Moomba

Ah, I completely forgot there would be more to this TR. Hurry up Matt we are waiting. Pop a couple of Jaffas in your mouth for some energy and write up the next part.

matthandy

Thanks, me too!


I've only heard positive things about the Clubhouse and having seen lots of photos, I really want to give it a try. I think it'll have to wait until I'm back in the UK though, so that I can do a short hop to JFK.

Here, well let's not worry about them. I had pretty good service on the short hop from LGW to ORK so I'd imagine that a longer trip would be good also.


Thanks econometrics, more to come, soonish.

Thanks both. I'm not sure when the next part will be up, I'm flying to Melbourne tomorrow to watch the tennis and I won't be back until Sunday evening. I might be able to get some of it done tonight.

PETER01

Another incredible TR Matt, the photos are just amazing.

I really enjoyed it and read it.. three times

I agree the cabin looks a bit 'blingy' and the check-in person should maybe have communicated/interacted more. The engraving on the Emirates glass looks very nice though!

Thanks for sharing, appreciated ^^

Seat 2A

I do believe this is the most thorough and detailed accounting of a First Class flight aboard Emirates that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Thank you Matt for this typically excellent effort and I do hope that one day you'll get to enjoy a much longer flight or three aboard Emirates First Class. ^^

SFO777

Thanks for another great report Matt. I agree with Seat 2A, the best report on the EK 380 First suites. My only EK F experience was a short BKK-HKG flight last year. While I enjoyed the novelty of the 380, the boarding process was awful and food just another J class meal. Not sure it made a difference but I got stuck in 1A (Mrs. SFO got 2A) and IMO, the seat was too narrow for my liking. Also, the seat light was right where my head likes to lean back. Give me my CX First suite any day.

flyer31

Thanks,

Great report.

EK_Flyer

Great Pics & TR

Thanks matthandy

Cheers,
E_F

EK_Flyer

Unfortunately - On EK's A380 - 1A/K are not the best seats !

They feel too constricting due to their smaller size.

There is also 1 less window & too much foot traffic due to the F- Bar & the shower spas.

The other seats are alright - Go for rows 2/3 on your next trip


Cheers,
EK_Flyer

worldtraveller73

Awesome. Loved the shower.

Biblioman1

matthandy,

Thanks for the report. I found it via the FlyerTalk newsletter and was very impressed with the quality of your photos. I'd love to fly this plane.^

UA_Flyer

Matt,

This is an outstanding report on the Emirates A380 F Cabin. There are a lot of details that I am really impressed you took the time to take photos.

Some airlines are more friendly to photographers. e.g. SQ, CX, LH, but sorry to say my home country airlines are less friendly...UA, AA, CO, US, DL....

I think you shoot with the Nikon D300, correct? What lens do you typically use?

Looking forward to the next part of the TR.

luv_flying

Impressive photos! You are doing Emirates a favour!

Genius1

Hurry up with the rest, matthandy! Going on a flight/watching tennis/relaxing/not being on FT is not an adequate excuse for not completing a trip report

I'm reserving comments as usual until the TR is complete

matthandy

Glad that you enjoyed it PETER01, more to come!

Thank you Seat 2A! Could you imagine how long the report would have been if it was the SYD-DXB flight? I'd never finish it!

I agree SFO777, I really do think that there are better First Class products out there, but it was nice to 'try' it on this short route. It's a shame that EK have decided to skimp on the catering on these legs.

Me too

Thanks for that Biblioman1! I actually had no idea that it was mentioned, a first for me. I've kept the newsletter.

Thanks UA_Flyer, you'd have no problem with your camera on EK, they are very photo friendly, even offering to take photos of passengers at the bar, in their seat etc. ^

I have my D300 still, 4 years old now! I acquired a couple of new lenses recently, a 35mm f1.8 (I didn't use it on this report) and my new favourite, the 70-200mm f2.8 which is so sharp I smile each time I use it! Just waiting for Nikon to announce details of their new cameras now....

Unfortunately luv_flying, I had to pay Emirates for the privilege

Coming up.....

matthandy

So Where Was I?

Apologies for my utter tardiness in updating this report, I’ve been busy. Firstly, last weekend I was at the Australian Open Tennis, watching a number of different matches including Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Bernard Tomic, Goran Ivanišević, Pat Cash etc. Then there was Australia Day, and then work and… well, you get the picture!

Andy Murray at the Hisense Arena, Melbourne Park, Jan 2012





A Few Days In Auckland


The last part of this trip report ended with me in the pre-arranged Emirates car, on my way to my hotel in the centre of Auckland City.


The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Auckland

The car itself was an older Ford model, not a patch on the car that I had in Sydney, which was unfortunate, but not a disaster. I did think that a First Class passenger’s expectations would be a little higher than a 10 year old slightly battered Ford though. I’d have expected a BMW, Audi, Mercedes or a top range Holden.

