I was under the impression that EK1 was the best flight for connections from Australia/NZ/Asia rather than Dubai O&D passengers. In fact, we Dubai residents prefer to take 29/3/5 because of the more convenient timings. The 7:45am flight means waking up around 5am.

I used to take EK1 when it was the only scheduled A380 service to LHR! I prefer EK29 or EK5 depending on what time I want to leave Dubai. LHR Terminal 3 is relatively quiet during the arrival times (even fast track can have a long queue) and there is hardly any traffic to central London.