Part 4
Diner service was quite disappointing, but I wasn't going to let that affect the rest of the experience. So while I went to the huge restroom I requested my bed being made. I came back to a perfectly prepared suite, ready for sleep. And boy did I sleep good. First of all the madras is really thick (a couple of centimeters), and the suite being quite large, one has plenty of space to move around. I got a solid eight hours of sleep that night, probably one of the longest sleep I've had on a plane!
Good night! The doors provide a great feeling of privacy while sleeping
Doors closed. They are operated electronically.
I woke about two hours before landing and I was starving! So I decided to order pretty much everything on the menu... I started with an excellent cup of tea, and followed with a fruit platter, cold cuts and bread basket, omelette, pancake and to top it all a bowl of cereals. Man was I hungry! The food was excellent, except for the omelette mushrooms that I did not really care for. But looking back at it, it felt like I had a full breakfast buffet in an hotel. Not a bad experience!
Arrival breakfast menu
Awakening tea
Table packed with goodies, a cappucino and The Simpsons
Cold cuts and fresh fruits
Tomato omelette
Corn flakes cereals, very normal
Pancakes
Fresh fruits
One hour later it was time for a walk. I explored the Business cabin, all the way to the bar. The were many bassinets in C, and the load was quite high. The Business seats looked very nice as well, and flying C on Emirates is probably a very decent experience too.
The C cabin
Bar area
Bar, lounge and snacks
Bistro bites
And now, back to First class for a shower. On board shower with water, not shower in a tube that is. And what a pleasant and refreshing experience that was. The restroom is huge, unlike restrooms on any other planes. There is plenty of space to move around, and to change. There is also plenty of seating area, making it easy to take time to have a look at all the amenities, and to prepare oneself. The dedicated shower attendants had set up everything for me, and one went in the restroom with me to show me all the amenities, and how the shower worked. Five minutes of water turned out to be more than enough, if responsibly managed..
The huge restroom
Mind you, that’s a restroom with a shower!
Clothe hanger, and various features of the restroom
The whole spa experience was very enjoyable indeed and the only thing one could wish more would be a massage. Maybe that's for when EK will refurbish their planes in a few years?
The cabin was then prepared for landing and I used the ice system to watch the Airshow and the tale camera. The purser came to me for the first time in the flight and asked if I had a pleasant flight. I was pleased she asked but the enquiry did not feel as genuine as on LH.
Airshow
Ground view
Tarmac view
We landed on time, after a shorter flight than expected, and as we were disembarking from First Class there were no one ahead of us at immigration. The whole process took very little time and we got our luggages amongst the first despite no EK priority tags being attached to our bags (There were *A prio tags). We were out of the Terminal about 45 minutes after touching the ground; it was very efficient indeed.
As we were being picked up, we did not use the limo service which EK offers to its First Class passengers. I’ll guess we’ll have to try this service next time!
Conclusion
EK delivers in the air mostly because of the amazing hard product. It goes beyond all expectations and beyond anything else I've experienced before. Simply and truly an fantastic experience which will be difficult to live without on our next F trips. The service on board was very good but not as polished as on LH (no note, no little extras in general). Catering was ok but as mentioned disappointing for dinner. Finally the ground experience was unfortunately not on par with the rest, which really is a shame.