper backpack.

Apart from the aforementioned complaints, the seat, in upright condition was supremely comfortable. With plenty of room to stretch and good thigh support, the seat really is designed for long haul flying.

When converted to bed, I found myself being able to side sleep thanks to the large foot cubby. The turn down service also provided a thin mattress which was very comfortable for my 5 hour sleep. I do find the blanket to be on the thinner side, which was fine for the given cabin temperature, but it could have been a little more substantial.

On topics of seat width, the seat really is not wide by any measure in 2024 (look no further than ANA Room and Singapore Airlines 2017 business class ). As such, It may be an issue for people of wider frame. For anecdote purpose, my elbow struck the armrest…..I need not state how painful it was. I did not scream, I swear.

On the second flight to Heathrow, I was lucky to be assigned 7K. A bulkhead window seat. This solved both storage and privacy problem, creating a small yet cozy cocoon for the 7 hour flight.

Short Guide for the Toilets

There are 4 toilets all located at the rear end of the upper deck (near the galley). They were generally kept clean by the flight attendants and are stocked with plentiful of amenities., namely dental kits and perfumes. For a theoretical maximum of 76 business class passengers, that gives a 19 pax/toilet ratio. This ratio usually means no queue in most of the flight, except the moment where seat-belt signs are off just after take off (no where near as bad as economy class on 787-10 for sure).

 The full on assault by the walnut wood trimmings …..take a little bit of time to get accustomed to …

Transiting Through DXB

EK353 landed in Dubai just before 4AM. As this is my first time transiting through DXB, I was in awe of the scale of the airport. Do leave ample of time to transit here. From clearing transit security at concourse C, take transit bus to concourse A and re-clear security again took me more than 30 minutes. For those who have yet to visit Dubai , I am talking ONLY about Terminal 3. So do be mindful of the size and transit time of the airport. However, security line flows quite efficiently and there are always plenty of security officers to ensure the flow of lines.

(Mega project? it's more like Giga-Airport)

As I do not have lounge access, my 5 hour is spent simply wandering around the airport. Like Singapore, DXB offered plenty of shops, eateries and seating even at the ungodly 4am. But the airport can get very crowded  easily (look at how many A380s Emirates operate) . Therefore, finding a place to sit can be a challenge at times. 

boarding - ek029

EK029 | Airbus A380-861
DXB-LHR
Block Time: 0940 - 1425
Actual Time: 0942 - 1356
On time Departure/ Early Arrival
Actual flight duration : 7hr14min

We boarded through gate A23, part of the massive concourse A. Boarding was called 1 hour before departure time. As flights to the UK require secondary security checks, the pre-boarding process was rather hectic. Most passengers had their carry on and bags opened by security. For a fully laden A380, the time did add up. however, boarding was called swiftly after most passengers have completed their security formalities.

EK029 departs from Dubai International at 0940. The 10 years old, A6-EEX metal is also powered by the GP7200 engines. The flight was entirely within day light, therefore passengers were either Glued to the extensive ICE in-flight entertainment or enjoying a drink at the on-board bar. Similar to previous flight, the cruise phase also peaked at FL400.

As I was lucky to get window seats, here are some take off views that I managed to get.

Amenities & Entertainment

As the first leg of the flight is a night flight, I will focus on the amenities first. Emirates offered a very substantial amenity pouch with Bvlgari products for these red-eye flights. The kits are gender-specific (male/female), hence I received the male kit. It comes with shaving kit, perfume, lotions, dental kits etc. I was quite overwhelmed at first as I was only expecting basic dental kit, eye shades, slippers and a lotion. Great job to Emirates. Eye-shades and slippers are offered separately. However, Pajamas is a bring your own situation, do not expect one on-board.

Moving on to the entertainment system. Software-wise, Emirates is known for their absurdly extensive selection of content through their ICE system. Taking advantage of this, I had 2 movies on my second flight, yet I was still left contents that was still in my wish-list. Furthermore, I really love the set up of viewing exterior camera on the main-screen while looking at flight data on the tablet remote. Unfortunately, he exterior camera resolution is….bad (I have no other words to sugarcoat it….).

Finally, Wifi is available on my flight at a fee (except for Emirates Skyward Members). Options are the US$10 30 minute plan and the US$20 full flight plan. I did not use the wifi, therefore I could not comment on the wifi speed.

food, beverage & Bar

No business class ritual is complete without an obligatory champagne cheers :)

For both flights. The first sign of service commence via welcome drink. On the first flight, I chose the Moet champagne to start the journey. Kick of this adventure with some fizz.

