I couldn't get any good shots of my 777-200LR in Seattle or Dubai, so I am using this photo of another Emirates Boeing 777-300ER that I took from my aircraft.
EMIRATES AIRLINE REVIEW BASICS:
Airline: Emirates Airline
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR
Departed: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Arrived: Dubai International Airport (DXB)
tops: Non-stop flight Class: Business Class
Seat: 8D to DXB (center, aisle, bulkhead) and 11A to SEA (window)
Length: About 14 hours
Cheers: Great combination of service and product.
Jeers: If you have wide shoulders, avoid the center seat — even in business class.
Overall: Emirates makes a 14 hour flight easy.
With the wood paneling, the Business Class really has a warm atmosphere. Notice the real flowers on the bulkhead.
THE FULL EMIRATES BUSINESS CLASS REVIEW:
On March 1st, Emirates started flying from Seattle to Dubai non-stop. I was invited to try out Emirates Business Class product on one of their recent flights (the airline covered the costs of the flight). This review will be a mixture of both my flight to and from Dubai — although I slept most of the way home.
The benefits of sitting in a premium cabin starts well before you get to the gate, but only once you arrive to the airport. With Emirates, the benefits of flying in Business Class starts at home. If you fly in either Business or First class you have access to a free chauffeured car within 60 miles of your arriving or departing airport. Unfortunately I did not do my homework before leaving and did not find out about that service until I was in Dubai (thanks Ben for the ride to the airport by the way).
However, I was able to make use of the service when coming home and it is always great having someone greeting you with your name on a sign that escorts you right to your front door in a Town Car. Having a Business Class ticket normally gives you access to a lounge at the airport and flying Emirates out of Seattle is no different. Passengers who have either first or business class tickets are able to use the new Club International lounge before their flight.
Emirate's Business Class seats offer quite a bit of room and one ginormous remote.
Since I stayed in the lounge for a while, my flight was almost fully loaded by the time I arrived at the gate and I was able to just walk on the plane. I messed up and forgot to check myself in online (I know, what kind of airline reporter am I?), so I ended up in a middle seat: 8E. Emirates has their 777-200LR configured in a 2-3-2 layout in business.
Even though the seats are larger, I was not looking forward to being in the center for 14 hours, but at least I wasn’t in economy. When I found my seat and sat down, I became a little worried — my shoulders touched both sides of the hard plastic walls — not good. Luckily for me the lovely (and smaller) Harriet Baskas, who was in my media travel group, had the aisle seat next to me and offered to swap. I gladly took her up on her offer and never had any problems with the seat width with the open aisle.
I think I would have managed just fine in the center seat, but if you have wider shoulders, I would surely advice checking in earlier to claim a non-center seat.
If you like technology and gadgets, you will love Emirates ice entertainment system. Each seat in first and business gets this large, removable remote.
Emirates entertainment system, called ice, was amazing, but a bit overwhelming. First off, you have three options on how to control the system: touching the screen, using the removable touch screen remote or use the smaller wired remote. When sitting in a bulkhead seat, even at 6’1″, I was unable to touch the screen. When I flew back to Seattle I was not at the bulkhead and was able to touch, but it wasn’t easy and I would imagine near impossible if you measuring in at less than 5’10”.
I am normally not very slow when it comes to technology or in-flight entertainment systems, but it seemed like I could only do some things with one remote and I had to do other things with the smaller one. I am sure I just wasn’t able to figure it out, but if I had trouble, I am sure most other people did too. It is worth trying to get past the control issues, because once you do, there are many options — 1200 to be exact.
Emirates, by far, has the largest selection of movies and entertainment I have experienced. After flying a total of 27 hours to Dubai and back, I still had not explored everything it had to offer. For a frequent flier on the airline, this would be a huge perk. No matter what class you are flying in, you get access to the same ice entertainment system (just not the fancy large remote if you are in economy).
Emirates configures their Boeing 777s with a 2-3-2 layout in Business Class. Notice how the windows have buttons to move the shades.
One on my favorite things, on systems that offer it, are the outside cameras you can access on your screen. The Emirates 777 has one facing forward and once facing straight down. Being in the center section during take off, it was handy watching the aircraft take off via the cameras. We took off to the north and just kept going — almost in a straight line over the north pole and back down to Dubai. Because of this, it never got dark outside.
Passengers also have the option to make a phone call at $5 per minute or send text messages for $1 per message. Every time I tried to access the service, it said it was unavailable, which was okay by me. I was planning on trying it out for the story, but was not motivated to ask one of the flight attendants, since I did not mind saving my money. Although Emirates does have Wi-Fi up and running on all their Airbus A380s, they do not have it on the rest of their main fleet (777, A330, A340) — yet.
