In the days before airplanes, ocean liners were the primary means of intercontinental travel around the planet. When air travel arrived, like all new things it was offered at prices reflective of the unique and novel experience that it was. There were no awards, there were no complimentary upgrades. If you wanted to travel in First Class, you paid a lot of money for it.
Perhaps because initially only the very well to do could afford to purchase air travel, many of the early international services were all-First Class. In attempting to offer a standard of travel commensurate with the perceived lifestyles of those who could afford First Class travel, early inflight services - particularly long distance First Class services - were modelled after the standard set aboard ocean liners.
International travel was a long and arduous process back then. It took five days to sail from Southampton to New York. Flying from London to Sydney aboard Imperial Airways Empire Class flying boats took ten days back in 1939. One could hardly expect the movers and shakers of the world to simply sit in their seats during all that time. People needed a place to mingle. And so the inflight lounge was born.
As aircraft became larger and more spacious, lounges followed suit. In the early 1950s the downstairs lounges aboard Boeing’s 377 Stratocruisers were considered the height of luxury. However, when compared to the spacious upstairs lounges that graced 747s entering service just twenty years later, those Stratocruiser loungers were small and cramped.
Pan American’s Stratocruiser and downstairs lounge
Photo Courtesy of Pan American World Airways
Continental’s Oceania Lounge
Photo Courtesy of Continental Airlines
Following deregulation, the airlines recognized the value of revenue seating over non-revenue producing lounge space and so onboard lounges became a thing of the past.
Until now. The arrival of Airbus’ giant A380 has presented airlines with such an abundance of space that some – most notably Emirates and Qatar Airways – have responded with spacious onboard lounges available to both First and Business Class passengers. Let’s take a walk to the back of the plane and mingle…
My little pocket camera doesn’t have a wide enough angle lens to fully capture the size and essence of this beautiful lounge, so I’m going to use Emirates’ stock photo instead.
Emirates A380 Lounge
Photo courtesy of Emirates
Now then, about that mingling… While the scene depicted in Emirates’ photo may happen now and then, the reality is that these days most First and Business Class passengers spend the majority if not all of the flight in their comfortable seats or suites. Today I and the bartender were the only people in the lounge.
It’s a bit of a shame really because the Emirates bar is really quite nice, well-stocked with a decent selection of beers, wines and spirits as well as enticing plates of canapés, sandwiches and other assorted snacks. The design of the bar invites you to stand and chat with fellow travelers while pair of semi-circular sofas lend a sophisticated and intimate feel to the lounge as a whole.
Ah well, the flight’s young yet but even so, it was a bit strange to see such a beautiful facility going unused. I took some photos…
Emirates A380 Lounge Bar and Seating
Emirates A380 Lounge Bar Offerings
If you look a bit closer, you’ll see me in the mirror
The back wall of the Emirates A380 Lounge
When the 747 entered service in 1970, jets had only been flying in the United States for twelve years. There was genuine excitement about the big jumbo with many people driving out to the airport just to get a glimpse of it. One of the most exciting aspects of a flight on the 747 was the lounge, located upstairs to the top of a spiral stairway. First Class passengers were no longer the only ones to enjoy this benefit however. Some airlines even provided a Coach lounge. American was well known for its piano lounges. Continental’s Polynesian Pubs may have been the most spacious lounges ever installed aboard a commercial jetliner.
Continental’s 747 Coach Lounge
I remember flying First Class between Honolulu and Los Angeles aboard a United 747 back in 1976. A full six course dinner was served shortly after take-off. Following dinner, with a good three hours still left in the flight, many of us headed upstairs to the Polynesian themed upstairs lounge. Maybe I should say most of us because that lounge was packed. Most importantly, we had a great time! The conversation flowed, our Mai Tais were never left wanting and the macadamia nuts were abundantly stocked. To me it felt like a celebration of our shared experience, living it up in the First Class lounge of a 747 while speeding across the Pacific. I have never had such an enjoyable time onboard an airplane before or since.
United’s 747 First Class Lounge
Photo courtesy of United Airlines
United’s 747 First Class Lounge
Photo courtesy of United Airlines
That was 39 years ago. I remember knowing a fair number of people back then who’d never been on an airplane – either that or they’d never flown on a jet. These days, everybody flies. Airfares on the whole are waaay more affordable, sometimes even less expensive than taking the bus! More to the point, flying has become so commonplace that it’s long since lost its novelty. Even flying in First and Business Class - now easily accessible via frequent flyer program awards or benefits - is no big deal any more. For many of us it’s just another flight.
