chicagodesi

Hello all,

We will be flying Emirates in January Chicago to Dubai in economy. Does anyone know if they are running planes with the new/refreshed IFE screens? Last time we flew in Emirates from Chicago was in 2016 and they had the older screens. Thanks!!

murtaza12

You can check here:

Emirates Routes

DXB-ORD (EK235/EK236) gets the new business class cabin, which will include the latest IFE as well.

chicagodesi

Sweet!! Looking forward to it, thanks so much for the info! Has anyone flown this route recently in the refreshed cabin in Y? Just curious to get a review.

extramileage

Have flown this route a bunch (but not in Y...).

Nothing special about ORD check-in. The lounge EK uses is the Air France/KLM lounge (and Priority Pass, but could be capacity controlled), so small and nothing special and gets crowded depending on flight shedules. My friend recommends the little bar island after security. Bar tender is good and friendly.

Seats in Y on the newest 777s are largely similar to what you've had before. Config is standard EK 3-4-3 so not that wide, but good legroom for Y standards. The screens, however, are impressively large for Y class. Basically looks like a large edge to edge tablet.

Service will be dinner, light bites(pizza), breakfast. More details here: https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/experience/woyf/

IFE is packed as always. Lots of movies, of course, but check out the TV series. I like to binge on box sets on ULH flights. There's a dedicated HBO section, for example.

You will land at DXB in early evening, which is generally a quiet time of the day.

Have good fight!

chicagodesi

Appreciate the details! We'll be travelling with 2 kids, ages 5 and 8. Hoping for a semi-empty flight so that we can spread out a little bit.

torontoflyer

it gets lighter on loads later in January (3rd week onwards)

chicagodesi

That would be great! Does anyone have a strategy for claiming an empty row? Do you wait until after take off? For a 14 hour overnight flight, I'm assuming quite a few people will also be eying any empty rows. Also, do there tend to be more empty rows towards the back of the plane?

extramileage

yes, usually more room in the back, but the 777s aren't *that* big (I realize how that sounds...) once you take out F and J. Maybe reserve seats closer to back? Also worth asking the crew during boarding.

extramileage

Kid-sized headphones are a good investment if they don't have any.

chicagodesi

Agreed! The kids have their own headphones while the wife and I have noise cancelling headphones.

chicagodesi

*sigh* the things you have to do when you fly economy! It's well worth the adventure though