Hi guys, welcome back to another flight review. Do you ever experience a period where your enthusiasm for flight reviews skyrocket, I mean moreso than usual? I'm not sure what's been going on, maybe it's the lack of ability to leave mainland for a while, but looking back and reviewing older flights have been more exciting than ever.
Anyways, today we're checking out EK's big bird on their "flagship route" (not 100% sure about this but it's what some aviation enthusiasts have labelled it), from London over to Dubai in their A380. Although this isn't the first time I've flown this product, it is a continuation from the Etihad review with my girlfriend, and having her makes everything feel so much more exciting. With her being someone who loves food, having unlimited service was beyond a dream come true. I'll also take time to review one of EK's F lounges at DXB, and our entire transit experience. This will likely be the first of two parts since a connection took us from DXB to PEK on the 777. I plan to post a review for that too, mainly to review the DXB lounge which is technically part of the second flight experience and not this one.
Turning the clock back ten years, I remember staring at the giant A380s when they used to fly over to Beijing, seeing reviews of it online, and dreaming one day to fly in it with my significant other. Although this product has already been reviewed far too many times by numerous others, every moment for me was extra special knowing she was right there. So please come along, and join us on this adventure!
Our flight today departs in the evening, and since she had plans to visit a shopping outlet with some friends, I took it upon myself to spend an entire day planespotting. It took some time for me to grasp how the different runways worked, even being lost in confusion having arrived at the famous Myrtle ave only to realize landinds weren't taking place there until 3:00pm. Luckily, moving over to the other runway allowed an exceptional view, and promply returned back to Myrtle when the runways swapped. Once again, a coffee in hand, music in my ears, and planes to see, oh the little joys of life.
I even ran into Josh Cahill, and grabbed a picture with him. I'm not a huge aviation youtube watcher, but it's always awesome to meet someone in real life. He was a lovely person and we had the opportunity to chat for a bit, and he also helped me out with the new zoom-in function on my phone, really enhancing the planespotting experience.
I must have been planespotting for six or seven hours, and could easily have done a few times that amount. However, it was time to head over to Heathrow.
Since my girlfriend and I were heading over from different locations, we planned to meet at the airport. She was near Bicester village, technically outside of London and in Oxford, but we had no problem booking an EK chauffeur to pick her up, part of the ticket price. It was nice to know that EK could offer such services outside of London, an hour or so away from Heathrow.
Upon meeting up, we headed over to EK's check-in area, which is conveniently branded on the exterior.
Once inside, we headed to the F check-in, which was rather underwhelming but understandable being an outstation. We tried to open up our suitcase for a second to retrieve a camera that needed to be hand-carried, but the agent informed us we needed to leave the area and do so in a different space. No problem.
After getting check-in sorted, the desk agent informed us that the printers weren't working, and we ended waiting nearly 30 whole minutes before receiving our boarding passes. No one really seemed overly-concerned with the situation, and it appeared none of the printers were working across all the desks, and quite a few guests began voicing their frustration. Unprecedented circumstances to be fair, not really their fault.
We then headed upstairs to the fasttrack security, which had no problem with us bringing liquids past. I guess this is the new norm in some airports, nice to know I can bring my coffee inside. We then headed over to the EK lounge, and the kind receptionist boasted this to be the "best lounge in Heathrow". I can't speak for anyone else since I've only ever been to the Virgin Clubhouse, what do you guys think about that claim?
Inside, the lounge was very busy ahead of the imminent EK departures, I believe two within a few hours over to Dubai. There was an extensive buffet selection, essentially having anything and everything you could imagine. Interestingly, the lounge didn't actually feel too cramped despite its high traffic. We did have to return to the cold cuts station quite a few times before we could grab any salmon, later realizing people were yoinking them from staff before they could even place them back onto the table.
The hot food area was equally stacked, with a combination of both traditional Arabic and international options, split into two distinct sections.
The previous being the Arabic selection, and next being international. I tried some of the pasta, beef, and chicken, all were very solid options. I was now beginning to understand the receptionist's proud priases. But again, I've never really been around the other lounges.
I also took some fruits and a mixed cheese salad, as well as some of EK's signature F class dates. Once upon a time I thought you could only have one per flight, until I realized they were in abundance in al of their lounges. The orange date by far my favorite of the three on offer.
