The day started with me working from home for a few hours. Since the flight was in the afternoon, I was able to get a little bit down before having to leave for the airport. Being that it was the day before the July 4th holiday, some of the roads were getting congested even at just past noon. Luckily we ran into no issues and were promptly dropped off at Tom Bradley International Terminal after 1PM.







Check-in was a breeze with only a small wait



With TSA precheck running security was fairly painless as well. Once through the corridor, we made a left turn and took the elevators to the 6th floor, where Emirates has their business lounge





Pretty spacious area with hardly anybody around since we arrived relatively early



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We decided to situate ourselves on the open terrace so that we could do some people watching. It allowed us to have some higher ambient noise just in case the little one wanted to make himself heard. But the first order of business was getting some food since I had skipped lunch and was ready to soothe my growling stomach





















Entertaining while we waited for boarding



People



We had planned to leave the lounge 15 minutes prior to boarding so that I could do some plane spotting. However, my son decided he wanted more to eat, and we figured if we could load him up to hold him over, that would be best for all of us. Spoonfuls of rice and mashed potatoes later, we headed towards gate 154





The gate was a zoo with multiple boarding zones and the gate agents didn't have a good grasp of what was going on. Some rude people tried to push past us, only to get denied and sent back into the proper line. Luckily all those problems were out of mind once we stepped on board. Emirates, it's been too long!





The minibar and IFE tablet





Seat controls



PJs and amenity kits distributed





My son seemed pretty excited. He's finally old enough to understand what's going on and doesn't seem to be "just along for the ride"



Dates and Arabic coffee were served per the usual



Today's menu















Wine list





Taking to the air



The cheap stuff was served on the ground, so once the Dom was ready, I opted for a glass





For dinner, I opted to go with the crab timbale, which was served first



Caviar was up next



Then the cream of spinach soup...absolutely delicious



The beef tenderloin was decent, but we all know how steaks end up in the air



A glass of Chateau Montrose 2005





My wife opted to have the chicken madras, which she said was pretty good



Chocolate marquise for dessert



Cruising away



Part of the cabin still awake



I head to the front to take a picture of the smaller bar area, as well as the bathrooms



One of my favorite lavs in the air







Floor heater controls



Shower!







At this point I got some photo editing done, and relaxed a bit since it was still a bit early for Pacific time. After exhausting my free allocation of 20MB of WiFi data chatting with some friends, I shut my laptop off and asked for the bed to be made





I got a few good hours of sleep in, and so did my son. We kept him up without his normal nap long enough that he slept for close to 11 hours straight on the plane without a peep. With some time to burn, I decided to sneak to the bar at the back of the plane





Closing in on Dubai



At this time I was ready for my scheduled shower. After a good 5 minutes of water and juggling my kid between my arms (yes I took him in for his first shower in the air), I was feeling very refreshed. The novelty of the shower never wears off and does wonders for refreshing one's senses after a long flight. I came back to my seat to find a fruit plate



Followed up by breakfast



French toast



Omelette and smoothie for the wife



Getting closer



On final



All in all, this was probably the best ultra long haul EK flight I've had to date. The hard product was comfortable and the crew both personable and attentive. Considering that I was able to step off the plane after 16 hours rested enough to stay up another 24 hours, it was everything I needed. This was also my son's best flight to date, with the previous best being another ultra long haul on Cathay Pacific. One crew member in particular loved interacting with him, and when he wasn't getting attention, he was able to stay entertained with the IFE (for the short time he was actually awake). Also, as we were disembarking, one passenger in F even looked surprised to see a baby in the front cabin. There was an issue with the jet bridge and we had to get off on the lower level, but once we finally got off the plane and went through security, we proceeded over to the A concourse...

Next up: 9 hours in DXB lounge hopping and the new Emirates 777 fully enclosed suite