Go Back   FlyerTalk Forums > Community > Trip Reports

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old Jan 30, 09, 2:20 am   #1
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: AKL
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF
Posts: 399
Cool Ek433 Auckland - Brisbane TripReport

Decided to go to the Gold Coast via BNE for the weekend and had a fabulous flight again with EK




AKL-BNE


Chauffeur Drive , Check-In & Lounge :

CD: Was the usual Caprice , noticed that I get the Caprice/Statesman for F travel & Fords for J ... Any-one else get the same ?

Check-In: Might have been bad as Counter staff was about to take some Y pax but saw me coming so processed me first , the gesture much appreciated

Lounge: Been here quite a few times so skipped the pics but staff was great as usual and very welcoming.

I had arrived straight from work so had a shower and then a good lunch before my usual few glasses of bubbly


EK433


After a nice 90 mins in the Lounge and feeling very relaxed from the massage chair .... boarding was announced so I bid my farewell to the staff and made my way slowly to the Gate far far away ..... Gate15.

Personally, I like Gates 15 & 16 as they help make me work up my appetite for the full meals that have to be finished in the 3 hr flight ... You'll see what I mean in a bit


EK433 (foreground) & EK407 (background)






The Beautiful EK433






Gate 15






2 Lanes ... Left for F/J & Right for Y






Exclusive L1 bridge for F






My Private Suite(s) ... Sole F pax






Chose Suite 2A as there was the usual noise from the forward galley during boarding ...

I really like the B77w suite over the A345 one as the space inside is better managed and the suite looks better IMHO



Suite Pix











Nice Big Screen on the B77w









The Seat:






Pre-Departure Dom , Arabic Coffee & Dates






Round 2






A Rear shot EK407






Hot Canapés






Starters :
Was offered both starters so indulged


New Zealand Seafood Delight






Pressed Shish Taouk Chicken Terrine






Main : Paprika smoked loin of Lamb






Dessert: Chocolate Macaroon




Initially I was a bit iffy by the way it looked but man once I bit into it was tempted to accept the 2nd one offered !



To Finish : Espresso & last glass of Dom








BNE Chauffeur Drive To crown it all off was offered this lovely ride to my hotel.





Seat Pitch measurements anyone ?





Cabin View








Final Thoughts :



I usually try to look at the flight service with the intention to pick out flaws and slip ups... With my recent EK flights I find myself always struggling to come up with serious ones ... With this flight again; everything was executed beautifully , right from the welcoming manner by the purser to absolutely brilliant and attentive service by the cabin crew !

The flight back EK432 was a great flight too but being strapped for time will only post the outbound leg and try to update with the in-bound later

So in closing, Thanks Emirates for another great overall flight experience and thanks again to the Exceptional Cabin Crew !!

Last but not least thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the flight

As always , Comments and feedback are welcome

Cheers

Last edited by EK_Flyer; Feb 3, 09 at 3:42 am.
EK_Flyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 3:50 am   #2
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: CBR
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF, BA Executive Club, Cedar Miles, SunMiles, Enrich, Gulf Air FFP
Posts: 704
Great pics and report.
Having now tried all what EK has to offer in F (A345, B777 suites, and skycruisers), which of the seats/cabins do you like the most?
edy4eva is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 4:08 am   #3
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: AKL
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF
Posts: 399
Thanks Ed

Actually you're almost right ... My A380 & B77LR F trips next week will round off all EK F classes (I think)

The B77W might win for the privacy and suite Experience but i did enjoy the sky cruiser flight as well. Somehow going into the whole suites experience you miss the full blown attention and FA interaction you get on Sky Cruisers

I loved Sky Cruiser for that as if you're travelling with some-one it still gives you a great F experience without compromising too much... you have great room and only lose out on the privacy a bit which doesnt matter if you're with some-one ....

But hmm i'll have to wait for the A380 F flight just not sure what the cabin experience will be like and dont have enough spare time to try the full AKL-DXB-AKL run only doing AKL-SYD-AKL

But anyway for now I guess if you're travelling alone it's B77w , I like the Window seat so the suite flights wont help me sit together when travelling together so here Sky Cruiser wins but conversely if I'm alone and in F I would prefer to not have any-one sit in the adjoining seat.

What about yourself mate , you must have been through all of EK's F cabins by now ... twice over .... so what's your take ?

