Three Generations of the Emirates A380 Y Seat and More Barcelona Dining

[wdranne]

Thanks for the great report once again yflyer!

Just curious, how do you usually find the food places to go in BCN? I'm just not so adventurous to try new unfamiliar places for food unless I've heard about it from a friend or an article etc. But the eateries you visit always look pretty impressive, I really should

I haven't personally flown EK to date...but looking at the Y-product offering, I really find it quite hard to see why I would pay the extra to fly on our dearest golden goose if I had no status with them. It just isn't worth the money imho, especially if the only selling point/competitive edge is their service...which we all know deep down can be a hit and miss affair and is it really worth a hundred or so more to have the chance of being treated slightly 'nicer'? Even so, one wonders how much interaction you can afford to have with a nicer crew on a regular length flight. Hmm.

[yflyer]

Thanks for the great report once again yflyer!

Thanks, wdranne!

Just curious, how do you usually find the food places to go in BCN? I'm just not so adventurous to try new unfamiliar places for food unless I've heard about it from a friend or an article etc. But the eateries you visit always look pretty impressive, I really should

Almost all these places were recommendations from friends and colleagues who either live in Barcelona, or had eaten there on a previous visit. There is nothing like getting a local to recommend a place. Similarly if anyone is visiting Singapore, ask a local where to go. Never good to just rely on online guides!

When Mrs yflyer travels with me, she usually does a lot of research online from food blogs and sites like tripadvisor. She has found some really good places just based on her online research. On some occasions, I do head to a restaurant "blind", just based on online reviews, and guides like Zagat or tripadvisor are quite useful. (Although you need to sometimes "read between the lines" when reading tripadvisor restaurant reviews...).

The dining scene in Barcelona is endlessly fascinating.

The only time I have had a mediocre meal in Barcelona is when I picked a restaurant at random right along the touristy stretch of Las Ramblas.

That said, I think if I spent too long in Barcelona, I would eventually miss the flavours of local Singaporean/Asian hawker food, though. While you can find Chinese/Indian/Asian food there, the selection and variety is not great. This could be market opportunity for anyone thinking of setting up an F&B business there!

I haven't personally flown EK to date...but looking at the Y-product offering, I really find it quite hard to see why I would pay the extra to fly on our dearest golden goose if I had no status with them. It just isn't worth the money imho, especially if the only selling point/competitive edge is their service...which we all know deep down can be a hit and miss affair and is it really worth a hundred or so more to have the chance of being treated slightly 'nicer'? Even so, one wonders how much interaction you can afford to have with a nicer crew on a regular length flight. Hmm.

My personal view is, if I didn't fly enough to get FF status, or accumulate mileage, on any airline or alliance, I would just select airlines/flights based on schedule, price and comfort, and disregard loyalty completely. Some fantastic deals to be had these days, whether LCC or full service carrier!

But if I did fly a lot, I would want to stick to an alliance, not so much for soft factors like friendly FA's (Which you do often get on SQ), but for hard benefits like lounge access, priority check-in queues, luggage allowances and better seat selection. If based in SIN, Krisflyer isn't a bad program, because of the range of FF redemption options, and the fact that you also get Star Alliance benefits.

As for EK, I've always enjoyed the experience partly because of FF benefits (I get EK benefits because of my Qantas FF membership). While EK's Y hard product on the A380 is excellent, I don't think I would enjoy the DXB transit experience as much without the lounge access. And being based in SIN, EK would only make sense when travelling to Europe, Australia or the Middle East. Not much use travelling to the US (Although it is feasible and cheap to do so), or within Asia.

[dfs24]

Thanks for taking the effort to write this report. Didn't realise there was a Gen 3 Y product on EK.

The last time I went around randomly pointing to food like you did in Las Ramblas was in Les Halles de Lyon, and I sure did get some very interesting stuff.

[loldude333]

Hugely informative TR again. So much care taken not just to detail your travel, but the hard & soft product and comparing the differences. Maybe you should submit these to frequent flyer blogs and get paid a commission heh.

[yflyer]

Thanks for taking the effort to write this report. Didn't realise there was a Gen 3 Y product on EK.

The last time I went around randomly pointing to food like you did in Las Ramblas was in Les Halles de Lyon, and I sure did get some very interesting stuff.

Thanks, dfs24! I didn't know about Gen 3 until I got onboard my flight either!

I haven't been to Lyon in a while...great place for food!

[yflyer]

Hugely informative TR again. So much care taken not just to detail your travel, but the hard & soft product and comparing the differences.

Thanks, loldude333!

Maybe you should submit these to frequent flyer blogs and get paid a commission heh.

Hmmm...hadn't crossed my mind!

[Stratoliner777]

What a marvelous comparison of the EK Y products! Thank you for doing this report!

[yflyer]

What a marvelous comparison of the EK Y products! Thank you for doing this report!

Thanks, Stratoliner777!

[jammed]

Thanks for another well written wonderfully detailed TR, yflyer. And RR, run report. I continue to project upon you my aspiration to do 15k 20k runs in the middle of a work trip. Anything more than 5k nowadays and I'm trying to breathe rather than taking pics

I admire yr courage, with the snails too, by starting off the day no less

Your compare contrast of 3 gens of EK Y is amazing. EK continues to lead with its ICE I dare say - that's quite a huge screen for a Y product. But lacking the EK or QF FF, and hence sans lounge access (unless with Priority etc) I really wouldn't want to transit to DXB.

Good job, another one

[yflyer]

Thanks for another well written wonderfully detailed TR, yflyer.

Thanks, jammed!

And RR, run report. I continue to project upon you my aspiration to do 15k 20k runs in the middle of a work trip. Anything more than 5k nowadays and I'm trying to breathe rather than taking pics

And the work stress just melts away with each step! The best runs are either just after sending in a work deliverable and enjoying a totally stress-free run, or working up till a point where the brain is just a pile of jelly. Then a run works wonders to clear the mind...

I admire yr courage, with the snails too, by starting off the day no less

Er...didn't know they were snails when I ordered them ! But I quite like French-style escargot, so this Spanish snail dish wasn't too far out of my comfort zone...

Your compare contrast of 3 gens of EK Y is amazing. EK continues to lead with its ICE I dare say - that's quite a huge screen for a Y product.

And SQ is still at gen one for their A380. I am so looking forward to their gen two A380 product launch!

But lacking the EK or QF FF, and hence sans lounge access (unless with Priority etc) I really wouldn't want to transit to DXB.

Agree. Don't see the appeal of transit in DXB unless you have lounge access. A lot of walking, and sometimes huge crowds and bottlenecks at various points. But all that changes if you have lounge access, especially access to the Emirates F Lounge in the dedicated A380 terminal. That is one lounge I would not mind spending a long time in!