Add to this the technological advances in IFEs that allow us to choose from hundreds of movies and television programs and watch them on large screens – not to mention whatever musical or cinematic entertainment we might have loaded into our personal laptops and mp3s – and there’s a lot less incentive to leave our comfortable seats just to go hang out in a lounge.
I asked the flight attendant about it and he said it was hit or miss. From his experience the busiest flights for lounge use were between New Zealand and Australia and between London and Dubai. We chatted a bit longer about travel in general before I headed back up to my suite to check out some of the IFE selections.
I mentioned earlier that I’ve never gotten all that excited about most airlines’ inflight entertainment systems. Between magazines, newspapers, books, my laptop and MP3 player – not to mention the view out my window - I’ve got all the entertainment I normally require. That’s not to say I never watch movies or television shows on airplanes but I’m usually inclined to wait until I can enjoy them from the comfort of my recliner on a much larger screen back home.
That said, it’s not every day I find myself on a fifteen hour flight. For those of you who’ve never flown aboard a flight of this length, consider this: Fifteen hours is the same amount of time as if you woke up at 7:00am, had breakfast and left for work at 8:00am, put in a full day that had you home by 6:00pm and then had dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening until you went to bed at 10:00pm. That’s a full fifteen hours right there. Now imagine if you woke up at 7:00am and then just sat around the house all day until 10:00pm. Whoa… definitely a long day. You might even want to watch a bit of TV to pass the time.
Thankfully, Emirates’ ICE inflight entertainment system is one of the better ones out there. Indeed, it’s been voted by Skytrax as the best inflight entertainment system in the world for eleven straight years. ICE is an acronym for Information, Communication and Entertainment. The possibilities breakdown as follows:
Information: Follow the progress of your flight, or take in the view from the aircraft’s external cameras. Keep in touch with live business, news and sport headlines from BBC News, and read up on Dubai and Emirates.
Communications: Phone, SMS or email the world below direct from your seat or call friends and family seated elsewhere on the aircraft.
Entertainment: Over 600 channels of premium entertainment to keep you busy during the flight. The latest and best movies, television, audio and games from around the world.
I’m not a big Facebook guy – I mean honestly, who’s got 300 friends?! – but I have been posting photo updates of my travels through Chile and South Africa and the ability to send essentially live photos of the service from this flight was too good to pass up. Afterwards, I passed the time watching Liam Neeson kick even more Albanian butt in Taken 3. I really liked the original Taken, but for me at least the two sequels never approached the quality of the first in either the story line or the acting. Oh well, it did eat up almost two hours and took me right into lunch time. Let’s have another look at that menu…
LUNCHEON
Dubai to San Francisco
Canapés
A selection of hot and cold savouries including prawn cake skewer, fried chicken skewer, a goat’s cheese and onion marmalade parcel, sweet chilli prawn skewer, grana padano, dill marinated feta and olives filled with sundried tomatoes
APPETIZERS
Caviar
Presented with a traditional selection of finely chopped onion, grated egg, sour cream and lemon
Served with melba toast and blinis
Traditional Arabic Mezze
A spread of local savoury dishes including baba ghanouj, houmous, herbed labneh, lentil rice, loubieh bil zeit, tabbouleh and stuffed vine leaves, warm spinach fetayer, lamb kibbeh and cheese fetayer
Center Cut Smoked Salmon
Presented on a shredded fennel and lemon salad
Bresaola
Served with artichoke hearts and shaved parmesan
Seasonal Salad
Fresh salad leaves topped with cherry tomatoes, celery, olives and baby mozzarella
Served with your choice of dressing
Cream of Spinach Soup
With ricotta-filled ravioli
Chicken and Lemongrass Consommé
With shredded chicken, rice vermicelli and finely cut vegetables
MAIN COURSES
Beef Tenderloin with Cumin
Served with beef jus, roasted potatoes and seasoned vegetables
Grilled Salmon Steak
With saffron sauce, steamed vegetables and polenta with spring onions
Tawa Murgh Masala
Pan-fried chicken masala served with aloo mutter and nawabi pulao rice
Shitake and Rocket Ravioli
In parmesan sauce, topped with pesto and shaved parmesan
Grilled Kingfish
With olive and tomato salsa, seasoned vegetables and steamed potatoes with parsley
Vegetable Selection
We also offer a variety of alternatives, including mashed potatoes with chives, seasoned broccoli and pumpkin, sautéed spinach and steamed basmati rice
Bread Basket
A variety of freshly baked rolls, Arabic and garlic breads
DESSERTS
Chocolate and Raspberry Pudding
Served with warm raspberry compote
Coffee and Almond Mousse
With cherry compote
Seasonal Fruit
An assortment of fresh cut fruits
Cheese Board
Wookey Hole Cave Aged Farmhouse Cheddar, West Country Cornish Brie, Yarra Valley Persian Feta, Stilton and Kidderton Ash served with traditional accompaniments
Chocolates
Fine luxury chocolates
Oh my! That is one impressive selection of food! And no annoying prices to consider, either. Well then, as always I’ll start with the caviar followed by a plate of that smoked salmon. Hmm… Chicken and Lemongrass Consommé… I wasn’t really planning on having any soup but gee, the name alone sounds so appetizing that I’ve just got to check it out. As for the main course, when I was looking this menu over earlier I had my eye on the Grilled Salmon Steak but since I’ve ordered the salmon appetizer, let’s go with the Beef Tenderloin with Cumin. Besides, I’d like to check out a couple of the red wines offered on this flight so the beef will pair better than any of the other mains.