When the lights go down, the stars come up. Emirates offers a special StarLight feature providing a great sleeping atmosphere.
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is touted as being unique for its ambient lighting and electronic sunshades. The Emirates product in business and in first is almost as close as you can get to the 787 interior.
First, they have the ambient lighting; going from a soft white/yellow to pinks to purple for the different light cycles. Then you have the windows up front that do not have manual shades, but two buttons that make the shades go up and down. The flight attendants have the ability to to put up or down all the shades, similar to the 787.
What Emirate’s 777 has that no 787 has (yet) are the stars that come out on the ceiling. Called StarLight, this amazing feature is unique to Emirates and really sets the mood. It is hard to describe, laying flat on a bed at 35,000 feet, opening your eyes and seeing stars.
It is too bad that Emirates doesn’t have any 787’s on order; it would be amazing what they could (and probably would) do with that cabin.
Steak, potatoes I cannot pronounce and red wine at 30,000 feet? Yea, I can handle that.
After settling in, it was time for meal service. My dinner started with a traditional mezze platter with hummus, smoky moutabal, muhammara, vine leaves and a spinach fatayer. Yea, I don’t know what half of that means either, but I can tell you that it was great. Then I was served roasted tomato and thyme soup and salad, followed by the main course of beef fillet with shallots and dauphionouse style potatoes. I decided to skip the dessert option and have a bit more red wine — nice call.
Economy class still provides large screens, amenities and food. Eh, I will stick to Business Class.
I feel very lucky that I get these opportunities to fly in the front of the plane on long flights, but there is no doubt that I have put my time in economy. During the ride over to Dubai, I made an effort to make a lap around the plane and check out economy. During my tour, most people were sleeping and there were so many feet, arms, shoulders, etc out in the aisle — it was a challenge to get through without bumping into people.
With the 3-4-3 layout in economy, it is a bit tight, but doable with the large screens and same ice entertainment system. That being said, I was happy to return to the business class cabin.
Business Class is nice, but First Class is better. Each seat is like its own cubicle, with closing doors.
When I complete flight reviews, I try to stay anonymous as long as I can. Typically a flight attendant will start asking questions (not suspiciously, but out of curiosity) when I am taking photos of my remote, food, etc. One of the benefits of being known as media is getting access to the aircraft that others might not.
On the flight back to Seattle, I was given the opportunity to spend some time up in First Class. Luckily for me, there were no passengers in the front cabin, which gave me time to check it out and talk to the flight crew. There are four crew members assigned to first class, including the pursuer. They normally work in shifts of two, but when there are no passengers in first, they are able to enjoy a relaxing flight and also will help the rest of the cabin crew, if needed.
Where business felt so much better than economy, similarly first class felt so much better than business. There are only eight first class suites, where each has a large seat, own mini-bar, large tv screen, similar controls to business class and doors that can be closed to give ultimate privacy.
Taking off from Dubai I could see the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in the background.
One indicator on how good a product is on an airline is how well I am able to sleep. The fact that I slept five hours to Dubai and about 10 hours back to Seattle is a positive sign for sure. Another indicator is how happy I am that I was able to sleep so much. In this case, I was upset that I slept so much and wasn’t able to enjoy my experience a bit better. Emirates has lived up to its reputation for providing a fabulous flying experience.
Next is to try and test out their newer business product on the Airbus A380 — stay tuned.
See all 52 photos from my Emirates Airline flight
MORE STORIES ON MY DUBAI TRIP:
* Photo Tour of Emirates Airline Crew Training in Dubai
* Airline Lounge Review: Club International at Sea-Tac Airport
ANA Boeing 777. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
Christmas has come a bit early for those of us that live in Seattle. All Nippon Airways (ANA) has recently announced that they will start service from Tokyo’s Narita Airport (NRT) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) a bit early this year.
Previously, ANA announced starting service between NRT and SEA using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner during the second half of financial year 2012 (October 2012-March 2013), but now they will start the service on July 25th using a Boeing 777-300ER. According to a press release, the airline, “has decided to launch the route ahead of schedule in order to capture passenger demand over the busy summer season.” ANA is still planning to change the route to a 787 Dreamliner later in the fiscal year.
The initial Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will be configured with a total of 247 seats (85 business class, 162 economy). ANA will configure their 787 on the route with 158 seats – 46 business class seats and 112 economy class seats.
