Feb 8, 2016

Emirates A380, the Superjumbo with a Shower

After racking up 100,000 miles on Alaska Airlines, I decided to spend them on a flight on the infamous first class suites on Emirates. After searching around for the some of the longest routes, I booked HKG-BKK-DXB-DFW, all on the A380. Total cost: 100,000 miles and a little under $200 in fees.

To get to HKG, I booked a flight on ANA/Asiana with United miles. After a day in Fukuoka and four in Hong Kong, the real journey began.

First Leg: HKG-BKK

The first step was check-in. I was a little early so I wandered around the airport for a bit before heading to the lounge.

The lounge was nice, but a little sterile. A decent selection of food, but the best part was watching the planes push back from the gates.

I wanted to save my stomach for the plane, so I had some of their appetizers and waited for the boarding call.

The call came a little less than half an hour before takeoff. Boarding was smooth and fast. After I boarded, I admitted that it was my first time flying Emirates, and was immediately offered to have my photo taken. I had only had a few hours of sleep the night before, and had been up and about since the early morning, but I mustered up some strength and flashed a lame-ass smile:

After that, she brought out a Polaroid, took a photo, and disappeared with it.

It turned out that there was only one other passenger in F that day. “VIP treatment!” joked one of the (six) attendants.

At this point, I got up to explore and take some more photos of the totally blinged-out, obnoxiously awesome cabin.

In case you haven’t noticed, gold was the theme here

I chatted with the other passenger and wondered aloud if I could go down the (impressively over-decorated) stairs. “You’re first class, do whatever the hell you want!” came the reply.

Down I went.

It only took a couple minutes before I realized that I was getting in the way of everyone ever, so I went back up to my suite. That’s when the champagne began flowing.

Apparently, Emirates was trying out a new thing, stocking some of their Asia flights with the 2003 Rose. So I took a glass.

And another. And another. They kept refilling it, so it was only polite to drink it… right?

The amenity kit was brought out. And the pajamas, and the slippers, and the tote bag to carry all the shit that they were throwing at me.

A terrible photo. But you get the picture (heh heh)

The suite consisted of a number of totally unnecessary things, including a vanity mirror,

No such thing as too much gold, apparently

a minibar,

The drinks weren’t even cold! What’s the point…

and a detachable tablet to control the seat, lighting, and entertainment systems.

After takeoff, I took advantage of the short two hours to eat,

shower,

eat some more,

I was full but since when has that mattered

and check out the bar.

It was too crowded. Silly business class plebians…

Near the end of the flight, the attendant tiptoed over and dropped this on my table:

Needless to say, it was a great flight. I landed, slept forever, met a friend for lunch in central Bangkok, and made my way to the airport in time for my next connection.

Second Leg: BKK-DXB

Round two! I was given two luggage tags and a fast pass through security.

I was in seat 1K again, and eager to get in the air. I might have taken a selfie or two…

It was a longer flight this time. I immediately ordered some food:

And (of course), some champagne:

Didn’t get photos of the rest of the food because I was too busy eating. Soon enough, it came time for a shower:

There’s a 5 minute time limit for hot water on the showers, but it’s glorious. Something about showering at 38,000 feet is just absolutely ridiculous. It never gets old.

At some point, I visited the bar in front of the plane. The EK A380s have two bars: a smaller self-serve one in the front for First, and a larger one with a lounge in the back for Business. A flight attendant appeared and offered to take a photo:

I requested the turndown service, and after a few minutes, my seat became a bed.

Soon enough, we were in Dubai. It was the early morning at this point, so I headed to the ridiculously large first class lounge (more on that later). I went straight to the sleeping rooms, and slept til morning.

they built an entire terminal for first class?

In the morning, I ventured out into Dubai, met up for dinner with a friend, and went to the airport early to really explore the lounge.

Third Leg: DXB-DFW

I had read a bit about the lounge, but was not prepared to see it in person. I had seen parts of it the night before, so it wasn’t a huge shock, but it was still every bit as ridiculous as it had been the first time.

check-in desk for the first class lounge

“Unnecessarily large” seemed to be the theme here. The “lounge” was really an entire terminal, complete with restaurants (all complimentary, of course), cafes, duty-free shops, business areas, meeting rooms, sleeping rooms, spas, etc. etc. etc.

It was huge.

And eerily empty. There were more staff than passengers!

entrance to a restaurant. both buffet-style and…restaurant-style food.

I decided to settle down and get some work done.

At some point, I decided to check out the other lounges. Yes, there are other first class lounges in DXB. Three, in fact.

Soon enough, it was time to board again — this time for my final destination.

You probably get the picture by now. Another round of amenity kits, another round of champagne, another round of food, another shower, more food…

more food…

more food…

At some point I wandered to the front again, and noticed their great selection of scotch. I was trying to decide which one to drink when I realized…why not all of them?