Last edited by EK_Flyer; Jan 31, 09 at 3:06 am.
EK_Flyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 7:11 am   #4
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: CBR
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF, BA Executive Club, Cedar Miles, SunMiles, Enrich, Gulf Air FFP
Posts: 704
I share the same opinion with you about when traveling alone.
Having said that, I wouldn't mind a skycruiser seat, even when alone, if the next seat is vacant too
edy4eva is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 7:33 am   #5
I Voted
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Agoura Hills, CA USA
Posts: 2,069
Excellent trip report and pictures.. Thanks so much for sharing.. Food looks wonderful...
RTW4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 10:16 am   #6
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AC*G
Posts: 3,085
Great photos. Interesting to see some interior shots of the new AKL pier.
mad_atta is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 1:03 pm   #7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
I Voted
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Philadelphia
Programs: UA 1.5K, BD Gold, DL Plat
Posts: 10,670
Excellent report. I agree, the food + presentation looks amazing.
MatthewLAX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 30, 09, 3:56 pm   #8
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: AKL
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF
Posts: 399
Thanks for all the +ve feedback Guys
EK_Flyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Feb 19, 09, 7:15 pm   #9
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: AKL
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF
Posts: 399
In-Bound Leg back to AKL

Hi Guys


This is my return trip from BNE back to AKL to showcase EK's direct "Boarding from Lounge" service @ BNE .



I apologise for the date stamps in some of the pictures but cutting them out would have ruined the pics



And away we go ....




The Long walk to the EK Lounge in BNE






The letter F pax get at Check-in







Small Sign for the Lounge as the bottom of the Escalators






Lounge Breakfast







EK 432 being prepared











Lounge Boarding Area









Lounge Boarding









Aero-Bridge












Separating the Classes






L1 Bridge






Welcome Aboard






My Seat






Saw this during our push-back , Anyone know what it is?






Leaving BNE







EK's B77w F cabin









Suite Pics















EK's "Call a Seat" Feature







Welcome Drinks






Round 2 - Love 'em dates & Arabic Coffee






Brunch



Some more Dom to start






Seasonal Salad






Five Spices Chicken





Espresso to finish






The Brunch was real good and although the '5 spice Chicken' doesnt look all that great in the photo it was quite tasty and hit the spot !


IFE shots








EK's flight info section shows the flight path with distance and time played double-time so here we are starting from BNE






And the updated info when at AKL





Lone Ship






Land Ahoy !


















Another EK F trip and the brilliant service from the cabin crew can only mean, that I'm on top of the world ... or in this case on Cloud 9






Final Thoughts:


The effortless boarding experience from EK's BNE lounge means EK has yet another Ace up it's sleeve... There's some talk of BNE getting the EK A380 and that would be a truly awesome experience as IMHO BNE is EK's best lounge down-under and to complete the experience with the A380 would be absolutely fantastic !

And this option is also another example how EK really really spoils it's premium pax lol

My EK432/3 F trips on EK's B77w rate at the top on my EK F experience along with the A380 but sadly the route is now being served by the A345 so that means I'll have to put up with the smaller F suites when I travel to BNE or the GC ... The only consolation is the fantastic EK F cabin crew to look forward to !

Thanks for reading & Hope you enjoyed the ride as well

Cheers
__________________
My TRs:- 1:MRU; 2:MEL; 3:BNE; 4:SYD A380; 5:AKL B772LR.

Last edited by EK_Flyer; Feb 19, 09 at 8:24 pm.
EK_Flyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Feb 19, 09, 8:00 pm   #10
I Voted
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Agoura Hills, CA USA
Posts: 2,069
This is a magnificent trip report. Thanks so much for sharing...
RTW4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Feb 19, 09, 11:19 pm   #11
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2
Great report -- really lovely quality hi-res pictures.
Yankdownunder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Feb 23, 09, 2:48 am   #12
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: AKL
Programs: Skywards Gold, Qantas FF
Posts: 399
Quote:
Originally Posted by RTW4 View Post
This is a magnificent trip report. Thanks so much for sharing...
Thanks for reading & posting comments , Appreciate the feedback


Quote:
Originally Posted by Yankdownunder View Post
Great report -- really lovely quality hi-res pictures.

Thanks glad you enjoyed reading .... I always try to take as many pictures as I can but once home find many I've missed !


Cheers,
__________________
My TRs:- 1:MRU; 2:MEL; 3:BNE; 4:SYD A380; 5:AKL B772LR.
EK_Flyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Feb 27, 09, 1:52 pm   #13
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: Skywards Blue
Posts: 20
Wow great trip report
Joe_DXB is offline   Reply With Quote
 
 
Reply

Bookmarks


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 6:56 pm.




SEO by vBSEO 3.2.0