Emirates first class A380 vs 777W?
Jul 26, 2018, 2:15 am
#61
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
Thanks for the clarification. Definitely backs up my own observations.
I was quite confused on my first 777 ride last year, I almost didn't bother logging in. Very glad I did. But because I'd taken the A380 a few times before, that experience combined with every OMAAT blog post I read said EK WiFi was terrible on Emirates overall. In reality, this is really misleading! That first trip, and every other 777 flight has had what I would call "average" in-flight WiFi (compared to absolutely awful for every A380 ride I've had). And if you need to work, I'd add this as another incentive to take 777 over A380, at least in F.
Just goes to show how even very frequent travelers like the bloggers can have the wrong impression (airlines and there networks are huge, and there's just no way one or two people flying around every now and then can get a factual picture of the overall reality), and why FT is still where the best info is hands down....
I was quite confused on my first 777 ride last year, I almost didn't bother logging in. Very glad I did. But because I'd taken the A380 a few times before, that experience combined with every OMAAT blog post I read said EK WiFi was terrible on Emirates overall. In reality, this is really misleading! That first trip, and every other 777 flight has had what I would call "average" in-flight WiFi (compared to absolutely awful for every A380 ride I've had). And if you need to work, I'd add this as another incentive to take 777 over A380, at least in F.
Just goes to show how even very frequent travelers like the bloggers can have the wrong impression (airlines and there networks are huge, and there's just no way one or two people flying around every now and then can get a factual picture of the overall reality), and why FT is still where the best info is hands down....
Oddly I almost only fly 77Ws as my usual routes don't have A380 service
Jul 26, 2018, 2:27 am
#62
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
While I tend to agree that bloggers are waaay overrated and shouldn't be as authoritative as they are Lucky has actually flown EK 77Ws, definitely the new F but I think also on some other random routes here and there.
Oddly I almost only fly 77Ws as my usual routes don't have A380 service
Oddly I almost only fly 77Ws as my usual routes don't have A380 service
Anyway, I digress...I may have read it wrong, but I had the distinct narrative from that blog EK WiFi was terrible overall! Maybe it was just selective reading. Through practice, I've found that impression I had not to be entirely true. A380, indeed awful WiFi in my experiences thus far. But 777 definitely is better, WiFi is serviceable it seems.
Count me as a fan of EK's 777.
Jul 26, 2018, 3:09 am
#63
Join Date: May 2010
Location: BOM
Programs: EK Plat, HHonors Gold
Posts: 2,883
I know a lot has been said about F on 777 vs A380, but I really feel the EK F experience on the A380 offers several things that you won't find on a 777.
Even if you find the showers a novelty, the F restrooms on the A380 are truly what restrooms should be for an 'F' experience. The 777 restrooms are the same as what you would get if you fly Y. The seats, food and drinks are identical on both a/c, but flying the A380 gives you access to the bar at the back which I feel is a great place to simply hang around and just relax and stretch yourself. Besides the A380 is a much quieter a/c and also suffers less turbulence so I do end up feeling much better after an A380 flight than a 777. Service can be a hit or miss on either a/c - it completely depends on the crew on that day. I have had wonderful experiences on both. Of course, if all you are interested in is to spend all the time in your F cabin, admire the ceiling and the roof, download the 100 odd movies that you have been planning to see for the past 5 years over the in-flight wi-fi
, then it is the 777 all the way.
Also, if you have not tried the A380F then I would definitely recommend experiencing it at least once so you can see what matters to you more and then take call for your future flights.
