When it comes to First Class, Emirates has been setting the standard for a very long time. While better hard products (like the Apartment on Etihad Airways) might have come along here and there, it’s undeniable that the sheer luxury of Emirates First Class captured the World’s imagination like no other product in the sky. It has become a perfect marketing vehicle for Dubai as well, embodying everything the city wants to sell you: luxury, glitz, and bling.

Nevermind that most of their Boeing 777-200LR have a very dated business class and outdated first class tech. The service – and quality of amenities offered both on board and on the ground – is truly unique.

I happened to be in Tianjin for a weekend after a work trip to Japan, and I needed to go back home to Italy for some personal matters. While my first choice was Qatar Airways, I could not find award availability to neither Milan (4 hours away from my hometown by train) nor Nice (40 minutes away by car). The faster option would have allowed me a quick 3 hours layover in DXB; but I preferred taking the morning flight, arriving in Dubai at Noon, and leaving for Nice the morning after. What was nice of this arrangement was the fact that Emirates offered me its Dubai Connect product, which included chauffered limousine service from/to DXB airport and 1 night accommodation and dinner – complimentary! Again, which other airline does something like this (maybe QR)?

I will post separately about Tianjin – a very nice place indeed. For now I will focus on the flights, the first of which was operated by an older B772LR and the second by Emirates’ iconic A388.

I spent the night in Beijing, as my first flight left early in the morning. I chose to stay at the Marriott Beijing Northeast, not far from the entertainment area of Sanlitun, and only 30 minutes from the airport by DiDi. The hotel is perfectly fine – pretty standard Asian Marriott with large, nicely appointed rooms, a nice gym, and multiple restaurants. The hotel started to show its age, but at $102 inclusive of tax, I couldn’t really complain. I ended up having dinner at the Club Lounge since I did not feel like going out, and I was impressed by the quantity of food on offer – and by the fact that they kept bringing out fresh, new food every thirty minutes or so. Drinks-wise, they had a decent selection of spirits (including Campari!) and a decent Bordeaux Superior.

I went to sleep early and woke up at 3am, and I made my way to the airport at 3:45a, arriving at Beijing Capital Airport at around 4:20a for my 6:50a flight.

Check-in was smooth, and I was promptly handed my voucher entitling me to a hotel, meal, and car in Dubai. Emirates accommodates First Class passengers at the JW Marriott Marquis, while Business Class passengers are hosted at Le Meridien Hotel not far from the airport. Both solid choices indeed.

I quickly cleared security and immigration and took the little train to get to the gates area. I must say that Beijing Capital Airport remains a gorgeous airport, showing little sign of age. All stores where still closed, so I just headed to the Emirates lounge, located one level below departures and accessible by either escalator or elevator.

Once inside I was promptly greeted by the desk attendant, who then showed me around. The lounge is rather large, well-appointed, with fast wifi. Upon entering, you have a nice lounging area on your right – with comfortable armchairs and also a working station with six desktop computers and a printer; and then you have a dining area to your left – quite expansive and spaced out. The lounge was definitely on the big size given the station, and I doubt this fills up often.

There were two self-service bars, and two coffee machines. Moet-Chandon Brut Imperiale NV was the Champagne of choice.

I did not partake in breakfast, but the selection was good and offered both Western and Chinese options.


After about one hour, it was time to board.

Flight EK309, PEK-DXB
06:50a-11:40a
B772LR, First Class, Seat 2K

I had selected Seat 2A originally, but upon boarding, I was informed the seat had an issue and I was accommodated on the other side. To my surprise and delight, I ended up being the only customer in First Class on this flight – which ended up being quite the treat as you will see. The plane seemed to be pretty empty, as it looks like most people prefer the late evening departure.

I was promptly greeted by the First Class crew and the purser, and I was informed that nothing was off limits today given I was the only passenger in the cabin. Sweet!