Now then, to accompany the caviar and salmon…
WINE LIST
Champagne
Cuvée Dom Pérignon 2004
White Wines
Y de Yquem 2012 Bordeaux, France
Petaluma Tiers Chardonnay 2012 Adelaide Hills, Australia
Stag’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Napa Valley, USA
Grgich Chardonnay 2012 Napa Valley, USA
Red Wines
Château Palmer 1995 Margaux, France
Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir 2012 Russian River, California, USA
Au Sommet 2011 Atlas Peak, USA
Les Tourelles de Longueville 2008 Pauillac, France
Hahn SLH Pinot Noir 2012, Santa Lucia Highlands, California USA
Dessert Wine
Château Guiraud 2002 Sauternes, France
Port
Sandeman 40 Year Old Tawny Douro, Portugal
Let’s start with the Sauvignon Blanc. A new flight attendant, Monique, took my order this time and patiently wrote down all of my selections. She returned shortly with the wine, some mixed nuts and a plate of hot canapés.
Canapés and Wine – Bon Apetit
A few minutes later Paul showed up to set my table. Completing the place setting was the bread bowl, highlighted by a foil wrapped portion of freshly toasted garlic bread. Then the caviar was presented. Now check out this table! If this doesn’t leave you yearning for your next flight in international First Class, I don’t know what will!
Sometimes it’s hard to believe I’m actually on an airplane
Very few airlines still serve caviar these days, either due to economics or the drastically reduced availability of good caviar due to environmental contamination and over harvesting of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and other regional fishing holes. That said, the only time I ever get to enjoy caviar is times like now, attractively plated with the full complement of proper accoutrements such as chopped egg whites, yolks and onions along with sour cream and blini.
The Russians like their caviar with vodka. I tried that once and found that I prefer my vodka mixed with tomato juice and spices. My favorite way to eat caviar is on toasted garlic bread. First I spread a layer of sour cream on the bread and then add a good amount of caviar topped with all the accompaniments. Mmmm…! Heavenly… Try it sometime.
The salmon was next, and with it I switched to the Chardonnay. Oh yeah! Now this was a good pairing one that tasted absolutely sublime with the salmon which was accented nicely with the addition of a zesty lemony cream dip.
Smoked Salmon appetizer
Moving on, I do love a good soup regardless of the altitude it’s served at. Coming from a town that has not one but thirteen Thai restaurants, I do appreciate the flavorful influence of lemongrass more than most.
Chicken and Lemongrass Consommé
There was about a ten minute interlude between the soup being cleared and the tenderloin being delivered. I used it to polish off my Chardonnay, study the wine list and finally request a glass of the Margaux. The description sounded too good to pass up:
”A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and the balance Petit Verdot, the Palmer 1995 is full bodied yet supple, layered and packed full of black currents, dried fruit and sweet spice balanced by a minty freshness. Red meat dishes will provide a perfect marriage.”
I’m happy to report this description was spot on, so much so that I’ve been trying to find a bottle of this wine ever since. That’s easier said than done up here in Alaska, but I digress. The tenderloin was pretty good as airline meat goes. I didn’t really catch much cumin in the seasoning but overall it was still pretty good.
Beef Tenderloin with Cumin
Speaking of meat, you know what I really I really miss? Chateaubriand – especially when accompanied by a good flavorful horseradish sauce. Back in the days of trolley service, Chateaubriand was a staple of First Class on both domestic US and international flights. Great taste notwithstanding, half the fun of a good Chateaubriand service was in the presentation. The King of Roasts – it sure looked good atop those trolleys! The other meat I’d like to see more of is a New York Strip. Back in the seventies and eighties I recall some fairly passable offerings.