Even if you find the showers a novelty, the F restrooms on the A380 are truly what restrooms should be for an 'F' experience. The 777 restrooms are the same as what you would get if you fly Y. The seats, food and drinks are identical on both a/c, but flying the A380 gives you access to the bar at the back which I feel is a great place to simply hang around and just relax and stretch yourself. Besides the A380 is a much quieter a/c and also suffers less turbulence so I do end up feeling much better after an A380 flight than a 777. Service can be a hit or miss on either a/c - it completely depends on the crew on that day. I have had wonderful experiences on both. Of course, if all you are interested in is to spend all the time in your F cabin, admire the ceiling and the roof, download the 100 odd movies that you have been planning to see for the past 5 years over the in-flight wi-fi
, then it is the 777 all the way.Also, if you have not tried the A380F then I would definitely recommend experiencing it at least once so you can see what matters to you more and then take call for your future flights.
Jul 26, 2018, 3:40 am
#64
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
maybe I have missed the recent posts. When I first discovered the blogs I found them very useful, but I've found myself leaning more and more towards the conclusion they are information overload and push a lot of false narratives that are simply addicting for folks interested in airplanes. A lot of "facts" without much "knowledge" (in the rare instances I do know something about the topic at hand, I have found the blogs to contain patently inaccurate information that get stated as fact. I'm speaking specifically to some airline industry-related posts, some of the info posted is just laughably wrong). I think I'm drifting away because they're just a small piece of it, but are involved with propagating the dynamic today whereby loud quick takes (even better when accompanied with pictures, capitalized letters, and other not-so-subtle attention grabbing tactics) win the day over thinking and careful deliberation. Even if well-meaning or well-intentioned. At least FT has so many posters you can quickly distill down the truth when inaccurate posts are made. They can be corrected by equal voices. Whereas the blogger is the authoritative voice on his blog, obviously!
Anyway, I digress...I may have read it wrong, but I had the distinct narrative from that blog EK WiFi was terrible overall! Maybe it was just selective reading. Through practice, I've found that impression I had not to be entirely true. A380, indeed awful WiFi in my experiences thus far. But 777 definitely is better, WiFi is serviceable it seems.
Count me as a fan of EK's 777.
Anyway, I digress...I may have read it wrong, but I had the distinct narrative from that blog EK WiFi was terrible overall! Maybe it was just selective reading. Through practice, I've found that impression I had not to be entirely true. A380, indeed awful WiFi in my experiences thus far. But 777 definitely is better, WiFi is serviceable it seems.
Count me as a fan of EK's 777.
I know a lot has been said about F on 777 vs A380, but I really feel the EK F experience on the A380 offers several things that you won't find on a 777.
Even if you find the showers a novelty, the F restrooms on the A380 are truly what restrooms should be for an 'F' experience. The 777 restrooms are the same as what you would get if you fly Y. The seats, food and drinks are identical on both a/c, but flying the A380 gives you access to the bar at the back which I feel is a great place to simply hang around and just relax and stretch yourself. Besides the A380 is a much quieter a/c and also suffers less turbulence so I do end up feeling much better after an A380 flight than a 777. Service can be a hit or miss on either a/c - it completely depends on the crew on that day. I have had wonderful experiences on both. Of course, if all you are interested in is to spend all the time in your F cabin, admire the ceiling and the roof, download the 100 odd movies that you have been planning to see for the past 5 years over the in-flight wi-fi, then it is the 777 all the way.
Also, if you have not tried the A380F then I would definitely recommend experiencing it at least once so you can see what matters to you more and then take call for your future flights.
Even if you find the showers a novelty, the F restrooms on the A380 are truly what restrooms should be for an 'F' experience. The 777 restrooms are the same as what you would get if you fly Y. The seats, food and drinks are identical on both a/c, but flying the A380 gives you access to the bar at the back which I feel is a great place to simply hang around and just relax and stretch yourself. Besides the A380 is a much quieter a/c and also suffers less turbulence so I do end up feeling much better after an A380 flight than a 777. Service can be a hit or miss on either a/c - it completely depends on the crew on that day. I have had wonderful experiences on both. Of course, if all you are interested in is to spend all the time in your F cabin, admire the ceiling and the roof, download the 100 odd movies that you have been planning to see for the past 5 years over the in-flight wi-fi
, then it is the 777 all the way.Also, if you have not tried the A380F then I would definitely recommend experiencing it at least once so you can see what matters to you more and then take call for your future flights.
