Hello Emirates!
 

So after many years of loyalty to BA, I have become disloyal because of insane and disrespectful changes to their loyalty program, and booked 3xF and 1xJ flights on Emirates in my next trip.
The 3xF trips are short haul (3h, 777), medium haul (7h, A380) and long haul (15h, A380) and the J is on their A350.
Any advice for me on how to make the most of my experience. I really want to like Emirates!
all bookings are cash.

Welcome, and I suspect that you will like EK, especially in F. If you tell us from where to where you are flying, people may be able to give you advice based on the airports. Also, if you provide some info as to what you care about most, input could be provided.

Thank you!
yes absolutely

i am flying
LHR > DXB in first on an A380
DXB > BOM in business on an A350
DEL > DXB in first on a 777
DXB > LAX in first on a A380

You'll have an amazing time, and I'm excited for you!

For F:
1. The FA will help store your luggage for you, as it goes towards the floor and they'll keep it secured with two straps in case you're wondering where your carry on luggage goes. They'll give you a "beach bag" where you can put your clothes into when changing into pajamas, and I use the same bag to keep my pajamas to take home.
2. The treat basket is taken away at takeoff and returned when reaching altitude.
3. The air vent is a twisting motion to open and close, don't try to push the cap as it won't move.
4. If you like caviar, you're in for a treat; you can order more if you would like. Dine on demand concept, with whatever you want. Towards the end of the flight, sometimes they may run out of options, but I never had an FA say no. Excellent wine and liquor selection, and you if you like Cognac, you can blind taste the Hennessy Paradis vs Tesseron.
5. On the A380, the FA will ask you when you would like to reserve the shower suite for a time that you would like (usually I like to reserve 2.5 hours before landing). For the shower, it's 5 minutes of water time, but with light passenger loads, they will be happy to reset it for 10-15 minutes of water time if needed. They'll have a dedicated shower attendant to help if you need anything. Bathrooms are cleaned after each use, so everything is kept tidy throughout the entire flight.
6. You can go to the J bar in the back, and socialize or just relax. Usually the F bar is quiet. The F FA will let them know to serve you F alcohols when you are back at the J social bar.
7. I'm a big fan of row 2 for window seats, as I feel there is too much bathroom traffic for row 1.
8. DXB F lounge is huge! Some fliers lounge hop for different wine selection. I usually skip eating at the lounge, and prefer to dine on the airplane, as I feel the food on the plane is better than the lounge; which is opposite for some other airlines.
9. Can book chauffeur service.
10. If the cabin is not full, they can make your bed in the suite across from you.
11. Some F lounges allow direct gate access to your flights or some flights, such as in DXB and also at SFO (if you fly from there in the future).
12. Meet and greet service upon arrival at DXB; and they'll take you to the connecting flight terminal F lounge.

Actually, the OP should be able to board from the lounge on the LHR-DXB flight unless they get unlucky and the flight doesn’t get one of the two adjacent gates.

Maybe I spend too much time on specific EK routes, but I find the food in the DXB F lounge better and more varied than onboard F. Being able to order off an extensive(ish) a la carte menu in the lounge trumps the “J menu + one main and caviar” F menu onboard for me.

Agree with all the other points made.

Agreed, I find the food in EK F lounges at DXB much better than onboard in F also. Onboard food quality is EK’s main F class weakness.

This is very much the reverse of the other airlines I fly in F (QR, BA, JL, etc.)

Agree with this too. Lounge food better than on board (although of course and as mentioned there is caviar on board and not in the lounge).

Only other point worth noting is that when you arrive in F but leave in J, you will not have access to the F lounge unless the ticket as a whole is in F and the only reason is that the connecting flight has no F cabin (which may well be the case for the OP who leaves on a 359).

Am assuming downloaded the Emirates app.

The meet & greet staff for F in DXB will be able to advise if any special events or if a lounge is better than another.
Also if enjoy your vino there are numerous bottles to choose from in lounges so worth a look.

The amount of amenities given in flight are also bonkers if used to BA. The Emirates shopping bag is as much so can take anything want with you.
If like whisky definitely try the Dalmore. The movie popcorn is also a nice touch.
The Emirates dates are ridiculously moorish as are the chocolates they give you to take away.

The in flight shower on A380 can be a bit of a gimmick but worth a try for the experience.

All-in-all it is a great experience have done many times.

J is probably almost an F on many other airlines.

