In 2001 we used the last of our Ansett points for a round Australia First Class trip, completed in July. Ansett collapsed in September 2001.
Move forward to August 2014, with Qantas not doing so well and an impending sense of Déjà vu, we decided it was time to burn some points and have a bit of fun.
We recently moved to Adelaide, where there are not many direct international flights, and certainly very few with first class. That is except Emirates, which operates a daily flight to Adelaide from Dubai. Regular checking of the Qantas FF search engine showed pretty open availability, but only for about 4 days out at any point in time.
On Friday 29th September I was checking out Qantas.com and noticed that there was availability for the 10pm flight that night, and that we could return on Monday via Melbourne. This meant the opportunity to fly on a B777 and A380.
I booked it straight away. The cost was 540,000 QF points + AUD1563.44 in fees and charges for two. (Ouch Qantas!)
Emirates flight EK441
Adelaide – Dubai Friday 29th August 2014
Aircraft Boeing 777 300ER A6-ECS
5 seats occupied of 8
After a bit of a scramble to get ready, we were off to the airport, checked in and in the rather crumby Qantas club lounge by 8pm. I must say that Adelaide Airport does not cater very well for first class passengers. No priority anything!
We were amongst the last to board, deciding that standing in the long line for customs/immigration just didn’t seem right under the circumstances.
Once on board, everything changed for the better. The cabin crew were excellent and sensing our holiday mood, were very friendly and attentive. (Offering to take photos etc)
We had checked in with seats 1E and 1F, but the crew asked if we would prefer 2E and 2F, which to us seemed better seats.
On the ground in Adelaide – Suite 2A unoccupied
Mood lighting
Lining up with the runway
Very powerful take-off from Adelaide’s (relatively) short runway.
No overhead lockers - Loved the stars.
Still some distance to go
Drinks were offered followed by ‘have anything you want, anytime’ menu.
Here is some of the food we ate that night:
Caviar – Yum, first time since SQ first way back in 1998
Mezze Starter – Fantastic, how could you not enjoy this?
Prawn Biryani – Really good.
Citrus Pudding with vanilla ice-cream, delicious.
After dinner, the beds were made up and we slept for 6 or 7 hours, waking in time for some tea and fruit before an ungodly early arrival into Dubai.
Comfortable and private
Dubai from the air
On arrival we were at a remote stand. This was not a problem. The ‘first class’ bus was waiting for us and the other 3 passengers:
Once off the bus, it was a bit of a walk to arrivals and gave a sense of just how huge the airport is.
Formalities quickly executed, we were in our Emirates provided car and on our way to the hotel in no time.
Travelling international first class is not something I get to do very often.
Back in the 1990s, before beds on planes were invented, I experienced 3 round the world SQ first class trips. They were fantastic then. It has been a long time between drinks and things have seriously moved on.
I’m not fussy and probably easily impressed. This flight was fantastic. I couldn’t wait to get on-board the A380 for the return trip.
But first we had Dubai to experience for the weekend.
To be continued.