Economy class. It's not bad!!
 

I just did a couple of legs in economy, first time in EK Y for nearly 2 years. Neither of which was a very long sector (Syd-Akl and Hkg-Bkk) I hasten to add, and both were on the A380 which I think is a cut above 777 in econ. I fought hard to resist the urge to upgrade both legs with miles (u/g was available) just because I thought the experience would do me good to be honest. But let me give credit where it's due, I was really quite impressed at the whole experience!

Takeoff -10 mins. Crikey, hot towels!

Takeoff +40 mins - I have a nice cold beer in my hand. In fact, I've got 2. Nice and cold, just like upstairs, but trolley service much quicker. In a plastic cup, to be fair.

Takeoff +60 mins - I have a big meal tray in front of me. It's not exactly glamorous, but the upside is, I actually have it in front of me as opposed to sitting around for hours waiting for each bit to show up, wondering whether they've forgotten me etc. More than once, I have wondered about requesting an economy meal tray whilst "upstairs". I think I may seriously give it a try.

Regarding the hot food part of the tray. Hmmm, there is a hair's breadth between what's on this plate and what's on the plates upstairs, believe me. I am quite surprised to find there's not that much difference between J and Y food. Essentially, as far as I can see, exactly the same hot meal in the middle, only J surrounds it with a couple of hours' worth of poncing around with bread baskets, frilly appetisers, clanking trolley etc. Not much else difference as far as I can see.

Pre-landing - more hot towels.

Nice service, friendly CSD came round with a fast track immigration voucher. Offered to hang up my jacket.

I might just save myself a few quid and do it again.

Yeah I have to agree on this one. I did one leg (DXB-BEY) in Y a couple months ago. Though food wasn't that filling. EK in Y is OK for a couple of hours, though not stellar, or if you are flying a day/early evening flight where you don't really need to sleep.

And the seats on the A380 are very good compared with the older ones.
Not sure if you've experienced the J since 1 July, but they are doing a streamlined meal service that would get your tray cleared within an hour or so from take off.

At the end of the day, what is J really giving you on a day flight? If you're a Gold, you have access to the same lounges. On the 380 especially, seats are comfortable, and the difference between 68/ 81 and J seats is not much.

The chauffeur drive is nice, the special treatment etc and the bar are great, but Y seems perfectly adequate. It's only on night flights (or the sectors that are so long part of it will be overnight) that the flat bed becomes of value.

On some routes (DXB-KHI comes to mind) the menu in J and Y was identical. :eek: This was a few years ago, so things may have changed.

I'm thinking of booking this segment in Y for next month from DXB-AMM but it's not the 380 and I'm not getting a seat map before putting in my cc info. I am a new member to Skywards so not too sure of the system yet but on expedia, they show plenty of seats, at least in J. I may still book in J for the flexibility of a refund/change but it's a huge price difference! My question is, will I get the choice of seats before actually booking the tkt? Thx

not possible.... you should try expert flyer or go to emirates website and go on their "services by flight" column to see the seat map for your flight (it is a general map and it will not show which seats are available and which one's are booked)

Just so you know, I fly DXB-AMM frequently, and they offer a great lamb meatball dish on the AMM-DXB sector on Y. The best meal I have ever had in Y on any airline. I did not fly Y this year, so I am not sure they offer it this year.

Y tickets have similar refund/ change policies to J tickets fyi.

On some routes, the J and F catering is the same, with the J menu being presented.

yummm......:)

As much as I generally agree with Mr. Soft's assessment, I have to disagree with the food part. EK Y food is almost inedible; I do not know which types of chemicals they put into it, but I feel physically unwell after a hot Y meal.

EK J food is typically ok, in my view.

I actually prefer EK Y meals to J. For some reason, they are so much more tasty and fulfilling....

EK Y is by far the best Y product that I know, both soft and hard. But, it may also depend on equipment. The older seats are really a setback compared to the new weber seats. I also find the service a little more sloppy on less prioritized routes.

When it comes to food, I always try to avoid eating onboard, simply because airline food rarely is good nor very healthy.. But I remember being served some very good breakfast at EK. Also good drinks serving.

It is positive to see an airliner that don´t neglect it´s own Y product today. Yesterday I had a TATL on AA in Y, a terrible experience. Both seats and service was beyond short haul standards, never again.

Come on, get real. EK Y is only superior when it comes to in-flight entertainment, but that is it.

The seats are more cramped than with most competitors (esp. Gulf airlines like QR or EY, but even European airlines -- who puts 10 seats across on a B777???). Service is hit-and-miss, and crew members are often disengaged and just waiting for the chat hours in the galley.

For all its faults with A380 service, the A380 hard product in Business Class is superb. The seats are spacious, private and are extremely comfortable flat beds.

Rows 68/81 are nothing but economy seats with lots of legroom. It's not even like comparing apples and oranges. More like apples and camels.

That's not to say that the Economy product on Emirates is poor (I've flown close to 100k BIS miles in EK Economy this year alone so it can't be too bad). It's simply saying that to claim the difference between the best Economy product on the 380 and Business Class is "not much" is patently untrue!

I don't mean to claim that the seats are identical, but that in terms of comfort* they are close to equivalent.

*with the caveat of a day flight, mid haul, with no seat neighbor

I flew the 380 to/ from Paris, a day flight both ways. The experience was vastly different (though onboard service was actually better in Y), but seat comfort was similar. The advantage with the J seats is that one can drink a lot at the bar and pass out comfortably :D