In DXB there is a free 15 min massage if in F flounge. It is a basic thing but passes time and can be relaxing.

My one big recommendation is remember to put some praise feedback in for the staff as they genuinely do work socks off, as do many CC so good to get them some plaudits.

Enjoy your flights and checkout that Skywards has artner airlines can spend on too.

Lastly I know others mentioned food but never had a bad meal with EK tbh.

The front desk will say if can board directly via the lounge

Forgot to mention, the EK F FAs will usually offer a quick tour of the seat, and I am glad I did take them up on that offer on my first EK F flight.

Some buttons aren't as intuitive, such as the the mini bar button; I'm guilty of man handling that cover closed, versus pushing a simple button. :D

Ah the chocolate almond holder...
Yes have to be really careful with that as if it is forced shut the next time it is activated it tries to pull the whole sideboard top off! A cabin crew member warned me it had jammed and demonstrated the issue.

Good shout on the demo if first flight with them - have had a divider go up and down as guy next to me tried to figure out the buttons half way through a flight before too.

Also the welcome basket has to be removed before takeoff and is restocked before they bring it back so if there is anything you particularly like you can remove it before then. The hydration tabs are always a good one and depending where you fly there can be spicy thai mix, Himalayan salt popcorn or roasted fruit mix.
There's always Lindt chocolate too

The amenity bag on the A380 is nice with plenty of practical things and good for a week long journey if forget anything too normally.

Besides that there's a nice pen and notebook you can use to get staff names for kind feedback + a small sleep aid ( eye hydration & pillow mist spray) set in the desk in front of the IFE.

The cocktails are very nice onboard and you can go to the bar should you so wish or have them delivered to seat by asking staff

thank you so much for this, some great advice in here! :)

to be fair, the concord room has better food than F on-board too - it’s close though!

awesome :) - thank you!
in LHR -> DXB, will I get / should I request an amenity kit? I’ve heard they have some very expensive things inside. My flight leaves in the evening and reaches Dubai at 3am ish

one of my biggest gripes with BA is that the cocktails on board, suck.
glad to hear the ones on EK are great!

thanks for the advice!

I have never had a bad F meal - au and nz to LHR via DXB. I always save my meals for the plane.
It does get a touch repetitive - the ULH pattern seems to be two very different menus, month to month but each menu only changes 1-2 items before it returns in a months time.
I don’t like caviar, but have an unhealthy fixation with their chocolate fondant !!

You will almost certainly be offered one, and also the tote bag with PJ’s and slippers. If not, just ask. The amenity kit is very nice, but soon you’ll have lots of them. I have a shelf in my wardrobe full of J (mainly) and F kits and my wife implores me to not bring more home! We use the tote bags for shopping when we don’t need to get a lot.
But as it’s your first F flight on EK, you should certainly ask if not offered.

Don’t think anyone has described EK F meals as bad. The initial comparisons made were with the DXB F lounge. Other airlines do seem to have better F catering, but that’s expected as none of them have the F capacity EK do, or the practical problems of a large F operation. The way EK have solved for them makes sense (to me at least), but there is better F catering out there. Personally, all of SQ, JL, QR, AF (when they bother) and EY have better F catering than EK. But EK F catering is not bad: just J catering with an additional main and caviar.

You can ask on the LHR-DXB legs if not provided.
It is a faux leather designer washbag, aftershave / perfume, deodorant, comb / brush, dental pack and shaving kit.

Shorter flights it will be stuff in the toilets already if need shave / toothbrush.
Same items as there available in DXB as are showers.

The washbags are nice giveaways to friends / relatives if don't want them yourself.

Fair point.
But J vs F certainly on my flights - eg. 449 or 417 - it is 3 appetisers to 6 and 3 mains to 5-6 and 1 dessert to 2-3 comparing J to F - not just another choice and caviar!
So a much greater choice and better presentation.
Of your list I have only experienced SQ and SQ do win, but not by much. And EK do leave QF and BA for dead IMO!
But I have a lifetime of institutional food, so my standards and expectations are not great!!

Anyway drifting off topic.
i think you will love it, certainly in comparison to BA!!

Not sure what's expensive in the amenity kit other than the small bottle of cologne. However in my opinion, the most recent cologne in the F amenity kit smells atrocious and too smoky. I feel like I am nauseating the entire cabin with just one spritz after my shower.
I've just been using the other cologne thats in the shower spa recently.
One of the previous Bulgari cologne iterations, I believe it was Tygar, smelled great though.