The lounge was divided into essentially two halves, with the side I was on being far more popular with everyone eating in the dining area. In contrast, the opposite side was extremely quiet, and made for a far nicer rest area if you weren't hungry. I really was quite torn, as the lounge options were all really good, but simultaneously wanted to save room for everything to be offered in flight.
Since we still had an hour or so until boarding, I headed over to the shower suites for a quick rinse. There were quite a few of these available and no wait was required.
The only other outstation lounge for EK I've visited is the one at Boston, and the offerings were definitely more extensive here, as one would expect. The upside for Boston's is the ability to board directly from the lounge, which wasn't an option for us today.
I didn't manage to grab a great shot of the plane at Heathrow, so I've inserted one from arrival in DXB. The big window panes at night caused too much reflection, and the hectic gate area made it near impossible to walk right up to the windows. Speaking of the boarding, having an entire A380 wait in a tiny area really made it a difficult process. Anyways, on we go!
Here it is, the A380 in all its glory. I read somewhere EK uses the refurbished cabin on this route, I guess it must have been for another flight. The newer cabin does feel more sleek than this, but no one is complaining when coming face to face with this golden touch. The two of us were headed over to the honeymoon middle seats, my first time not being in a window.
Apparently we had boarded on the wrong side and I ended up in her seat and her in mine. When I curiously asked the crew if this would suffice, they kindly expressed no issues just that the amenity kits were gender specific and we did a quick swap.
I'm sure everyone has probably read up on all the amenties and things on offer on EK's F product, so I'll just briefly go through them and move on to more unique experiences on this trip. Waiting at the seat were the amenity kit, a snack basket, EK's book and pen, a small (unrefrigerated) minibar, and the bedding tucked in the storage space behind your seat. The divider was lowered for us, but honestly there was still quite a bit of space between us, Etihad's one felt much more "honeymoon-y". EK also provides a really big pillow, mine has two here since my girlfriend temporarily relocated hers.
The only differences between the two amenity kits are the perfume and color of the exterior. To be honest, I think the design and color of the ladies version is actually nicer!
Our purser came by to welcom us on board, and gave us a quick rundown of our seats. I think EK does a really good job of remembering their fliers, and asked if I wanted to grab the Dom, of course:). After inquiring if they had any fresh fruit juice, the crew mentioned that the orange was freshly squeezed, and one was promptly offered.
Something I noted first here, and quite often throughout the flight, was that the two crew members looking after us were quite slow to help out. I want to preface this by mentioning they definitely had lots of work to do, but considering the cabin today wasn't completely full (as opposed to a Houston bound F that was full a while back) we were left waiting for them quite often. By this I don't mean waiting a minute or two, but there were occassions where they didn't pass by after we clicked the crew bell for nearly twenty minutes. Definitely not a huge problem, but just something to note. On the other hand, they were both extremely friendly and professional (also quite handsome!).
Among all of EK's incredible snacks, my favorite has to be the jelly beans. Strangely they are only offered on certain flights and not on others, I was extremely grateful to see one in my mini bar, and may or may not have ended up having quite a few throughout the trip:). The mini-bar does add some elegance to the seat, but definitely quite unnecessary since you can grab anything from the crew whenever you'd like.
The crew then came by to offer pyjamas, for which I went with a size L. Inside the pyjama packet was an eye mask and slippers.
Without overhead cabins, all carry-on items are placed in the massive storage space under the table. We were also offered our EK tote bags, pictured on the right side. My girlfriend wondered if she could possibly grab a second one, to which our purser responded with "oh Miss, you can have as many as you like!" Never is a purser on EK anything but top tier, another wonderful experience!
Dates and arabic coffee were then offered, to which I went with another orange peel flavored one. Really can't have enough of these.
We were then asked if we'd like to use the shower spa, and if so when. My girlfriend kindly passed, but I hoped to get a quick rinse around an hour or two after take-off, after some food. Although I was promptly offered that slot, our adventure with the shower spa was only just beginning, stay tuned.
Hot towels were then offered:).
Something the two of us have always loved doing is taking polaroids, and so were ecstatic about EK's services. We both felt a little shy when asking the crew if they could take a couple for us, so each of us could leave with two (also mentioning that if there was a limit it's absolutely no problem at all!), again, they were more than happy to help us out. How cute is this?
