Emirates Airlines on business class BKK-DXB-LHR
Jun 14, 2009, 2:19 am
#1
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Emirates Airlines on business class BKK-DXB-LHR
I assume that you have read my trip report when going to Asia (You can find it on http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...r-dxb-bkk.html ) and on April 19th it was time to go home from BKK. During my trip to Asia I was in Bangkok 3 times, I was in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in Cambodia and I had flights in between the places and I flew AirAsia, Thai, Bangkok Airways and Vietnam Airlines. But I have to get back to these flights in a seperate trip report :-)
We had flight EK373 out of BKK at 8.30 PM and as Emirates doesn't have a limousine service in Bangkok we had to take a taxi to the airport. Check in was fast and it didn't take long to get through immigration either and we headed to the Emirates lounge as we were flying business class. The lounge here has the same interior and style as the lounges in London and Dubai and I think it is nice to see that they have a certain look to it that is repated in all their lounges. The loungen in Bangkok has a view to the area outside the airport so it is not like in London where you basically have first row seats to watch planes land and take off.
The selection of food was pretty damn good in the lounge in Bangkok too: salads, sushi, satay, chicken on lemongrass stalks etc. We did have some champagne and some red wine while we were waiting for our flight
.
Here is a video from the lounge in Bangkok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mHx4...e=channel_page
Eventually it was time to board the plane and we walked to our gate and after security control we boarded the Boeing 777-300 and I was assigned to seat 7K. The blanket was already handed out but unlike my colleague I had not gotten a noise cancelling headset. Not that it really mattered as it was a pretty short trip. They had also handed out a bottle of water for each seat.
One thing that annoyed me a bit on this plane was the wall that was separating the seats. It was not possible to lower it all the way down (the photo shows it at its lowest position) so I sort of had to stretch to talk over it when speaking with my colleague - but I guess it can be a great advantage if you are sitting next to a stranger and don't want to talk to them :-)
After take-off it was time to order dinner - we had the option between a couple of starters (salmon or chicken) and the option between 3 main courses (chicken tikka, beef or fish) and I went for the fish
The service was once again great but my starter was below par. I have never had such a tough and dry chicken. But the fish was excellent and the dessert was very good.
Once again I have to say how impressed I am with the ICE system on the Emirates flights. First of all: it is a HUGE 17" screen with a crystal clear picture - and there is an amazing selection of movies, TV series, music and games.You can even call from seat to seat :-) I can't see how it can get much better than this :-)
The toilets were not that impressive - when the fasten seat belt sign went off I had to go to the toilet. One of the toilets were filled up with various equipment so I was asked to use a different one. On the other toilet the door with the mirror on had popped open - but it was just a matter of closing it so it was not a big problem
Apart from that it was a pretty uneventful flight and we landed in Dubai right before midnight local time. As we were spending the following day in Dubai we went through immigration and picked up our suitcase. As you can get limousine service included when you have a business class ticket and I had booked a car to take us to our hotel. But we were not able to find the limousine stand and when we asked we got pretty vague answers. So in the end we just jumped into a taxi - the hotel was pretty close to the airport any way. On the way out of the airport we passed a lot of Emirates limousines so I guess we would have found it if we had looked a few minutes more :-)
To be continued - in the next post there will be some photos from Dubai :-)
We had flight EK373 out of BKK at 8.30 PM and as Emirates doesn't have a limousine service in Bangkok we had to take a taxi to the airport. Check in was fast and it didn't take long to get through immigration either and we headed to the Emirates lounge as we were flying business class. The lounge here has the same interior and style as the lounges in London and Dubai and I think it is nice to see that they have a certain look to it that is repated in all their lounges. The loungen in Bangkok has a view to the area outside the airport so it is not like in London where you basically have first row seats to watch planes land and take off.
The selection of food was pretty damn good in the lounge in Bangkok too: salads, sushi, satay, chicken on lemongrass stalks etc. We did have some champagne and some red wine while we were waiting for our flight
. Here is a video from the lounge in Bangkok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mHx4...e=channel_page
Eventually it was time to board the plane and we walked to our gate and after security control we boarded the Boeing 777-300 and I was assigned to seat 7K. The blanket was already handed out but unlike my colleague I had not gotten a noise cancelling headset. Not that it really mattered as it was a pretty short trip. They had also handed out a bottle of water for each seat.