The WiFi is world's apart however, I've managed Skype and Whatsapp video calls on 77Ws.
Jul 26, 2018, 3:48 am
#65
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,831
I know a lot has been said about F on 777 vs A380, but I really feel the EK F experience on the A380 offers several things that you won't find on a 777.
Even if you find the showers a novelty, the F restrooms on the A380 are truly what restrooms should be for an 'F' experience. The 777 restrooms are the same as what you would get if you fly Y. The seats, food and drinks are identical on both a/c, but flying the A380 gives you access to the bar at the back which I feel is a great place to simply hang around and just relax and stretch yourself. Besides the A380 is a much quieter a/c and also suffers less turbulence so I do end up feeling much better after an A380 flight than a 777. Service can be a hit or miss on either a/c - it completely depends on the crew on that day. I have had wonderful experiences on both. Of course, if all you are interested in is to spend all the time in your F cabin, admire the ceiling and the roof, download the 100 odd movies that you have been planning to see for the past 5 years over the in-flight wi-fi, then it is the 777 all the way.
Also, if you have not tried the A380F then I would definitely recommend experiencing it at least once so you can see what matters to you more and then take call for your future flights.
Even if you find the showers a novelty, the F restrooms on the A380 are truly what restrooms should be for an 'F' experience. The 777 restrooms are the same as what you would get if you fly Y. The seats, food and drinks are identical on both a/c, but flying the A380 gives you access to the bar at the back which I feel is a great place to simply hang around and just relax and stretch yourself. Besides the A380 is a much quieter a/c and also suffers less turbulence so I do end up feeling much better after an A380 flight than a 777. Service can be a hit or miss on either a/c - it completely depends on the crew on that day. I have had wonderful experiences on both. Of course, if all you are interested in is to spend all the time in your F cabin, admire the ceiling and the roof, download the 100 odd movies that you have been planning to see for the past 5 years over the in-flight wi-fi
, then it is the 777 all the way.Also, if you have not tried the A380F then I would definitely recommend experiencing it at least once so you can see what matters to you more and then take call for your future flights.
Jul 26, 2018, 11:23 am
#66
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 25
Mate, this is an upgrade not a downgrade! First off, the hard product is the same, less the (favorable, towards 777) differences below.
The advantages of A380: bar and shower. Personally I could care less about the former, while the shower is a bit more useful it's not a must have especially given the 2+ hour connections typical in DXB, aka you can usually catch a shower there or on arrival. Since everyone is different, and it seems like some folks swear by the bar experience, I suppose if you do like chatting at the bar the A380 will have a lot more allure. To me, it doesn't.
The advantages to B77W F are more substantial IMO:
*Wider suite on B77W (due to suite on A380 being upstairs and forward). This is a small but ultimately noticeable and significant improvement, IMO.
*Higher suite walls
*More attentive service
*Higher ceilings make for more spacious feel (EK removed the pilots rest area, a highly uncommon move in fact I don't know any other carriers who did this, which gives super high ceilings in F class).
*Lack of "inferior" seats. On the A380, row 1 has noticeably more-narrow suites than the rest of the (already slightly narrower vs 777) suites due to curvature of plane. I sat in 1A last month. Got great sleep but had storage issues. And row 4 on the A380 looks like it can get pretty bad noise from the galley if the crew isn't paying attention, although I don't have personal experience.
I only started flying EK regularly last year, having partially defected from CX, and have taken 12 F segments in the last 8 months split evenly between 77W and A380. While both products are obviously very nice and this could seen to be splitting hairs, I feel like there is enough difference for me to say I definitively prefer 777. I'm primarily based out of HKG, we get 1x daily 77W nonstop, 2x A380 nonstop with F, and 1x A380 without F that goes via BKK. The last one is a nonstarter for me, but of the other 3 flights I've been going out of my way to book ex-HKG on the 77W, which leaves early morning.
