First time with Emirates - First Class!
 

Hi all, this is my first post - I've been visiting Flyertalk for a couple of years and love reading all the interesting posts and trip reports, and I'm here looking for some advice:

I'm currently in Bangkok and going to Hong Kong on the 20th April. I was looking at flights online and could get a one-way for just GBP120. Just for fun I checked Business Class and Emirates was only GBP260. This made me think - how much might First Class be? GBP400....!! So I booked it. I might never get another opportunity to fly Emirates First Class and I'd like to know if anyone has any tips for me to maximise the experience? For example, is the lounge at Bangkok nice enough to warrant arriving early for my flight, can I have a shower on such a short flight, will there be an amenity bag, etc etc...

Any tips and information will be most gratefully received!!

Thank you all in advance

Kelvin

I should add that I intend to write my first trip report while on the plane and post it here :)

I have used the lounge in Bangkok and whilst its nice its nothing special. if you dont have the opportunity to use premium lounges much, then its worth turning up early for the experience, otherwise i wouldnt bother.

I dont believe Emirates give out amenity kits or pyjamas on short day flights, they didnt when i flew first with them, but do what i did and ask and if you have a nice attendant/purser they may source one for you. They got me a whole bag of goodies, but i may have struck lucky.

The shower on the plane is worth doing just for the hell of it !

What flights are you flying from BKK to HKG that have a shower on the plane?

Welcome to FT jamiethedog!

The Emirates BKK-HKG flight is a great way to experience EK and the A380
We took that flight last year and it was our first 380 flight. The showers are pretty cool. Here are pics from my report. Enjoy your flight.

Emirates Lounge at BKK
EK384 BKK-HKG part 1
EK384 BKK-HKG part 2
EK384 BKK-HKG part 3

SFO777 - thank you so much for those links! Very informative indeed and much appreciated. I'll probably not arrive at the airport too early as the lounge doesn't look so special, but I'm looking forward to having a wander around the plane. I wonder if the food onboard will be any better than you experienced - maybe less effort goes into catering on such a short flight.

I agree that it is not the most magnificent lounge on Earth, but it's free! With wines (and champers) and other bar drinks, an espresso machine, hot food, cold buffet, other beverages. So you could easily have a pretty nice 3 course meal with drinks there. ^

No showers on short flights because they do not have someone to clean them. The FAs do not do that on the long-hauls - there is a special staff person other than an FA, who manages the showers, on those flights (from my experience).

Also the meal service is done with a tray on flights less than 4 hours. It is not the same as their long-haul service.

Get there early for the lounge. There is another EK flight leaves a couple of hours after you (direct to DXB) and 2 x A380 J and F class pax (plus Golds in Y) can make it very busy.

I have definitely had a shower on EK385 from HKG to BKK (April 2011). Ask early as there isn't time if everybody wanted one, but the shower attendant is on board and the showers in use.

I also had a shower onboard EK384 from BKK to HKG. Ask when you get onboard, and also - I had the most wonderful purser on EK 385(HKG-BKK) and he not only left me the bottle of Dom in my suite, but also got me amenity kits. His and hers from F and C, and another bottle of Dom and a tedddybear to my 3-month old son(who was back home in Norway)

Maybe I was lucky, but just ask politely, and the worst you'll receive is a "no"...but more probably..."yes" :) :) :)

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy66/ln-fhu/261.jpg

^ I will be on EK 385 in F in 2 weeks (!!), just missing the OP by a day. EK 384 in J in just over a month. I plan to be posted up at the bar for that segment :o

I'll definitely ask for an amenity kit as politely as I can then!

Once I traveled in Emirates and I too much surprised to see the high standards of it as I experienced in any outward journey. It provided extreme level services and the quality of food/refreshment was continued to be high class. The airline developed itself alt in area of services and standards.


bumper stickers

Jamie

Well done on taking the plunge and splashing out on EK F. I've actually never travelled on the A380 between BKK and HKG, so I am very keen to hear what you think of the service. Post back your thoughts when you have time...

My trip has begun!
 

Hello all!

So here I am, in the Emirates lounge at Bangkok. I arrived at the airport 4 hours before my flight (I'm always too excited to sleep before I fly so I get up very early anyway) and the check-in desks were closed, however I only had to wait 20 minutes or so for them to open.

The First Class desk had no one at it so I checked in at the Business Class desk. Not very friendly staff but perfectly professional so no problems there. I received a voucher for the premium security and immigration queues - there were only three other people in either queue so all was very speedy.
The lounge is quite a walk from check-in, however I must say that it's very pleasant. I've just had some chicken schnitzel with mashed potato and vegetables (and lashings of Heinz ketchup which I adore - I'm a philistine I know). This was very tasty indeed although could have been hotter. I had a glass of Pomerol with it which was very good too. I followed with a slice of overly-sweet lemon meringue pie which I couldn't finish.

I'm not going to have any more alcohol until closer to departure because if I start now I'll be too tired to enjoy the flight and the wines on it. So now I've settled down with a glass of coke and several newspapers and magazines. My first English paper for three months - what a treat!!! More to follow...