One thing that annoyed me a bit on this plane was the wall that was separating the seats. It was not possible to lower it all the way down (the photo shows it at its lowest position) so I sort of had to stretch to talk over it when speaking with my colleague - but I guess it can be a great advantage if you are sitting next to a stranger and don't want to talk to them :-)
After take-off it was time to order dinner - we had the option between a couple of starters (salmon or chicken) and the option between 3 main courses (chicken tikka, beef or fish) and I went for the fish
The service was once again great but my starter was below par. I have never had such a tough and dry chicken. But the fish was excellent and the dessert was very good.
Once again I have to say how impressed I am with the ICE system on the Emirates flights. First of all: it is a HUGE 17" screen with a crystal clear picture - and there is an amazing selection of movies, TV series, music and games.You can even call from seat to seat :-) I can't see how it can get much better than this :-)
The toilets were not that impressive - when the fasten seat belt sign went off I had to go to the toilet. One of the toilets were filled up with various equipment so I was asked to use a different one. On the other toilet the door with the mirror on had popped open - but it was just a matter of closing it so it was not a big problem
Apart from that it was a pretty uneventful flight and we landed in Dubai right before midnight local time. As we were spending the following day in Dubai we went through immigration and picked up our suitcase. As you can get limousine service included when you have a business class ticket and I had booked a car to take us to our hotel. But we were not able to find the limousine stand and when we asked we got pretty vague answers. So in the end we just jumped into a taxi - the hotel was pretty close to the airport any way. On the way out of the airport we passed a lot of Emirates limousines so I guess we would have found it if we had looked a few minutes more :-)
To be continued - in the next post there will be some photos from Dubai :-)
Jun 14, 2009, 7:08 pm
#2
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Efficient trip report, like the pics. ^
When I pre-arranged my EK chauffeur at DXB I was met with sign before customs. If my memory is correct though, the Emirates limo desk is beyond baggage claim by all the other rental car desks.
When I pre-arranged my EK chauffeur at DXB I was met with sign before customs. If my memory is correct though, the Emirates limo desk is beyond baggage claim by all the other rental car desks.
Jun 14, 2009, 9:25 pm
#3
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I think its great trip reports detail. I'm glad that you are enjoyable on EK. You didn't have to chance to get on A380 yet. I'm sure if you will be very successfully on A380 for DXB-LHR. I didn't see the pictures outside of the sky. I would loves to see beautifully sunrise. All I can says 'Wow!" but, it was so beautifully sunrise before descent approach into DXB. I am looking forward to see more photos coming soon for your next trip reports. You can take more photos opportunity to see J class and F class, too.
Jun 14, 2009, 10:46 pm
#4
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The limo desk at the new terminal is indeed after baggage claim. Once you go through the customs line, it's just off to the right.
Jun 14, 2009, 11:03 pm
#5
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Jun 14, 2009, 11:12 pm
#6
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After a meeting in Dubai we had a bit of time to look around. As I was going there on vacation soon after it was nice to do a little preview to see how the city had developed since my last visit in 2002. The city has stretched further out and the center seems to be leaning more towards the Jumeirah area. We had to stop by Dubai mall to take a closer look at the amazing Burj Dubai - the tallest building in the world with its 818 meter (2680 feet). It was actually hard to get the whole building in one photo frame with my tiny Canon camera :-) The building is just unbelievable tall...here they will have the fastest lifts in the world, viewing platform on 124th floor etc. It will be incredible when it opens later this year. We also stopped by Burj Al Arab, Atlantis on the Palm project, the aquarium at Dubai mall, Ski Dubai etc
Here are some photos and video.
Aquarium at Dubai Mall
Aquarium at Atlantis hotel
Beautiful Burj Al Arab
Amazing Burj Dubai
Ski Dubai...of course you have to ski even when it is 40 degrees celsius outside
View from 63rd floor on the Address hotel
And a short video with some views and comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drrIPzY44cw
Here are some photos and video.
Aquarium at Dubai Mall
Aquarium at Atlantis hotel
Beautiful Burj Al Arab
Amazing Burj Dubai
Ski Dubai...of course you have to ski even when it is 40 degrees celsius outside
View from 63rd floor on the Address hotel
And a short video with some views and comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drrIPzY44cw
Jun 15, 2009, 1:31 pm
#9
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After a day in Dubai it was time to get ready for a new flight. We got picked up by the Emirates limousin service in a Volvo station wagon (of all cars) at 11 pm . Our hotel was Traders hotel and it was quite close to the airport and hence it didn't take us many minutes gto get to the aiport. When we got close to the airport there was an off ramp with a sign saying "First and Business class" and our driver took this route. All of a sudden we were these and as we got out of the car a women in an Emirates uniform were there to welcome us to the aiport and a porter took care of our suitcases.