One thing I'm not certain about, but it seems like wifi goes a lot faster on the 777 in my recent, limited expriences. This could be that 4 out of my 6 EK 777 experiences recently is ex-HKG, and I think the flights haven't been busy, aka empty. But fwiw, the WiFi on the A380 each time has been utterly dreadful. I'm not sure if this is plane specific or loading specific though.
Before I was a regular EK flyer, my main "touch point" with EK (except for the one off odd flights each year) was reading that OMAAT blog for entertainment. That guy seemed to only fly the A380 and I assumed it was the flagship product, and he raves about it, especially given the presence of the shower. But now that I'm flying a lot of EK, I feel like that impression he gave about the EK A380 was slightly misleading. Unintentional no doubt but still not really providing the utility I would've expected. I prefer 777 and if given the choice between the two at identical times, would take the 777 over A380. Just my 2 cents.
I'll also add, this is just referring to F....the 777 J class hard product product looks like a serious step down from the A380.
The advantages of A380: bar and shower. Personally I could care less about the former, while the shower is a bit more useful it's not a must have especially given the 2+ hour connections typical in DXB, aka you can usually catch a shower there or on arrival. Since everyone is different, and it seems like some folks swear by the bar experience, I suppose if you do like chatting at the bar the A380 will have a lot more allure. To me, it doesn't.
The advantages to B77W F are more substantial IMO:
*Wider suite on B77W (due to suite on A380 being upstairs and forward). This is a small but ultimately noticeable and significant improvement, IMO.
*Higher suite walls
*More attentive service
*Higher ceilings make for more spacious feel (EK removed the pilots rest area, a highly uncommon move in fact I don't know any other carriers who did this, which gives super high ceilings in F class).
*Lack of "inferior" seats. On the A380, row 1 has noticeably more-narrow suites than the rest of the (already slightly narrower vs 777) suites due to curvature of plane. I sat in 1A last month. Got great sleep but had storage issues. And row 4 on the A380 looks like it can get pretty bad noise from the galley if the crew isn't paying attention, although I don't have personal experience.
I only started flying EK regularly last year, having partially defected from CX, and have taken 12 F segments in the last 8 months split evenly between 77W and A380. While both products are obviously very nice and this could seen to be splitting hairs, I feel like there is enough difference for me to say I definitively prefer 777. I'm primarily based out of HKG, we get 1x daily 77W nonstop, 2x A380 nonstop with F, and 1x A380 without F that goes via BKK. The last one is a nonstarter for me, but of the other 3 flights I've been going out of my way to book ex-HKG on the 77W, which leaves early morning.
One thing I'm not certain about, but it seems like wifi goes a lot faster on the 777 in my recent, limited expriences. This could be that 4 out of my 6 EK 777 experiences recently is ex-HKG, and I think the flights haven't been busy, aka empty. But fwiw, the WiFi on the A380 each time has been utterly dreadful. I'm not sure if this is plane specific or loading specific though.
Before I was a regular EK flyer, my main "touch point" with EK (except for the one off odd flights each year) was reading that OMAAT blog for entertainment. That guy seemed to only fly the A380 and I assumed it was the flagship product, and he raves about it, especially given the presence of the shower. But now that I'm flying a lot of EK, I feel like that impression he gave about the EK A380 was slightly misleading. Unintentional no doubt but still not really providing the utility I would've expected. I prefer 777 and if given the choice between the two at identical times, would take the 777 over A380. Just my 2 cents.
I'll also add, this is just referring to F....the 777 J class hard product product looks like a serious step down from the A380.
Thanks to everyone who posted a response - travelling first class is a rare occurrence for me and I'm still very much a novice. It's great to hear from all your experiences and I'm sure it will be a great trip (notwithstanding the fact that I'm having to travel to the other side of the world to get my head around the fact that I'm turning 50......)