I am really getting interested in what the OP is going to think of the experience.
On like-for-like flights, it seems a no brainer to choose EK, but if he is (for instance) based in the UK and has regular travel to the (for instance) USA, the route network will (to say it nicely) not be optimal. And (in that case) the EK lounge experience at LHR will be inferior to the Concorde Room (or so I believe, I have never entered that 'hallowed ground' :p). Except for the boarding from the lounge benefit of course.
Feedback will be interesting!

The most recent one I got (it says le Gemme and Kobraa and it was in October) is very strong. You can sort of smell it through the glass. But I quite like it.

yeah got Le Gemme and Gyan this time

Also there's the Bulgari body lotion, lip balm and other gubbins besides.

The Do&Co BA F catering from LHR these days is better than the Concorde Room food to me (as long as you don’t get brunch in the afternoon, of course). Granted, outstation BA F catering can be very, very poor too, particularly given lots of it comes from US airports.

I would say EK F catering from DXB is about on par with BA from LHR other than the addition of caviar. EK outstation catering is better than BA outstation on average IMO, but that might be because I don’t fly EK from the US.

Will be sure to report back!

Haha yes I was averaging odd and even numbered BA flights ;) - since 50% of them have relatively poor catering e.g. from the US.

A quick question on this --

I am flying into Dubai via EK2 in First, and then connecting onto a flight going to India, but on the day after. This onwards flight is in business. I will be spending the night in a hotel and then coming back to the airport.
Will I get access to the first class lounge in this case? Both flights are on the same booking, but First was not available on the connecting flight. The fare is First Flex.

Having done both the CCR and EK F lounges in A, B and C, I beg to differ. The EK lounges are far better than the CCR IMO.

I've done the CCR 8-10 times, and it's never been a great experience (granted, my experiences are from 10 years ago). The service in the restaurant area was always terrible - we used to predict what would be forgotten from the order. And the food was generally luke warm at best, stone cold at worst. The quality and choice is also far inferior to the EK F lounge.

Trying to get any service on the CCR terrace was always a challenge. The staff actively avoid eye contact, so it's difficult to place an order. The regulars on the BA forum insist that you should just go to the bar area to get served - but you then get in a queue of people waiting for cocktails.

Yes, that’s a ‘typical’ case which would give you access to the F lounges.
I have no personal experience with this scenario so I don’t know how it physically works but the lounge attendant will undoubtedly be able to look at the fare and let you in.

You forgot the Lakrids! My favourite item in the snack basket. On my last F flight, I mentioned this to the FA, and also that the Lakrids provided were not my favourite flavour (bronze). A bit later she came back with 4 boxes of them!

By the way, I find the F service on the 77W generally better than on the A380 (apart from the time there were only two of us in F, one in 1A - clearly a newly as you don't choose 1A or 1K if you have the choice) and myself in 2K).

Horses for courses I prefer the Airbus to the Boeing TBH.

The fizzy vitamin tablets are actually pretty good too, great in water or a DIY gin fizz while in hotel.

There is also the Autin Powers bus ride for just F class with disco purple lighting if land away from the terminal to experience.

Another quick question -

My DEL -> DXB -> LAX flight entitles me to Dubai connect. My nationality is one that gets a 30 day visa on arrival. Does that mean that all I need to do is to proceed through immigration as normal and then turn up to the Dubai connect desks at DXB? I don't think I need to apply for a visa in advance. Will DEL issue me my hotel voucher? Will I be given a room at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai ?

Many thanks!

Vouchers are issued at origin, so at DEL. DC desks in Dubai are before immigration. No need to apply for visas, but there should be an option to apply in MMB if you choose. If any visas are required, it takes minutes at the DC desk.

F/J passengers are either at the Marriott or Le Meridien. You don’t get to choose. I prefer Le Meridien as it is closer to the airport and less busy, but that’s down to personal taste.

Awesome thanks - do I get chauffeur service to and from the hotel and can I control when they pick me up? e.g. I want to maximize my time in the F lounge and want to turn up early...

Yes, after DC desk and immigration, you’ll be directed to the chauffeur desk and chauffeur to and from hotel arranged. In J, sometimes it’s a shared van, in F it’s usually a dedicated car. You can negotiate pick-up time at the chauffeur desk. They’re usually fine with earlier pick-ups (and another reason to prefer Le Meridien, as it is much, much closer to the airport).

Great, thanks very much for the info!