In fact, I was offered not one, but two of the Bulgari men amenity kits – a true delight! This is definitely another area where Emirates stands out, as they go all out with their products. Bulgari travel size Gemme eau de perfume, plus Bulgari lotions. Utterly ridiculous!

The cabin had the usual Emirates suite set up, but you could tell that the entertainment system was quite dated. In fact, the little monitor/control pad on the side of the seat was very unresponsive and hard to use – thankfully there was a more traditional command remote that worked just fine.

I was offered a pj and nice slippers and eye mask, and I promptly changed. The little closet in the suite was big enough to accommodate my hanged chinos, shirt, and sportcoat.

The minibar was stacked with 2 bottles of Evian water and 2 bottles of Perrier water – they ended up being handy during the flight. the snack basket – containing chocolates, chips, mints, chocolate-covered dates, and hydration tablets, was on the console table, as well as the Emirates notepad and the revival Byredo kit.

I was offered a glass of Dom Perignon 2015 as pre-departure beverage, and of course I could not say no. It was my first 2015 Dom, and I quite liked it, although I am rather sure this will improve with 5-6 years in the bottle. Here are my notes:
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We pushed back right on time, and we encountered no turbulence. As I had not had breakfast yet, I decided to have a meal one hour in the air. While the menu offered both breakfast and lunch options, I ended up chosing just from the lunch part.

This was the menu.

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The wine list was quite impressive.
ScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotI decided to try the caviar, and then to have the Chinese style yellow chicken. To begin, I was first offered a glass ofthe Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes 2015. This was served with nuts and olives.

Then the show began. The table was set and looked beautiful. I was also offered a bread basket. An amuse bouche ensued, made of roes and crab meat, and some beef prosciutto with pineapple. Tasty.

The caviar followed shortly after, and while the presentation could have been a bit better, the food was plentiful and tasty.

I then switched to the Leoville-Barton 2008, which felt a bit oxydized (perhaps the bottle had been opened for a while). It wasn’t bad, it just felt more tertiary then it needed to be at this point. That was followed by a glass of the excellent Two Hands Shiraz Ares 2019: the only sin of this wine was to be way too young still – but this was an incredible wine with incredible aging potential. A real treat!

The chicken dish was good, served with noodles and vegetables. Nothing fancy, but it hit the spot.

I politely declined dessert, as this was quite a hearty breakfast and since I wanted to have a bite later on, before landing. I had another glass of wine and an espresso (served with biscotti), and I finished watching my movie.

I then asked to have the bed made in the suite next to mine, and I was able to catch 3+ hours of sleep. The bed was comfortable, and the blanket did not make me too hot (surprisingly).

After waking up I read and relaxed some, before having lunch about 2 hours before landing. I decided to try the pumpkin soup and then the lamb machbous.

Table was set, wine was brought out (I tried the Brunello from Le Macioche which was rather good), and the feast began again. This time I started with a soup – pumpkin to be precise. It was served with chunks of pumpkin on the dish, and then the soup was poured over – very nice detail. It was served with sour cream.

I then had a very nice mixed salad, served with a nice vinaigrette.

To follow I had a classic I always try whenever available on Middle Eastern carriers – lamb machbous – basically a sort of biryani. It was good, but not great – this seems to be always the case on airplanes, and probably due to the air or the reheating process.

At this point I was really full, and I skipped the cheese plate in favor of an espresso and a glass of Hennessy Paradis.

After receiving one more amenity kit (for the wife) and plenty of chocolates we ended up landing ten minutes ahead fo schedule in Dubai, where I would stay for about 18 hours.

What can I say… this was another spectacular flight on Emirates First Class. Nevermind the dated hard product – what really makes the difference here is the service, the food, and the drinks – plus all the amenities offered. In a way I was eager to try First Class on an older airplane to see how it compared to the A388 (I have not flown the new 77W yet), and I am happy to say the differences were minimal.

Food was very good (not Austrian Airlines level to be fair, more like JAL first Class), andthe selection of drinks abord EK First Class just cannot be beaten.

I will leave the second part of the trip to the next post.