The terminal was huge and more or less empty...maybe we were just early? We were led past lots and lots of First class check in counters and over to the Business class check in area and there were lots of people behind the counters so there was no waiting at all.
When we checked in I asked if it was possible to upgrade by using Skywards points but I was told that this was just possible for Silver and Gold card members. If you are a regular blue member you have to do this 6 hours in advance if I'm not mistaken. Check in was fast and there was no lines in security either so we were in the Emirates lounge a few minutes later.
The Emirates lounge in terminal 3 is worth mentioning. First of all it is a HUGE lounge with lots of space, lots of showers, several places to eat etc. You know that a lounge is big when you get to the entrance of it and there's a map of the lounge itself.
There was a good selection of food and drinks...both cold dishes and warm food. This should in fact be one of the best lounges ever but I found it to be too big, too non cosy and too impersonal. It was more or less the opposite of the SAS lounge in Copenhagen - the Emirates was just like a "cold" waiting area. One of the things that I found annoying is that it is located on the second floor and in some areas you can look down on the terminal area. With this you also get the noise and buzz from the terminal and I think one of the nice things about a lounge is that you can get away from the airport noise. And as we discovered on the way to Asia...flights are called on the loud speakers at a considerable volume...in both English and Arabic.
There were a few cool Microsoft Surface tables in the lounge (see http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ ). We sat down by a table and there was a photo of rocks in water on the table. Once we put down our glasses there were ripples in the water. We thought this was pretty cool but was there a function to it? But then we saw some kids playing on the table next to us and we soon found an icon to get a menu...now we had the option of seeing photos, sliding them around on the table, zooming in and out etc. I think this will be common in most homes in a few years time. Another cool thing in the lounge was the games...powered by Xbox :-)
Then it was time to board we walked to the Boeing 777 and I got seat 7K. Boarding was fast as there were to tunnels leading out to the plane...one for first/business and one for economy. On the flight we got greeted by a choice of either some juice or some champagne, we got a new toiletry bag, noise cancelling headset, menus etc. As this was a night flight (our plane did not take of until 03.30 am) there was a focus on helping people getting to sleep as soon as possible. Due to this there was no dinner after take off but something that they called savoury snack.
I had actually gotten a bit hungry again so I went for the sun-dried tomato ravioli that was very tasty. I'm not sure they expected people to order this as I had to wait 10 minutes for this to be served.
After this we were quite tired and it was time to get some sleep. I found an mattress (like the one I had on First class going to Bangkok) in the baggage compartment above my seat and I used this to make my seat more comfy. The seat is a lie flat seat but as on many other place but there is a slight inclination on the seat. But I was pretty comfy with my pillow, blanket, shades...it is a bit strange that ear plugs are not standard in the Emirates toiletry bag.
The next morning I woke up early and with the excellent ICE system I checked out the rest of Bolt, the rest of Bedtime Stories…and an episode of Top Gear taking place in Vietnam – which was pretty cool as I had been there on this trip to Asia. Breakfast was good and I went for the omelet and we also got bread, fruit, yogurt etc.
When we were descending towards Heathrow we flew right over London and we got a fantastic view of the city
We got a Priority Pass for immigration in London and I guess it can be useful for some. But for ”EU citizens” you have to follow the regular procedure
We went to the SAS lounge but I also stopped by the Singapore Airlines lounge located near by. In the morning it didn't seem like a better alternative then the SAS lounge in terms of food but maybe this changes later on in the day. After a few ours of work we flew home to Stavanger in Norway by using SAS (SK4630 in a 737). We had to wait a while for take off and we got to see the Singapore Airlines A380 take off right in front of us
With this flight I passed the "1000 hours in the air" mark but it was great to get back home. It was a trip with many flights, many hotels, many lounges and a lots of "adventure". You know that you have traveled a lot when you start remembering you passport number :-) But I'm still dreaming about a long haul with Singapore Airlines A380...on business or first of course
The terminal was huge and more or less empty...maybe we were just early? We were led past lots and lots of First class check in counters and over to the Business class check in area and there were lots of people behind the counters so there was no waiting at all.
When we checked in I asked if it was possible to upgrade by using Skywards points but I was told that this was just possible for Silver and Gold card members. If you are a regular blue member you have to do this 6 hours in advance if I'm not mistaken. Check in was fast and there was no lines in security either so we were in the Emirates lounge a few minutes later.
