Emirates A380 to Dubai, the DXB F Lounge, and a glimpse of Islamabad

[yflyer]

Indeed, this is truly an EK standout feature. In London, they actually have a separate room in the Arrivals Hall in T3 for you to wait for the chauffer, and it's a pretty short wait after you give them your name. Totally stress-free arrival.

Thanks, yfler; really good TR as usual!

Thanks, CarbonMan! I wonder how the economics of providing this service work out for Emirates. Considering how often the schedules of J or F flyers change, I am sure the transport coordinators are kept very busy! That said, I wonder if they link the booking system with their yield management / reservation systems. I am pretty sure folks are much less likely to be no-shows for their flight if they have pre-booked a limo transfer. It's one thing to be a no-show for a flight, but another to miss a booking for a limo.

[yflyer]

I didn't even know EK had different versions of their Y product! I guess then it's a matter of playing the A380 lottery. Your TRs are always most informative.

Thanks, eminere! I googled for any other info on the new Emirates A380 Y cabin, and nothing came up in the first 5 pages of Google results. Most of the other existing reviews of the Emirates A380 Y cabin show the old cabin. Looks like a scoop for SQTalk

Yes, too bad there's no way of knowing which cabin you will get. The difference between the two is quite dramatic.

[CarbonMan]

And finally, an amusing sight in the arrivals area: an army of chauffeurs waiting to pick up passengers from the flight for their complimentary hotel/city transfers.

Indeed, this is truly an EK standout feature. In London, they actually have a separate room in the Arrivals Hall in T3 for you to wait for the chauffer, and it's a pretty short wait after you give them your name. Totally stress-free arrival.

Thanks, yfler; really good TR as usual!

[eminere™]

And finally, an amusing sight in the arrivals area: an army of chauffeurs waiting to pick up passengers from the flight for their complimentary hotel/city transfers.

One of the funniest photos I've seen in a long time.

[eminere™]

But this was on aircraft A6-EDA, an early build A380. My return flight DXB-SIN would be on A6-EEF, a one year old A380 delivered in May 2013, with a new cabin product in Y. Would this be sufficient to tip the scales in favour of Emirates? More on this when I reach the DXB-SIN sector...

I didn't even know EK had different versions of their Y product! I guess then it's a matter of playing the A380 lottery. Your TRs are always most informative.

[yflyer]

Looks like a strong Y offering from EK on the 380. I think I will happily take it but their 777 is a big NO NO of course.

Hope it will never turn 11 abreast for their a380s some day

If they ever do 11 abreast in Y, I hope they add a safety valve in the form of Premium Economy, which Y pax can opt to escape to in order to avoid the claustrophobia. I am surprised Emirates hasn't introduced PE yet.

I really dislike 10 abreast 777's. I avoid them if at all possible. But sometimes they just cannot be avoided, like in this TR for DXB-ISB-DXB. For those flights, I make sure I have eyeshades and a stiff drink handy...

Yes, the Y offering on their newest A380's is great. The original A380 Y is ok, but not as good as SQ's. I doubt pax know which cabin they will get until they actually board...

[SQueeze]

Looks like a strong Y offering from EK on the 380. I think I will happily take it but their 777 is a big NO NO of course.

Hope it will never turn 11 abreast for their a380s some day

[yflyer]

Overall conclusions? Emirates is extremely impressive. While SQ's original A380 Y product is one of the best on the market today, and handily beats Emirates original Y cabin product in most respects, the new Emirates hard product on their latest A380's in Y is just a hair ahead of SQ's current A380 Y. Ahead enough for a person to switch allegiance? Probably not, but the fact remains that EK are ahead.

I've not tried SQ's latest Y product on their 77WN, which by all appearances looks to be a match for Emirates' latest, and may even be superior. But it is not yet available on the A380, and based on what Emirates has on offer, it does look like SQ should plan for an A380 Y cabin refresh some time in the future, and when they do, they need to ensure it is some distance ahead of the new EK Y product, if they are to retain their edge.

Thanks for reading!

[yflyer]

We touched down smoothly, about 20 minutes ahead of schedule...



...and parked at gate C23...the same gate where I started out on the week before.







Deplaning took a fraction longer than usual because each passenger had to be screened on arrival for possible MERS symptoms, using a handheld thermometer that simply needed to be pointed at one's forehead to take a reading.





I for one did not mind the small delay, and was glad that the Singapore authorities were doing what they could to prevent the spread of MERS.

And finally, an amusing sight in the arrivals area: an army of chauffeurs waiting to pick up passengers from the flight for their complimentary hotel/city transfers.

[yflyer]

Some daytime Y cabin views as well, showcasing the wonderful cabin ambience of Emirates' new A380 Y cabin.

[yflyer]

More views of Malaysia out the window as we approached Singapore...

The A380 windows were small, compared to those on the 787...



By then we were low enough such that the views from the belly camera were quite detailed...



This was the view out of the emergency door window...

[yflyer]

I chose the chicken congee for breakfast...



This was very good, with a decent portion of chicken, and very good rice congee flavour and texture.


By then, we were off the coast of Malaysia.

View from the belly camera...



And tail camera...

[yflyer]

Overall cabin ambience was superb. With the latest slimline seats, there was a far greater sense of spaciousness on this plane than on the early model Emirates A380 Y cabin. This was the nicest A380 Y cabin I had encountered so far.





Note the extra legroom for window seats in the row immediately behind the exit rows.



With mood lighting set to an orange dawn-like glow, the cabin crew roused passengers for breakfast and distributed hot towels.

[yflyer]

The view up the front stairs looked very enticing.



You could see the upstairs F bar/lounge area all set up.



But like the rear stairs, the front stairs were roped off.

[yflyer]

The restroom signs on Emirates A380 tell you exactly which restrooms are available, and where they are:



Just follow the arrows, and you will find relief...



Apart from cabin mood lighting, they have also embedded star-like lighting into the ceilings.



Towards dawn, the mood lighting came on again...



I took a stroll around the aircraft. This is the front of the A380. On Emirates, the whole lower deck is Y.



This meant that Y pax had access to the front of the plane, and the front staircase (or at least the bottom of it).



They even managed to stuff a little room with a workstation for the crew under the front staircase.

I hope no-one mistook that door up front with the 4 steps for a restroom...