We also wondered if they had any of those tiny EK plane plushies on board, to which the purser came by and offered to check out the other cabins for availability. Unfortunately, they seemed to be out of those this time around, but she did offer an adorable little football themed backpack, although probably not large enough to really fit anything!
I really really appreciate the purser trying to locate one for us, especially since the plushies are for the younger passengers :).
Menus were then handed out, with EK's famous offering of dine-on-demand. EK recently changed up their F menus, replacing the initial leather menus with these booklets that can be taken home. Although not as luxurious as the leather ones, I have to praise the ability to take these home as a souvenir.
The booklet is quite thick, but only two pages list the entire food menu. The others are all reserved to illustrate their beverage options, especially to show off their incredibly extensive (and expensive) alcohols. My apologies if some of the pictures are slightly blurry, a family member helped me out with taking these snaps a while after the flight took place.
The first few pages were welcomes and a quick introduction, followed by their signature caviar offering.
Although all the food options were listed in two pages without pictures, as a cheese lover I did appreciate that the cheese plate got its own feature. There will be a picture of the movie snack menu card later on in the review. I think I've only ever tried the Arabic mezze once on EK. Nothing against it, but it's just such a large portion and limits you from trying everything else!
Here is the entire food menu, reminder that you can order anything at anytime, as long as it's still available. I guess there's a movie snack menu here too, but a smaller card was also provided in the snack basket.
On second thought, I feel like some of the beverage images were a bit too blurry. I've added the full drink list at the end of the review, apologies for the inconvenience!
The crew member on her side of the alley seemed to have forgotten to offer her pyjamas, and it seemed that entire side of the cabin were missing theirs. It was only when the purser came by to introduce herself, did we mention that I had mine delivered almost 20 minutes ago. She promptly apologized and brought some over. Again, not a real issue but just something to note.
We soon began to push back, and was in the air at 19:53, three minutes later than scheduled. This was probably the shortest delay I've experienced flying out of Heathrow.
Considering our flight time was around 7 hours, the time difference wasn't on our side. Leaving London at around 8pm then landing in Dubai at 6am was quite a challenge considering it would be 2am London time. What would follow was a four hour transit, before flying back to Beijing. The plan was to spend a few hours sleeping at the transit hotel, but that didn't up happening since one of us left our passports on the plane and spent a while trying to relocate it:). That make timing on this flight quite strange, since I felt some sleep was needed, but it was still too early.
After take off, our first mission was to head over and check out out the in-flight bar. For someone who doesn't really have much of an interest in aviation, even my girlfriend had to admit this was quite the spectacle. The introvert in us ended up taking over as we stayed for just a few quick pictures before running back and hiding away at our seats.
The social space, which got quite busy later on in the flight. For those who want to grab pictures of it still empty, immediately after take off would be your best bet.
On our way back, we passed by the busy business cabin.
For those in F, there is another mini bar area (albeit without a bartender) near the front of the F cabin. I ended up pouring myself some whisky before the meal, and came back quite often to yoink those sweet chili chips. There is also a mini waterfall behid where the perrier and evian bottles are located, really the pinnacle of a luxurious experience. Once again, all these beverages can be ordered at your seat and brought over, but just in case you're due to get those steps in.
Also located near the front mini-bar is the grand A380 staircase which remains sealed off throughout the flight.
There are two toilets available for F passengers. I still remember my jaw fully dropping the first time I stepped foot into one, and still it never fails to impress.
A plethora of amenities were on offer, and many more were stored in the cabinets. Most notably, a hair dryer is available for use post-shower.
This is where the shower is located. There's also a small seating area inside if you prefer not to stand.
The beautiful mural of Dubai's skyline, watching over us.
Returning to my seat, we began checking out the menu and deciding on our orders. This was the aforementioned movie snacks card, with a cute little graphic depicting a movie theater in the clouds.
EK offers excellent Bowers & Wilkins headphones in F, some of the best in the sky. I didnt't really spend too much time checking out the IFE, why indulge in that when your loved one is right there?
EK also offers free in-flight wifi for Skywards members, which is free to create. The internet didn't seem to work too well on this flight, but again no real problem when I'd much rather yap with her :).
Finally, it was time for the meal service. First up was the amuse bouch, which I cannot for the life of me remember what it was… but it was really good:) I think the left dish featured nuts and duck in a corn puree, and smoked fish on the right.