I just did HKG-BKK in F on Thursday. Didn't want the flight to end!

Interested to see what you think of the reverse route ... currently booked in J for that in a couple weeks, but that F suite was superb. ^

Note: some of this is written in the present tense and some in the past tense, depending on when I actually had a chance to get my computer out, so I must apologise for the incongruous style…

Very impressed with the lounge in Dubai. Plenty of reading material, fast wifi, decent selection of food and drinks. Shame there isn’t a separate lounge for First Class but all in all I really can’t complain.

The service in here is also very good. They are making regular sweeps of the lounge to clear any empty plates and glasses. Very quiet and professional.
I left the lounge about half an hour before boarding time – I figured that as the plane would already be at the stand (having arrived from Dubai as Bangkok is just a stop on the way to Hong Kong) that they might let me board early. No such luck…

I’m now sitting on the plane enjoying a gin and tonic. I also had a glass of water which I managed to spill, but hey ho. I must look like such a novice to the crew, particularly as I came on board and dropped my boarding pass which very nearly fell through a gap in the airbridge, then proceeded to sweat like Jill Dando trying to get her key in the lock… (apologies for the poor taste of that joke)

The service is ever so attentive. As well as being provided with my drink I’ve been offered a stuffed date, a hot towel, some slippers, a newspaper and a magazine – that’s 6 times I’ve been offered service of one kind or another! I’m rather tragic and took a Hello Magazine. Not something I normally read but sometimes one needs to give the grey cells a rest.

There’s a guide to using the First Class Suite on board – who would think that an aeroplane seat could be so complicated?! There is a sort of detachable tablet that functions as a wireless remote control for the tv and the seat. Even the blinds are electronically controlled. There is also a soft-drink mini bar that appears at the touch of a button and a little vanity unit with some moisturizer and other bits. A table lamp, vase of orchids and a basket of snacks make up the rest of the suite. The seat itself is very comfortable – leather, quite wide. The fixtures are all in a sort of walnut burr with gold trimmings – very Arab but not as bling as I was expecting.

First Class appears to have just five people in it including myself, however I haven’t taken a wander to Business Class yet to see if it’s full.

Take off was very smooth, I was actually waiting for the plane to really speed up for lift off when it rose into the air! We were already travelling fast enough but it sounded too quiet to be going so fast!
After lift off the very charming Korean flight attendant brought me a menu – I’ve chosen Lemongrass Prawns with Thai salad, followed by roasted duckling in orange sauce. She also offered me a glass of champagne – Dom Perignon 2003. It’s delicious. I was disappointed not to see caviar on the menu but I guess you can’t have everything.

I’ve put the latest Mission Impossible movie on the tv – the screen is huge and so clear. Not that I’m concentrating too much on the movie as I’m writing this and trying to take in my surroundings – to really enjoy and appreciate the moment. Most people live their whole lives never being able to experience flying like this so I feel blessed to be able to try it. I worry that it will make my future economy flights rather depressing…

I’m going to ask for an amenity kit later into the flight – I understand that they’re not offered as a matter of course on such a short flight but they might be kind and give one to me. I’m also going to take a look at the bar at the back of Business Class, then walk down to Economy and back up to First at the front of the plane.

This space is where I had my meal – nothing special to be honest as it’s not a full meal service on such a short flight, but the wines were very nice – I won’t go into detail here but I’ll list the wine choices on a separate post later.

I’ve just had the most marvellous chat with a flight attendant back in Business Class. I went down to the bar and had a couple of gin and tonics. Of course, once I start to get merry I become quite chatty, so I asked the girl which part of the UK she was from. She asked me where I thought she was from and I must admit I had no idea – she was accentless to my ears, but she was from Liverpool! But lived for a long time in Angel, London, which I know quite well, so we chatted about that. Charming girl. When I told her how excited I was to be on the a380 she whipped out a Polaroid camera and took a picture of me behind the bar, which she then put into a souvenir frame! The bar then became quite busy so I made my way down to economy to take a look (quite spacious I thought) and then back up to First Class via the stairs at the front.

Once seated again I asked for an amenity kit and was told that they don’t normally give them out on this sector but would make an exception for me – such good service! I didn’t really like the bag – perhaps it was real leather but it felt rather faux to me, plus the shape wasn’t very nice. I prefer the little Rimowa case they give you on Thai Airways.

I’m writing this now two days after the flight and I must confess that my memory of the end of the flight is a little vague – I over-imbibed a tad, maybe, and can’t really remember with total clarity, however I can safely say that the service on the flight was the best I have yet encountered on a plane – friendly and professional. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Emirates First Class and hope to be able to enjoy it again sometime soon.

Do you mean Bangkok?

Oops! I do indeed mean Bangkok!!

Have a safe and enjoyable flight

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I know this is an old post/thread but I just saw it -- and if you're around and you see this, mind expanding on what exactly the 'bag of goodies' contained? Just curious to know :)