I closed out this repast with a selection of cheese – Cheddar, Brie and Stilton, please. Port? But of course!
The Cheese Course
Wookey Hole Cave Aged Farmhouse Cheddar, West Country Cornish Brie and Stilton
Now thoroughly sated and comfortably reclined, feet up with a glass of 40 year old port in hand, I selected the sky map, slipped on my headphones and put on the album “Sign Language” by Montreux (Darol Anger, Barbara Higbie, Mike Marshall, Michael Manring). When cruising along at seven miles above the earth, my tastes run toward acoustic jazz. I grew up listening to musicians like David Grisman and Tony Rice back in the 1970s and their sphere of influence touches all of the people on this album and even bands as diverse as the Grateful Dead. I also listen to a lot of classic rock, jam bands, newgrass, folk, classical and blues but – for me at least - none of those genres contribute so nicely to the ambience of flight as this style of music. Picture yourself flying high over the arctic regions as I am now and
have a listen.
Flying high over the polar regions
Over the next five hours I finished reading my current book, took a lot of notes to be used later in this trip report (at this point I’d only just started writing about the first leg of my train journey aboard the
Empire Builder), dozed off for an hour or so and then watched a couple of documentaries. I also took another stroll back to the lounge but it was only marginally busier than it was the first time I visited. What a shame. I briefly considered heading downstairs and taking a walk through the length of the economy cabin, but I was so comfortable up top that the decision to stay suited was an easy one. Besides, that’s a rough neighborhood down there
.
Behind the bulkhead at the front of the First Class cabin is the First Class bar. To the uninitiated it appears to be self-service but as it’s located in an open area shared by the galley and the shower spas, there’s always a flight attendant nearby who will spring into action should you exhibit even the slightest interest in anything other than the lavs.
First Class Service Area on the A380
As it were I desired only a splash of Woodford Reserve on the rocks and could have easily handled this simple task on my own. After all, I’ve had a lot of practice back home. I mean, everything was nicely set up right there – glasses, spirits, ice, even swizzle sticks. But alas, it was not to be. A flight attendant saw me eying the liquor and immediately got up from chatting with Monique and insisted on fixing my drink and delivering it to my seat.
I live in a cabin in Alaska and for many years have been making do for myself in every regard from regularly hauling in water to cleaning to washing dishes to tending to the grounds as needed. If I don’t do it, it won’t get done. Even though I’ve logged a couple of million miles in First Class and appreciate that the crew on airlines like Emirates are trained to provide extraordinary service, the situation still felt a bit awkward what with everything right there in front of me. I was reminded of Matthew Crawley, the presumptive heir in season one of Downton Abbey. Initially resistant to the services provided by his valet and the staff, he learned to understand that everyone has a role to play and who is he to upset the delicate balance of the universe?
With that lesson in mind, I thanked the flight attendant for her assistance and returned to my suite to await my afternoon cocktail.
We were just under two hours out when I notified Paul that I was ready for dinner. Or - judging by the bright sunny day out my window – maybe I should say lunch. No, I suppose dinner would be more appropriate. I had breakfast about an hour after departing Dubai at 9:00am, lunch over the Barents Sea just south of Svalbard at about 3:00pm Dubai time and now, cruising high over British Columbia, it was time for dinner. Back in Dubai it was about 10:00pm whereas down below it was about 11:00am. I suppose one could argue that I should be addressing jetlag by adjusting to the local time. Okay – call it a hot lunch if you like. I’ll call it a light dinner.
Located on page 9 in the extensive menu booklet - after the bar service, breakfast, luncheon and cheese offerings - is a Light Bites menu that, as the title suggests, offers lighter fare. Let’s have a look…
LIGHT BITES
Sandwiches
Smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel, vegetable antipasti with feta on focaccia and roasted beef with sweet pepper mayonnaise on kraftkorn
HOT MEAL SELECTION
Veal Slider
Presented with onion marmalade and thick cut fries
Gramigna Marinara
Twisted pasta in a seafood marinara sauce, with shaved parmesan
Minestrone
Italian style vegetable soup with beans and pasta
DESSERT
Selection of Pastries
Chocolate cookies, chocolate and cinnamon ganache cups, raspberry tartlets, vanilla macarons and chocolate eclairs
HOT DRINKS
Tea
Chamomile, Ceylon, Earl Grey or Green
Coffee
Freshly brewed or Nespresso (espresso, cappuccino or decaffeinated)
Well it all looked very nice but earlier in the flight while perusing the luncheon selections, the Tawa Murgh Masala or Chicken Masala came very close to being my entrée choice, and so I asked Paul if it might be possible to order that if it were still available. So long as it’s still available, he said, I could have anything from the menu including breakfast items.