ANA currently operates eight US daily routes and Seattle will become the ninth. ANA will be the first airline to operate the 787 Dreamliner out of Seattle.
United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner of ANA, currently operates a daily flight from SEA to NRT using a Boeing 777-200 and some have questioned if United would reduce or eliminate their service. When I asked United about their future plans for the route, they replied with, “No changes planned.”
The Club International Lounge is located in the South Terminal at SEA.
Recently, Delta Air Lines upgraded to a newer lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), which left their old location available. The airport decided to renovate it and offer it to airlines that might not have the capacity to have their own lounge, nor are using one of the other lounges already at the airport. Emirates, which started service from Seattle to Dubai on March 1st, is currently the only airline that is making use of the lounge, but that should change in the future.
The lounge provides nice views to aircraft outside.
“We refurbished the old one and are making it available for airlines who do not have enough flights to warrant a full one of their own or do not share with another airline,” Perry Cooper, Airport Media and Public Affairs Manager with SEA explained to AirlineReporter.com. “Emirates uses it when they began on March 1st. We are looking to attract some of the other international airlines to use it as well. ”
Cooper also stated that currently the airport is not offering day passes to other passengers who are not flying on Emirates business or first class.
It might be small, but right now there is not a huge demand.
The Club International lounge has a modern atmosphere with many of the amenities one would come to expect. There are not many food options, but that they have the standard snack-type foods found in many other lounges. The club does not have its own Wi-Fi, which is fine, since the entire SEA airport has free Wi-Fi that you are able to access in the lounge.
There are free adult beverages offered and even a menu with locally inspired mixed.
Have to love the coffee machine. I used it twice.
The strange thing about the lounge is that behind the front desk, is a walled off glass area. Since it was not well labeled, I was not sure if it was a quiet area or what. I had to ask and I was informed that it was the first class section.
I understand that some first class folks don’t want to mingle with the business class, but it just seemed weird — almost zoo like. There really isn’t anything else in the glassed off area except a secondary snack area and additional seating. I guess some people just want to feel special and if that is what they are wanting, it is good to give it to them.
Flying on a CRJ 700 down to LAX to catch my flight to Hawaii.
Maresa writes the blog Around Puget Sound and when she was recently taking a trip to Hawaii on United Airlines, I asked her to write up a review from a non-airline nerd perspective. This is her review in her own words:
My United Airlines Review – The Beginning
I’m on my way from SEA to LAX to ITO (Hilo, HI). It’s time for a vacation; to get away and escape from the fast paced life we all seem to live in these days. I’m hoping for good weather for hiking, biking, and snorkeling. I’ll be staying in my very favorite vacation rental: Papaya Sunrise on the East side of the Big Island during the week of my visit.
Currently, I’m traveling from Seattle to L.A. I’m riding in a CRJ700 and it’s tiny! I’ve never been in a commercial jet this small on the mainland before. As many of you know, Hawaii has many inter-island jets that are about the same size.
We took off from Sea-Tac only about 10 minutes late, but our expected arrival is still ’˜on-time’. I have about a four hour lay-over in LAX, but the way I see it is I’d much rather have way more time than necessary than be stranded somewhere I just didn’t mean to be.
It’s always exciting to fly. I love the views I get over Washington. I feel extra fortunate when I get the added bonus of flying past Mt. Rainier–talk about a spectacular view!
One of the nice parts about the smaller jet is it took hardly anytime to board the plane. Also, United was willing to check larger bags for free at the gate that were too big to fit in the narrow overhead compartments. My carry-on bag fit just fine, but it was nice to have the option to check it and to have enough space up ahead for my backpack. The folks on the flight who did check their bag will be able to pick up their bag right after getting off the plane without going to baggage claim.
Right now, the woman next to me is dozing with four radiant sunflowers clasped in her grip, undoubtedly from Pike Place Market. It’s a good reminder of Seattle, of the summer to come, and the sunshine that I’m on my way to see.
I’ll let you know about the next leg of the trip when I get that far…
From LAX to ITO, I rode on a Boeing 737-800. Not this exact one, but one like it. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren
Over Five Hours Later
Wow, LAX was huge! My connecting flight wasn’t too far from where I landed. I have to tell you though, this second flight is shaping up to be much stranger and unpredictable than the first part.
When my fellow passengers and I were waiting to board, many people were struck by how rude the gate agent collecting boarding passes was to fellow passengers. ’œNo, don’t go in that line! I said the right line–not the left!’ The United/Continental worker shouted to customers. ’œNo, rows 30 and higher may board, only rows 30 and
higher!’ Calm down lady–I think you’re taking this all a bit too personally.
