JFK - DXB on the 380
Written: May 01 '09 (Updated May 01 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The 380!
More room in economy
Attentive service
Excellent food
Cons: None specifically on this flight
The Bottom Line: If you want to fly the 380, go for it. Fairly good service and terminal 3 in Dubai is a good transit point also.
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| bharat_rao's Full Review: Emirates Airlines |
DXB is the airport code for Dubai airport. I just got off the non-stop Emirates flight from JFK to Dubai - on the brand new Airbus 380 - en route to India. This post is entering blogsphere courtesy of the Dubai airport wi-fi. I am sitting at a Starbucks sipping a caramel latte (with skimmed milk of course). Terminal 3 (the dedicated Emirates terminal) is nice, big and spacious. Also, I guess this is not the peak hour so it's quite comfortable with plenty of seating. In case you forget this is not a western airport,the call to prayer will remind you (one went off about 30 minutes back).
I was looking forward to the flight on the 380 - even though I hold the cheapest economy class ticket and the major improvements on the 380 are for business and, especially, first. The check in at JFK was uneventful. Lots of fellow Indians in the line - not surprising given Emirates' extensive network in India. A gentleman behind me, traveling with family and at least 6 big bags was painstakingly filling out the cabin baggage tags, complete with address and phone, and affixing it to his check in bags! The philosphy sometimnes seems to be: If there is a line, try to get in front. If there is a form, fill first and ask questions later.
The Emirates reservation desk and the guys manning the gate told me that a one sector upgrade (i.e. JFK to Dubai) would cost about USD 2800. That's less than the published fare but still a heck of a lot of money when traveling on your own account. But there was at least one gentleman who took exercised that option. For a 12 hour flight that works out to more than $200 / hr! At the gate, I got my Continental FF number added instead of skywards since I didn't see too much point in accumulating skywards points.
It was a full flight - in all classes. I had carefully picked seat 81A after consulting http://seatguru.com/. This was a seat just behind th exit row - so didn't have a seat in front of it. Not a bulkhead seat but no seat in front - which is nice to have in economy. No sooner was I seated than a harried looking steward came to me "Would I consider exchanging this seat with a pregnant lady who felt the need for more space?" He added that 4 people had already refused and it would very nice if I could accommodate. Hmmm...ok chivalry took over and I gave it up on the condition that I would get an aisle seat. So I was back in 79H - a standard aisle seat. Economy on the 380 is a little better than on other aircraft like the 777 or 747. Seat pitch is a little better and consequently the recline is also a little more. That helps.
We pushed back a little after 11pm and were airborne by 11.40 or so. A little after midnight, the meal service started. The cabin crew were mostly attentive and kept careful track of the special meal requirements - especially since they had also facilitated many seat swaps like mine. I was close to the galley and the more senior steward was guiding the others on how to stack the food trays so they could retrieve special meals quickly. They went through the checklist methodically "73 Charlie is Asian Veg, 74 Alpha is a child meal, 78 Edgar is hindu..."
My Asian veg dinner was very good but spirits came later - which is odd. So I was done with the meal when the beverage service came in. The red winne would have surely gone wekk with food rather than after. I expected a few water and juice patrols in between on such a long flight, but that didn't happen. I was close to the galley and in an aisle seat, so it didn't matter to me that much.
The entertainment system "ICE" is excellent. Wonderful selection of movies and a big, wide screen. My remote wouldn't come off its holder, but that was OK since I didn't play games. I caught Quantum of Solace and Valkyerie.An amenity kit of sorts is handed out in economy - eye shades, socks, toothbrush/paste. A menu was handed out also. There were two hot towel services which is good (and towels were hot!).
Breakfast came about 2.5 hours before landing. Was also good though the steward didn't honor my request for the regular b/f (scrambled eggs) and more or less insisted that I should stick to asian veg as that is what I had requested. That's OK I guess especially on a full flight. Breakfast was good also,
We landed a few minutes early. Smooth landing and no delays getting the gate or disembarking. All in all, a pleasant flight. My debut on the 380 didn't disappoint.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bharat_rao
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Reviews written: 11
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