I had my first Emirates flight last week on EK 418 BKK-SYD in first and was very pleased. Was greeted with Dom Perignon ‘98, and offered amenity kit, newspapers, leather bound menu, dates and coffee, and PJs within minutes of taking seat 1K. The crew was great, with a refined service style which wouldn’t be out of place in a posh New York or London hotel. I imagine some find this chilly compared to the ultra-attentive SQ standard, but quite frankly it was something of a relief after a weekend of non-stop “wai”-ing at the Pen in Bangkok. (Hey, I’m a New Yorker, whaddya want.)

Dinner was elegantly presented (love the oversized tray tables), with nice caviar, a very fresh salad, so-so chicken, and a very yummy fruit-oriented dessert. Good wines, I stuck mostly with the Dom.

ICE is great. I rarely avail myself of AVOD, but managed to get through about half of “War of the Worlds” and could actually hear the dialogue through the good headset (noise reducing I assume).

I like the 77W seat a lot. Very comfortable sitting, and just one touch of a button to flatten the thing out. With the privacy shield raised, you are nearly completely secluded in a window seat. (Only quibble is with the “mini-bar” which is a cute idea but ultimately a waste of space. This might serve some function on, say, UA where the cabin crew might disappear for hours on end but with great EK service what is the point of having unchilled juice stored in your seat? It just takes away space for your own stuff, of which there is essentially none.)

Anyway, I changed into my comfy sleep suit, grabbed an extra pillow, curled up with my book and DP, and was pretty much in heaven. I asked the purser to not wake me for breakfast service, which I slept through. We were a bit delayed and had to circle Sydney for an extra 30 minutes, and the crew happily gave me the full (admittedly skimpy) breakfast service when I did get up.

Limo service at Sydney worked great, comfy Holden sedan waiting for me as promised.

Overall a great flight. ^