I found out a few minutes later that she wasn’t looking or scanning at the tickets she was collecting from people either, which meant that anyone with a ticket of any sort could board the aircraft–and someone did. A man got my plane to Hilo but didn’t find out he was on the wrong plan until he found someone sitting in his seat–how could there
be two people in seat 28E? ’œIsn’t this flight going to Denver?’ The man asked. ’œNo, we’re going to Hilo as in Hawaii…’ The flight attendant responded sounding surprised. The man quickly grabbed his things and deboarded the plane. ’œIn all my six years of working as a flight attendant, I’ve never had that happen!’ The flight attendant said shaking his head.
After only 20 minutes in the air the pilot informed us that we’d be experiencing some turbulence for the next 150 miles–how long it would take to pass through, they didn’t say.
Now I’ve done a lot of traveling and encountered some pretty bad turbulence but this far surpassed it all. The flight attendants were all losing their footing and desperately trying to hold on. The SnackPacks were bouncing all over in the carts and were about ready to bounce out onto the floor. At the moment that I thought someone might
actually start to panic, one of the flight attendants actually did. He exclaimed, ’œBuckle up, buckle up! We’ll come back with the drinks and food, is everyone buckled, because I need to go buckle up.’
After a while, the turbulence settled down and the beverage service began again.The flight attendants were going right along and missed my row entirely. I called him back and wound up drinking a flat Ginger Ale. Great.
Mauamai Beach on the West side of the Big Island.
Right Now
The flight attendants have just come back with another round of beverages and somehow they missed my row and walked right passed us again. When the attendant was called back by my seat-mate the man serving the drinks said abruptly to me, ’œWhat’d you want?’ ’œCranberry juice please,’ I asked. ’œHere–’ the man says shoving the can of juice
at me.
United/Continental, I was not amused…not amused. I heard one passenger say, ’œNever have I seen passengers treated with such disrespect,’ but thank you for getting us all to paradise safely.
If you are looking for things to do around the Puget Sound region either as a resident or a visitor, be sure to check out Maresa’s blog, follow on Facebook or Twitter.
Emirates and Alaska Airlines are now working together with a shared mileage plan.
During an Emirates press conference today held in Seattle, WA, Alaska Airlines announced a mileage partnership with the Dubai based airline. Passengers will be able to earn and redeem miles on either airline, plus miles accumulated while flying on Emirates will count towards Alaska MVP elite level program. From March 1, 2012 to May 31st Alaska will offer double miles on any Emirates flight.
“As part of our commitment to Seattle, we are launching our service by partnering with Seattle’s hometown airline to offer customers the convenience of a frequent flier partnership as well as one-stop check-in and through checked baggage,” said Nigel Page, Emirates Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for the Americas.
As reported previously, Emirates will start non-stop service from Seattle (SEA) to Dubai (DXB) starting on March 1, 2012. The new flight will help connect the northwest to the Middle East, Africa and India. Emirates new flight (#’s EK229 and EK230) will depart daily from Seattle and Dubai and take 14.5 to 15hrs to complete. Emirates Boeing 777-300ER will we set up in a three class layout and the price for a first class suite will cost $15,279.00, while business will cost $9479.00 and economy will be around $1448.00. With Seattle having so many large companies and a decent demand for people to visit their families in the middle east and India, the airline expects their new route to do quite well.
When asked if Emirates might be interested in upgrading their 777 service to Seattle to an Airbus A380 Nigel stated, “As we build the business up we will certainty look at that.” However, he stated that they have not been in talks with the Port of Seattle about bringing the A380 to SEA. Previously, Perry Cooper with the Port of Seattle communications told AirlineReporter.com that, “We can handle the A380 in emergencies, however we do not have facilities for regular use, such as the multiple gate loading ramps, for the aircraft. At this time, if an A380 were to arrive and need to access a gate, safety guidelines would require all traffic to stop until the aircraft stopped at its gate, due to the width of taxiways and safety zones next to the runways.’
Currently, the Airbus A380 is not able to make it from Dubai to Seattle non-stop and Emirates stated that they are working with Airbus to increase the range to handle cities, like Los Angeles non-stop.
Emirates will also be starting service to Dallas starting February 2nd and has voiced interest in expanding to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. The fact the airline has so many aircraft currently on order (70 Airbus A350s, 70 Airbus A380s and 87 Boeing 777s), my guess is all these cities will be seeing Emirates service soon.
Images:
Emirates by Robin Bilgil
Alaska by Leezpics
