October 23, 2013
The Emirates Lounge at London Heathrow

When I was a kid growing up in the 1960s, jets had only been around for a few years. Air travel – particularly by jet - was still a novelty for many folks. Back then, airports had observation decks and on a sunny afternoon it was not at all unusual to see those decks crowded with people eager to have a close up look at the big new jetliners. The entire process of air travel, from dressing nicely for the flight to walking out onto the tarmac and climbing up the stairway into your big shiny jetliner was all hugely exciting and vital.

I remember how excited I was when the 747 entered service in 1970. I once talked some gate agents into allowing me to go onboard an American 747 parked at JFK so I could take a look around the aircraft. It was my first time onboard a 747 and I was thrilled at the sheer size of the airplane! A few months later I took my first flight aboard a Continental 747 from Chicago to Denver. It was only the 29th flight of my young life and I remember being so excited in the days leading up to my departure that I could hardly think of anything else, much less sleep!

Now forty-two years later, I am sitting here in the Emirates Lounge at London Heathrow calmly awaiting the departure of my first flight aboard an Airbus A380. Though I’m still thrilled at the reality of finally getting to fly aboard this huge jetliner, the 4735 flights I’ve logged since the Halcyon days of that first 747 flight have tempered my excitement to the point where I actually slept quite well last night.

Almost as exciting as my first flight aboard an A380 is the fact that I’ll be doing so in First Class aboard one of the world’s premier airlines. That would be Emirates Airlines, a perennial top five and now current winner of SkyTrax’s prestigious 2013 World’s Best Airline award.

That Emirates even flies the A380 is quite a story in itself. From its humble beginnings as a regional carrier with a fleet of just two leased aircraft back in 1985, Emirates has since grown into a global carrier of considerable reach with a network that extends to over 130 destinations on six continents. It operates an all widebodied fleet and is currently the world’s largest operator of both the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A380 with fleets of 130 and 37 respectively. It has recorded an annual profit in every year since its third in operation and above all else, its name is synonymous with a commitment to the highest standards of quality in every aspect of its service. As such, I reckon I’d get pretty excited to fly with Emirates even if it were just a short hop over to Paris on a 737.

For those of us fortunate enough to travel in First Class aboard Emirates, the service begins at your doorstep with a complimentary limousine service to the airport. That sounded nice but since I was staying at an airport hotel, it seemed like a bit of overkill when the regularly scheduled Hoppa Bus could accomplish the same thing for only $7.00.

I know, I know – a lot of you are probably wondering why I wouldn’t just take advantage of the free limousine service given that it’s part of the service. Honestly, it’s not that important to me to ride anywhere in a chauffeured limousine. For a simple eight minute drive to the airport it just doesn’t make sense to have the airline go to all that trouble. Now if I lived out in Bracknell or some such locale, I might go ahead and check it out. Even then though, I’d likely insist on sitting in the front seat and chatting with the driver.

One of my favorite rides to the airport occurred back in 1987 when a three-wheeled tuk-tuk taxi delivered me from my hotel in Bangkok to Don Maung International Airport for my First Class flight to Hong Kong aboard Cathay Pacific. Now that was fun!

Anyway, back to the present – after breezing through check-in and Fast Track security, I headed straightaway to the Emirates Lounge. Well, perhaps not “straightaway” as there are actually quite a lot of airline lounges spread out around Heathrow’s Terminal 3. Emirates’ lounge was located at the very far end of Lounge Area E on the top floor of Terminal 3. That translated into about a seven or eight minute walk before finally there was a harp glissando and a chorus from the heavens as the mist cleared and the lounge’s stylish entryway was revealed to me.

I was surprised to find that the impressive entryway housed only a small reception area where my credentials were checked before I was cleared to enter the inner-sanctum. That was achieved via an elevator ride up one more level. Ding! I emerged into an attractively furnished lounge that was long and somewhat narrow in parts but otherwise bright and pleasant courtesy of huge floor-to-ceiling windows the run the entire length of the facility. The windows provided a nice view of the tarmac immediately below in addition to a superb vantage point on Heathrow's southern runway across the way. Today that runway was extremely active, so I quickly found myself a nicely cushioned seat beside a window, dropped off my gear and then continued on with my inspection of the lounge.



Emirates Lounge at London Heathrow



Open Bar at Emirates LHR Lounge

Down the corridor to my left was a large seating area with a big wall mounted television screen. A group of three guys were watching a football match. A small business center with computers and printers was in the far corner and a self-service bar was set at the end wall.

Down at the far right hand side was a decently sized dining area with about a dozen tables as well as some booth seating along the back wall. The buffet area was fairly extensive and included an impressive selection of hot entrees and side dishes. Two serving islands offered a mouthwatering selection of appetizers, salads, cheeses and desserts while along one wall was a nicely stocked bar. I selected a good looking crab and mango appetizer from the buffet, paired it with a glass of delightful Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and settled in for a bit of plane watching.

When it comes to plane spotting, it’s hard to beat Heathrow for sheer variety. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an airport that is served by more airlines. It looked like a giant airliner cocktail party out there with all the multi-colored tails of the world mingling around distant terminal buildings or lining up for takeoff. I saw A380s from five different airlines!



Emirates LHR Lounge Buffet Offerings



Emirates LHR Lounge Buffet Offerings



Lamb Chop Lunch at Emirates LHR Lounge



Cheese and Port at Emirates LHR Lounge



St. Honore Tart at Emirates LHR Lounge

After a while I headed over to the dining area for a delicious lamb chop lunch before retiring to the Business Center to put in a bit of work on this report. Later I returned to a window seat to watch the arrival of my A380. It’s pretty exciting to watch an airliner of that size draw ever nearer to the gate but it’s even more exciting to know that very shortly you’ll be boarding that airplane. However, it is exponentially more exciting to know that soon you’ll be sitting in a seat upstairs in its luxurious First Class cabin.



Watching The Arrival of my A380