Well it’s settled then. I’ll start with a salad followed by the Chicken Masala. And you know, it’s about time I checked out something from the dessert offerings. Let’s go with… hmm… they all look so good… okay, the Coffee and Almond Mousse.
Once again my table was efficiently set and soon I was digging into a delicious collection of nicely chilled salad greens topped with cherry tomatoes, celery, olives and baby mozzarella. The small bottles of Monte Vibiano Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar blended into a delicious dressing. I asked for and later received a couple bottles of them to take home with me.
Salad Starter
The soundtrack changed to Wagon’s
No Kinder Room as I awaited the Tawa Murgh Masala. Described per the menu as “Pan-fried chicken masala served with aloo mutter and nawabi pulao rice”, I’ll simply describe it as “Good!”. I definitely joined the clean plate club with this dish.
Tawa Murgh Masala
Ah… dessert. This one was simple, delicious and just the right size for the perfect ending to this meal and my culinary experience aboard Emirates.
Coffee and Almond Mousse with cherry compote
Some may scoff at my use of the term “culinary experience”, for I’ve heard more than a few here at FlyerTalk sniff that airline food is hardly worth getting excited about. While it’s hard to argue the merits of food cooked in an airliner galley relative to freshly prepared restaurant food, I’ve generally been very pleased with everything I’ve been served on Emirates over the past couple of days. That also goes for the First Class meals I’ve been served on most other airlines. Perhaps I grade on a generous curve, but that in itself is part of enjoying your inflight meal service – going into it with the proper mindset. It’s not a restaurant, it’s an airplane - but given the limitations inherent to preparing and serving food in that environment, I’m impressed with the quality that the airlines manage to attain. Occasionally I’ve even been served food that tasted just as good as any I’ve been served in restaurants. Or better. A barramundi baked in a coconut curry sauce comes to mind amongst others, but that’s a different trip report.
I have to admit that as enjoyable as this flight has been, fifteen hours
is a long time even for a First Class aficionado like myself, so by the time we commenced our descent into San Francisco I was ready to disembark and continue on with the rest of this wonderful journey. I’ve still got quite a ways to go before I finally return home, starting with a short flight up the coast to Seattle this afternoon. I’ll spend the night there before continuing on to Kansas City tomorrow. But more on that later.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in the Bay Area as our Captain took our big Airbus all the way down to about Palo Alto before making the wide sweeping turn back up to the north and lining up for landing on runway 28R. A gentle bump announced our return to terra firma, and a glance at my watch revealed a total flight time of fifteen hours and eight minutes, officially making this the longest time I’ve ever spent aloft on a single flight. At 8,090 miles this is also the longest flight I have ever been on.
Bidding farewell and a sincere thank you to Paul, Monique and the rest of the crew, I made my way up the jetway and on to customs and immigration. There I bypassed the big crowd assumedly from the British Airways flight that we parked next to and checked in using my Global Entry card. The $100.00 investment paid to acquire that card is one of the best I’ve ever made, especially since it was paid by United Airlines as a perk of being a 1K flyer with them.
Alaska flights depart from the International Terminal, so I headed over to the Emirates Lounge to see if as an inbound passenger I could still score a little lounge time with them. Sorry Sir, said the pretty lounge receptionist, we only accept departing passengers. Alas. As a card carrying Alaska Boardroom member I could have headed back up the concourse and then upstairs to the Cathay Pacific lounge but factoring in the walk there and back I would’ve had only about 20 minutes there before having to return to the gate for boarding. By now I was pretty beat so I took a seat in the gate lounge with everyone else and awaited the call to board.
After all the glamor and glitz associated with First Class travel aboard Emirates, I should imagine that there isn’t a lot of enthusiasm to read about an hour and forty minute domestic flight up the coast to Seattle. Not that it matters because I slept through most of it anyway.
I must’ve looked like a zombie as I made my way out to the hotel shuttle pick-up area. Thankfully my ride to the Days Inn wasn’t long in coming. Twenty minutes later I pulled the sheets up around me and commenced a well-earned sleep. Tomorrow was another long travel day to Kansas City. Via Dallas. On Southwest Airlines.