Anyway, the driver was very friendly, and we spent the 25 minute journey chatting about things to do in Auckland. I hadn’t really planned much beforehand, as I find that I always enjoy these trips more if I work things out for myself when I arrive. One thing that I had booked though, was a trip out on one of the ex-Americas Cup yachts, as this needed to be pre-booked.

We arrived at the hotel at 3.15pm and I thanked the driver (I didn’t give a tip as I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was) and then made my way towards reception.

The hotel entrance

The reception desk wasn’t very busy and I didn’t have to wait. I was dealt with by a very friendly gentleman who welcomed me to the hotel and then went through the check in procedures. Everything was done with efficiency and a friendly a smile. One thing to say about the service in New Zealand, it is genuinely friendly, much more so than Australia.

My room was located on the 13th floor and was quite a distance from the lifts. However, the room itself was large, bright and spacious. It was clearly a slightly older room that had been renovated. I ended up choosing the Crowne Plaza because of the location, the rate and the modern décor.

The room consisted of a large double bed, a chaise longue, a large glass work desk, a large 37” flat screen, wardrobe (with a safe and ironing board) and a decent sized bathroom. I had views into the city, although there wasn’t much to see except other buildings and shops. I’d imagine that some of the higher rooms might face the harbour.

My room – standard King size


Large 37” flat screen tv and the entrance corridor


The rather boring and dated bathroom


Bathroom amenities

I unpacked and then checked out some of the in-room amenities. The TV was great, as I was able to hook up my iPad to watch a few videos via HDMI. The hotel provides Wi-Fi throughout the hotel however it is hideously expensive. I was rather shocked to see that I’d have to pay $30 NZD ($23.20 AUD/£15.60/$26.60 USD) for 24 hours access that was in fact limited to a measly total of 100mb. Ridiculous! I’ve never seen a service so expensive and so limited before in my travels all over the world. Is it a New Zealand thing?
I later found out that free Wi-Fi was available in the lobby, but it was limited to 30 minutes/30mb per day, per device. That would meet my needs.

I decided to get out of my room and head down to the harbour for a wander around.

The hotel is situated on Albert Street and is quite a central location. The harbour front (Quay Street) was about a 10 minute walk from hotel, straight along Albert Street.

As mentioned before this was my first ‘proper’ visit to Auckland, so I really didn’t know what to expect. As I made my way down to the harbour I passed the Sky Tower, which dominates the Auckland skyline. It is quite an imposing structure and attracts a multitude of tourists through various activities including the casino complex.

Auckland’s Sky Tower


Auckland’s Sky Tower

As I made my way down to the harbour I noticed that quite a few of the buildings were quite grey, with lots of exposed concrete. It reminded me of some of the post-war industrial architecture that can be found in many UK towns and cities. It felt very familiar actually, although unfortunately, you can’t really say that Auckland is a ‘pretty’ city.

Things got better when I reached the water front, as the area had clearly been recently developed. Some of the old structures remained, but much of it was new build and included the ferry terminal and lots of new restaurants which were all very busy.

The Ferry Building – on the water front


Warehouses


Ferries and the new Prince’s Wharf development to the left


Prince’s Wharf restaurants

I kept on walking, up to Prince’s Wharf, which is opposite the Maritime Museum and near to Viaduct Harbour (more restaurants, apartments, offices and yachts). As I walked around the wharf, a number of restaurants caught my eye. I don’t normally like going out to eat when I am by myself, but the menu for ‘Euro’ really caught my eye, so I decided that I’d go back there one evening for a meal.

I carried on to Viaduct Harbour, past the Maritime Museum and into the basin. This is where the yachts that I’d be sailing on the following day where moored up. Alongside were a ridiculous number of ridiculously large luxury yachts! These were the biggest sailing yachts I’d ever seen and were easily in the 100ft+ category. Among these were two New Zealand built, UK designed yachts, ‘Imagine’ and ‘Janice of Wyoming’.

Sail NZ ex-Americas Cup Yachts – I’d be sailing one of these the following day


Imagine – 110ft of pure luxury


Imagine – from the back


Janice of Wyoming – 130ft


Janice of Wyoming – from the back

You can find out more about these incredible boats here: Imagine and Janice of Wyoming.

After a getting my fair share of ‘yacht porn’ I decided that it was time to head back to the hotel to get something to eat and plan out the following day.

Next Up

- Sailing on an ex-Americas Cup Yacht (and getting soaked in the process)
- A visit to the Sky Tower
- A visit to the Maritime Museum
- Dinner at ‘Euro’, Prince’s Wharf
- Day tour to Auckland’s West Coast