As this was a late night departure. I opted to skip the light bite. For those who wish to see the menu, I attach under here. I want to note that Emirates really has a strong game when it comes to light bites and snacks, partly because of the on-board bar.

After 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, the flight attendant woke me up for breakfast as per my pre-departure request. I opted for the Szechuan beef with stir fry vermicelli and chicken pot stickers. The beef itself was surprisingly tender and flavorful, with a decent kick from the Szechuan pepper, but the pot-sticker skin was on the dry side. The rest of the meal were decent but nothing over the top. I enjoyed it with a cup of green tea and a glass of orange juice.

The second flight was a morning departure. Therefore I skipped the alcohol and went for the strawberry lemonade to start the flight. It was a refreshing drink. It was the taste of fresh strawberry, sour with a sweet round off.

Since this day flight is a relatively long 6 hour, the menu grew more substantial compare to the previous overnight flight. Lunch is a 3-course meal delivered course-by-course instead of the previous single tray service. This also meant that the meal service was a rather long 2-hours. Not that I mind for this day-time flight. I came to feast, so the procession was definitely part of the theatrics. 

The menu was reflecting the Wimbledon game of summer, which therefore has a lot of strawberry inspired dishes ( a summer fruit of UK). The full menu is attached below. Note that the champagne has been swapped to Veuve Cliquot instead of the previous Moet.

One hour after airborne, the feast begin with a pre-meal drink. I selected the Orange Fizz from the mocktail menu to pair with the assorted salted nuts. Fizzy, citrusy and sweet, but without the side effects of drowsiness. 

The appetizer came with 3 choices, I selected the Salmon Tataki with red onion salad drizzled in yuzu dressing. It was served together with a bowl of greens and bread with butter. The salmon was smoky, rich and a little flaky, which was balanced out by the tangy and mildly sweet taste of the yuzu dressed onion. The crunch of the onion also elevated the texture of the dishes.

As for the mains, I went for the more conservative choice of grilled chicken as the other 3 options seemed too heavy for me. Kudos to Emirates for providing 4 choices, but the dish itself was…unmemorable at best. It was not bad by any margin, but unmemorable. At least the chicken did not taste like rubber, as all too often it is in a flying kitchen.

I paired by chicken with…..champagne :)
All in the name to "de-grease my palette"

Insatiable gluttony was the theme of the day. So two desserts was in order.
I had the strawberry tart as part of the seasons recommendations. I also ordered the fruit plate to pretend that I have a healthy lifestyle (I clearly don't). The fruits were fresh and sweet, which is basically the most you can ask from a fruit. However, the strawberry tart was simply divine. The crumbliness of the tart, the velvety and gooey goodness of strawberry moose, the tartness of strawberry was all rounded off by the rich and creamy white chocolate. Hands down, this ended the meal with a high note. A box of two chocolate ganache from Valrhona were also served as an ending gesture.

(it's so good that it needed 2 pictures)

As I was too full after the heavy meal, I decided to get up and take a small walk to the bar. Beyond stuffed, I did not order anything. But since the on-board bar of Emirates A380 is such a modern day icon of aviation, I still came with the obligatory bar shots.

As gimmicky as it may sound, I observed that many people do use the bar, be it socializing or have some snacks. Personally speaking, it really is a great space to stretch, to talk, and generally made the flight more exciting.

A Small Note On Service

Simply put, I felt that service on-board both flights were above average. However, I observed that there are noticeable variation in the approach of the cabin crew. Some attendants come across as quite robotic, adhering strictly to their duties without much personal engagement, as if they're merely ticking boxes. In contrast, others are more personable and proactive, frequently checking in with passengers to offer additional drinks, food, or even extra bedding during the second day time flight. 

This disparity in service styles probably comes down to individual personality differences or cultural interpretations of hospitality. For instance, while some passengers and crew might prefer a low-touch service that minimizes interaction, others value and expect more dynamic and engaging interactions. This variety in service approach indicates a broader range of hospitality styles within the airline's crew, catering to diverse passenger preferences. Ultimately, the flight attendants are primarily responsible for every passenger's safety, and the services and hospitality on top of their primary duty deserves every gratitude that I have for them.

Extra Snippets from the Flights

DXB really is the natural habitat of the Airbus "Whale"

Cloud Surfing in the Whale

Good times always come to an end

British Airways "Speedbirds" in its nest