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Emirates to California !

Emirates to California !

Old Apr 4, 2011, 9:54 am
  #1  
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Dubai, U.A.E
Posts: 1
Emirates to California !

Hello everyone.
This is my first trip report and I had absolutely no intentions of writing it, so bare with me as I have no pictures for this report.
Well, I used to do a lot of reading on the Aviation Trip Reports Forum, but since you have to pay to be able to post, I decided to look for an alternate forum and so came onto here J

This report is on a flight I took from Dubai to San Francisco on Emirates. When I was due to fly, I remember having searched a lot on reviews for the flight, and found just a first class report on another forum. So I decided if not pictures, I should at least tell everybody about the experience.

BACKGROUND :-
I was to attend my sisters wedding reception in Pleasanton, California and of course, the easiest way to fly was the direct service provided by Emirates to San Francisco. Since Im just 17 years old and just finished high school, there is no way I can fly business class, let alone first. Unless of course, Im flying on my birthday and Dad decides to upgrade me ( which happened on a DEL-DXB flight last year
So, the booking was done online and I had an economy ticket on this flight, one of the longest non-stop routes operated today.

PRE-FLIGHT :-The Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai, is about a 15 minute drive from home and so we were at the airport by around 7 a.m. for an 8:55 a.m. departure.
The terminal has specific check-in areas that are designated for flights to the US, besides additional baggage drop areas for all the other flights that are not specific to any.
One additional point to note is that if youre flying on a regional flight to the Middle East, Asia or even Europe at times, it is mandatory to print the boarding pass before approaching the baggage drop area. Its always a good idea to check in online for the flights which saves time at the airport.
Check-in was really smooth and done by a friendly Filipino agent who was kind and wished me a pleasant flight.
Immigration and security at Dubai are really nothing to be worried about and in time I was at the famous duty free area at Dubai. I was a little hungry as it was early morning, so I grabbed a quick Orange juice from McDonalds before heading over to Gate 217 where Boarding had already begun.

IN FLIGHT :-My seat for the flight was 25 D which is an aisle seat and located in the mid section of the Boeing 777-300ER that operates the flight ( international suite configuration )
The boarding looked to take forever as several people were probably taking it as a connecting flight and we were on the tarmac till about 9:30 a.m. During this time the flight attendants distributed amenity kits along with the menu cards for the flight. The seat also had a pillow, a blanket, headsets while the seat pocket contained the guide to Emirates ICE entertainment and the safety card.
I spent some time browsing through the guide and deciding which movies I would want to watch as I am a huge movie buff. The pilot came on to introduce himself and announced that the flying time was to be 15 hours and 45 minutes and our route would be flying north out of Dubai, over Iran, Moscow before going over the polar regions and then approaching SFO over the coastal regions of Canada and the US.

Pushback commenced by around 9:45 a.m. and the safety video was switched on. One of the great things about ICE is how one can even watch a movie as soon as they sit down on the seat and being such a long flight, you always need something to keep you occupied or else you tend to feel a little dragged.

The attendant serving my aisle was Nagma who was from Pakistan. After take-off, the first meal service commenced while I was watching Grown Ups on ICE.
The choices consisted of :-
1. Achaari Paneer with potato simmered in a sauce and bean pancakes.
2. Spinach Omelette.
3. Breakfast Grill consisting of a chicken fillet, veal sausages, bacon and baked beans.

The service was done along with a drinks service.
Initially I wanted to try the Grill, but it was already out and so I settled with the Paneer. However, Nagma did not have it with her and told me to wait for a while so she could get it for me. Now, this was the first time amongst all the times Ive flown with Emirates that I was actually forgotten about. While the girl sitting next to me got her Paneer within 2 minutes, mine did simply not arrive. I waited and waited and finally when the attendants went around with tea and coffee, I questioned Nagma, and she immediately stopped what she was doing and rang up her fellow attendant to get me one. She profusely apologized and explained to me that the guy had probably forgotten to note down my seat when he was around, which is why I didnt get it. I thanked her immensely.

When I opened the meal I was kind of expecting it to be cold already but it was surprisingly warm. The pancakes were not to my taste at all, but I loved the potatoes and the paneer was fine, although I have had better. The meal came with some bread, butter, jam, yoghurt, fresh fruits and crackers, all of which I had consumed while I was waiting for the meal and it had really set the one for it. So overall, it was a good meal and accompanied with a coke, was enough to give me time to sit back and relax.

Over the next 4-5 hours, I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I and a few episodes of Friends, by which time my head had started aching a little. So I switched of the system for a while and tried to grab some sleep unsuccessfully. Perhaps, because it was still afternoon at Dubai.

With about 7.5 hours to go, the cabin lights were switched back on and service began for lunch. The attendants first went around with a drink service and some custom savory biscuits, which I thought were okay and not great, though on such a flight you pretty much force yourself to eat everything you are offered. This was followed by a lunch service.
Although I do not recall all the choices, I do remember there being an option between :-

1. Handi chicked served with Bsmati rice.
2. A Beef Option.
3. An eggplant option.

I opted for the chicken Handi and this time did not have to wait and I must say this meal was impressive. I have always loved the Indian meals on Emirates, specially when I fly to India, because they are always spectacular. Although I must add that the meal is accompanied by several more sides on a 2.5 hour flight to Delhi than there were on any of the meals on this flight, which was a little surprising.
Anyways, meal service done, it was now about 6.5 hours to go and I started feeling a little restless. I visited the lavatory for the second time and noticed that it had become much dirtier since the last time, and it had not been cleaned. Hm.

I then slept for about 2 hours and then saw another movie called The Switch. With about 2 hours now to go, the flight attendants served snacks with a choice of orange juice and water.
There was an option between a chicken or vegetarian sandwich along with a choice of granola bars and chocolates.
I took a chicken sandwich which was really nice along with a kit-kat and orange juice, so a good arrival snack.

Finally about 40 minutes before landing, the attendants began collecting used blankets and headsets before we began our descent which was smooth and touchdown occurred at about 2:35 p.m. Immigration was a breeze and having my baggage on time, I was in San Francisco, California
Anubhav939 is offline  
Old Apr 6, 2011, 3:57 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TSV, Australia
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Nice report. Thanks for posting.
camsean is offline  
Old Apr 6, 2011, 4:19 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
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Posts: 5,110
Welcome to FT Anubhav939!

Thank you for starting off with a nice TR!
snod08 is offline  
Old Apr 8, 2011, 12:17 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Good report. How full was the flight?
Loose Cannon is offline  

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