The Emirates lounge in terminal 3 is worth mentioning. First of all it is a HUGE lounge with lots of space, lots of showers, several places to eat etc. You know that a lounge is big when you get to the entrance of it and there's a map of the lounge itself.
There was a good selection of food and drinks...both cold dishes and warm food. This should in fact be one of the best lounges ever but I found it to be too big, too non cosy and too impersonal. It was more or less the opposite of the SAS lounge in Copenhagen - the Emirates was just like a "cold" waiting area. One of the things that I found annoying is that it is located on the second floor and in some areas you can look down on the terminal area. With this you also get the noise and buzz from the terminal and I think one of the nice things about a lounge is that you can get away from the airport noise. And as we discovered on the way to Asia...flights are called on the loud speakers at a considerable volume...in both English and Arabic.
There were a few cool Microsoft Surface tables in the lounge (see http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ ). We sat down by a table and there was a photo of rocks in water on the table. Once we put down our glasses there were ripples in the water. We thought this was pretty cool but was there a function to it? But then we saw some kids playing on the table next to us and we soon found an icon to get a menu...now we had the option of seeing photos, sliding them around on the table, zooming in and out etc. I think this will be common in most homes in a few years time. Another cool thing in the lounge was the games...powered by Xbox :-)
Then it was time to board we walked to the Boeing 777 and I got seat 7K. Boarding was fast as there were to tunnels leading out to the plane...one for first/business and one for economy. On the flight we got greeted by a choice of either some juice or some champagne, we got a new toiletry bag, noise cancelling headset, menus etc. As this was a night flight (our plane did not take of until 03.30 am) there was a focus on helping people getting to sleep as soon as possible. Due to this there was no dinner after take off but something that they called savoury snack.
I had actually gotten a bit hungry again so I went for the sun-dried tomato ravioli that was very tasty. I'm not sure they expected people to order this as I had to wait 10 minutes for this to be served.
After this we were quite tired and it was time to get some sleep. I found an mattress (like the one I had on First class going to Bangkok) in the baggage compartment above my seat and I used this to make my seat more comfy. The seat is a lie flat seat but as on many other place but there is a slight inclination on the seat. But I was pretty comfy with my pillow, blanket, shades...it is a bit strange that ear plugs are not standard in the Emirates toiletry bag.
The next morning I woke up early and with the excellent ICE system I checked out the rest of Bolt, the rest of Bedtime Stories…and an episode of Top Gear taking place in Vietnam – which was pretty cool as I had been there on this trip to Asia. Breakfast was good and I went for the omelet and we also got bread, fruit, yogurt etc.
When we were descending towards Heathrow we flew right over London and we got a fantastic view of the city
We got a Priority Pass for immigration in London and I guess it can be useful for some. But for ”EU citizens” you have to follow the regular procedure
We went to the SAS lounge but I also stopped by the Singapore Airlines lounge located near by. In the morning it didn't seem like a better alternative then the SAS lounge in terms of food but maybe this changes later on in the day. After a few ours of work we flew home to Stavanger in Norway by using SAS (SK4630 in a 737). We had to wait a while for take off and we got to see the Singapore Airlines A380 take off right in front of us
With this flight I passed the "1000 hours in the air" mark but it was great to get back home. It was a trip with many flights, many hotels, many lounges and a lots of "adventure". You know that you have traveled a lot when you start remembering you passport number :-) But I'm still dreaming about a long haul with Singapore Airlines A380...on business or first of course
Jun 15, 2009, 11:02 pm
#11
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I'm going to round of this trip report with the video below :-) The trip gave me about 70.000 skywards points and I hope that I can find some use for them at one point :-)
Here is a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tWKFQjrTeo
Here is a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tWKFQjrTeo
Last edited by gardkarlsen; Jun 15, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Jun 15, 2009, 11:46 pm
#12
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Great job the trip report details & pics, too. I'm glad that you are enjoyable flying on EK for DXB-LHR. Did you have to chance get on A380 yet? It is fabulous trip reports. Hopefully you will have try to fly on SQ for LHR-SIN nonstop is more convenient for you. I'm gladly that you are so wonderful trip in DXB but, I saw brand new tallest building. When they will be competion done sometime in between 2010 or 2012? So maybe someday in the future if you will able go back to DXB. Try to get on the top floor. it was more than 150 floors high to see explorer around city of Dubai.
Jun 16, 2009, 12:02 am
#13
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Jun 17, 2009, 1:27 am
#15
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Thanks for the kind feedback. Yes, I did try Emirates A380 on business class from London to Dubai and you can read about it and see photos and a video in this trip report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...r-dxb-bkk.html