Emirates A380 First Class – Part 1
First of all, I must convey my sincere gratitude to Sifu GenX – by trusting his guidance and kindness since I become his disciple end of 2018 I now have joined the other disciples who experience first class travel with style. Not only I had the opportunity, but my wife was able to join me in this trip from KL to Europe.
This testimonial will focus more on the Emirates A380-800 first class experience – the whole trip I will report later because a month later we will be traveling back to KL via SIA First Class LOL. The first leg was also something i will briefly mention here, but the focus will be really be on the A380-800 first class experience.
We boarded the Airbus A380 via the very exclusive First Class lounge in Dubai. Mind you, this experience itself opened up my eyes how people who appreciates First Class travel. You go in to a HUGE BIG First Class lounge and is able to enjoy it like your fathers restaurant. Yes that’s exaggerating but I felt that day. We can walk around, sit and order anything they offer anywhere. Having eaten at the transit hotel (another sharing will follow after this), we planned to come to the airport around 12pm to enjoy lunch before the flight at 320pm. Now to think about it, maybe coming at 9am to have breakfast will not be a bad idea at all! To read more about lunch at lounge, please go to Part II.
Upon boarding the plane, i.e. Airbus A380, they already knew I am travelling with my wife and lowered the divider between us (we booked the middle seats to be able to sit next to each other). Very soon they offered drinks (even before taking off, as usual :P) so my wife took a juice, and i had the Dom Perignon 2012. Smooth as ever but I reminded myself not to ever drink too much, because for this leg, my aim is to enjoy the Hennessy Paradis Cognac🙂 So soon after take off, the kind air stewardess M, came and I already requested for it with some snacks. Indeed, as advised by Sifu GenX, the Hennessy Paradis is out of the world. 2 glasses was fully enjoyed in the first hour… I myself am used to drinking sparkling water, so M brought endless Perrier with ice and lemon slice whenever I ran out of it 😄. Since we are landing in Europe around 8pm, we decide we will watch movie, then shower and then have dinner before landing. And so the plan went on….
Now about the plane – The seat is spacious, and not too different from the 777-300ER First class in my opinion. Besides the shower, the biggest difference i feel is the total seats available – the 777-300ER has only 8 First Class seats while on the A380-800 it has 12 First Class seats.
Before we took off, I was offered the pyjamas and slippers. Changing into it makes the trip much more comfortable. We sat done and enjoyed the big screen. The benefit of having a companion side-by-side – we can watch the same movie almost in sync while enjoying ourselves with the drinks and snacks🙂
After our movies, I decided to explore the bar in business class. Indeed that was again something one should try out when flying in First or Business Class. The stewardesses on duty at the bar are very professional and friendly. My wife and I both had mojitos, one with alcohol and one without. We asked whether the stewardess, C, can help us to take a photo, and she offered for us to stand at the bar for photos!
We definitely took the chance and have beautiful memories now recorded. I was apologizing that I came to the bar in my pyjamas… and guess what the stewardess said – “Surely no problem – this is a sign you are from the First Class section”. Oh what a privilege and experience… We had some chat with her and the conversation was indeed very friendly and welcoming. This part I must say Emirates selected and trained their flight attendants very well.
Hot Shower In The Air
Once we are back in our seats, M approached and asked whether I am ready for the shower! Talking about shower, I am very very very curious about this, and know this is something I should not miss if I am going to fly First Class… and here I am – at the Emirates A380-800 First Class with Shower Spa! So both of us booked a shower session about 2.5 hours before landing to just nice enjoy a hot shower before having this superior luxurious dinner in the air.
The shower/toilet on the A380 is HUGE. Ok, it may not be big as compared to some of your home toilet, but if you are used to airplane toilet, even if you are in the first class on the 777-300ER, the First Class toilet is just almost the same like economy or business class toilet. This A380 toilet is like…. a room to yourself! Everyone should have around 25 minutes to enjoy their once in a lifetime experience showering in the air, but hot water will run for 5 minutes non-stop. The trick is – stop the water in between to “extend” it a little🙂 The showering experience in the A380 is truly a unique experience. Water is hot and being able to freshen up mid air will be an experience one can’t get anywhere else. After the shower, you can still blow your hair dry and dress up properly, as well as make yourself smells good with some cologne🙂
On Board Food and Drinks
When I am back to my seat, I can see a fruit platter and another glass of sparkling water were prepared for me. I can feel this is how First Class travelling is like – full attentive service to make the First Class passenger feels above all else. M will drop by rather frequent but not excessively to ensure everything is fine (or I still have enough to drink). Soon M asked for my dinner, and I happily picked canapes, caviar, cold-smoked ocean trout and Grilled beef tenderloin.
Now that I have some experience – you should either eat your appetisers fast, or only order the tenderloin when you are done with appetiser. Else they may keep your tenderloin in the oven while waiting, and your medium steak will end up as well done if you are over-enjoying the appetiser to long🙂 For me, I am happy no matter what because the experience is already surreal… and highlight is another glass of Hennessy Paradis when I am done with the food. For my main dish, I also had the chance to try the 2007 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion ( RM1k+ a bottle, https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/la+mission+haut+brion+pessac+leognan+bordeaux+france/2007/germany )
GenX GenY GenZ 