We both started with the caviar, accompanied by its traditional garnishes. I soon realized, via my girlfriend's wisdom, that the caviar actually tastes better without any accompaniments, but rather just as it is.
We both started with the lobster salad from the movie snack menu, and created our own concoction mixing it with caviar. This was genuinely better than with the traditional caviar garnishes, and for sure the lushest single mouthful of food I've experienced. The lobster salad in itself was extremely fresh, the sauce wasn't overly dominant either. We both ended up ordering another one of these, but likely could have done with five or six more!
In the air or on the ground, I'm always a sucker for a good mushroom soup. This one was no different, as the crew came by to pour the soup from their jug in front of me. When that happens, you always know you're in for a real treat. A buddy of mine once told me when his father was young, he would head to a restaurant to order only a soup, and fill himself up by dipping bread into it. I can't fault him, as EK's wonderfully toasted bread tasted wonderful dipped in the soup. Only one piece of bread though, need to save space for everything else!
While I was dipping away, my girlfriend went with the Portland crab salad, which seemed to be a popular choice since they were out when I inquired for one too. The seafood on EK is always fresh, and here was no different. We did find the lobster to be more flavorful, probably a result of that thick sauce.
I usually try to stray away from beef on a flight, but I thought I'd trust EK today. Not a bad show, especially with the sauce. Beef is always hard to deal with in the skies, but EK does a pretty damn good job at it.
Over to my side, she ordered the grilled salmon. I didn't end up trying it but she did provide some negative feedback, that the fish was quite dry and felt it had been left out for a while. This was quite disappointing, as the codfish I had on a different EK flight was top-tier. Regardless, the salmon was the only dish below par, everything else as good as expected.
A side of grilled asparagus (I think) came with my beef.
Having just returned from Porto, I had a newfound love for Port wine. I gave EK's 1982 bottle of Port a go, and I must say I departed the plane trying to locate another.
Although I was more than stuffed at this point, I couldn't pass up on a cheese plate. I had never seen red cheese before, and the taste was quite strange. I think this is similar to my experience eating a Chinese duck blood tofu, something I liked as a child but cannot seem to enjoy anymore. The taste of certain things may not be strange in itself, but as I grow older my brain is constantly reminding me I'm eating something strange. All the other cheeses were amazing, and so ere those green grapes. Crunchy and fresh grapes, the best fruit in the world.
After dinner (finally) concluded, I opened up a pack of sweet chili chips and ordered some more alcohol. I tried for a while to locate where I could get these chips, but probably not here in China. I did figure out how to get them delivered to the US, something I need to do once I'm back.
I was then asked whether I wanted to use the shower spa, which I accepted. As promised earlier, thus begins my adventure. After turning on the water, the shower immediately shut off after a few seconds. I then went to the galley to ask about the issue, to which the crew apologized and send someone to take a look. Around twenty minutes later, I was informed everything was now in order and I could try again. Unsurprisingly, the same thing happened. The other toilet with a shower spa was occupied throughout thie period, likely somoene else having a rinse. For a third time, the crew mentioned that things should be working, and perhaps the door wasn't shut completely or something or another. Who knew, it shut off again. Eventually I just gave up and went back to my seat ahead of a nap, it also helped I grabbed a shower in the lounge.
I ended up having to undress and recloth three different times, and definitely began to build up some frustration. I genuiely am unsure if the other shower spa was functional, but I wasn't ever offered that option. Obviously being able to shower in the air is an incredible privilege, but when you're not offered what you've been promised, there is always some disappointment.
Some space inside if you wanted to sit down.
Since the flight only clocks in around 6 hours in air, I tried to get some shut eye. It was strange since it's not quite late enough in London to sleep, but not doing so at all meant a near 24 hour travel day.
The crew helped with turndown service (sorry the rabbit doesn't come with the seat!).
The lights dimmed.
I fell asleep for two to three hours, with some help from my duet of drinks. Good night!
Nothing overly notable occurred as descent was imminent after the short rest. We touched down at DXB around 6:00 am local time ahead of a 5 hour layover. Stay tuned for the subsequent review!
As promised, the full drinks menu listed below. My apologies for not doing an overview of the IFE as I usually do, but travelling with your significant other makes an IFE seem moot:). The WiFi worked quite well throughout the flight, and is free for all Skymiles members.
