One of the most prestigious airlines in the world is Emirates and those who have not yet had the opportunity to travel through it certainly want it. In the wide and varied universe of airlines without a doubt this Arab airline is among the first.
I have had the opportunity to travel five times and in two of them I crossed the wide world because I went from South America to Tokyo, so with so many hours of flight I have been able to form a opinion about this company and the service it promotes and offers. Here you have it, maybe you share it or maybe not.
Emirates
Doing a bit of Emirates history is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates and the largest airline in the Middle East. Its hub is the luxurious and impressive Dubai International Airport.
Emirates flies to 74 cities on five continents and it is estimated that almost 3500 of its flights per week cross the skies of the planet. Since its founding it has always been in the Top 10 of the most prestigious airlines, with better aircraft and number of passengers transported. Not all airlines operate the longest commercial routes in the world and Emirates is one of them.
Their ships are from the brands Boeing and Airbus, although it is mostly Boeing 777. The huge Airbus A380 is the popular plane with double decks or two decks along the entire fuselage (the double-decker Boeing only has two floors in the front). It can carry 853 passengers and is thus the largest commercial aircraft in the world. For a short time it has been the plane that covers the Dubai - Tokyo route, so next year I have to enjoy it.
Emirates makes good use of dollars from oil exploitation, so in 2013 it was equipped with 200 aircraft. nothing more and nothing less. Thanks to its first-class fleet and the service it offers has won many awards in the aeronautical sector and we could say that it is a four-star airline category, second only to Qatar Airlines.
Emirates Economy Class
Also called Economy Class it is the most populous class of all aircraft. Emirates has always promoted it as a very comfortable class and with a service, gastronomic and entertainment, surpassing the same class in other airlines.
On my first Emirates trip I was eager to find out. The truth is that the quality of the service on board was pleasantly surprised. First the seat can be selected and reserved as soon as the ticket has been purchased. Although today it is common a few years ago it was not the case.
One of the services most promoted by the company is the great space between the rows of Economy Class seats and it's true. A big plus point. If you are a somewhat frequent traveler, you immediately realize why a tall man travels more comfortably. Another of the most promoted items is the ICE or inflight entertainment service. The flight has not started when the screens are turned on and they are busy promoting the very complete catalog of movies, radio shows, documentaries and music that is available to the traveler.
For example, in April 2014 I was able to enjoy the film The Program (about the Lance Armstrong cycling race), a movie that just appeared on my pay-TV system last week. And this year I saw the anime kimi no wa, super new. Emirates was thus the first airline to include this personal entertainment system in 2003 and since then he has won several awards.
It is not only quantity but quality because some of his films are premieres and do not focus on Hollywood o Europe but they offer titles from the Middle East, South Korea, China, Japan and India, for example. There are more than a hundred and a half movies, about 60 TV channels, more video channels, fifty video games and multiple audio channels.
On the other hand, the same system allows you to see live the images taken by the cameras mounted on the outside of the plane so while in flight there is nothing interesting to see, takeoff and landing have their charm. And if you have money you can also do the service High Speed Internet that makes use of a satellite in flight.
And what about the food? We know that food on airplanes is not the best and we can hardly say that it is satisfactory. In the case of Emirates, the quantity and variety and the fact that they deliver you metallic cutlery and not plastic. The dishes are tasty but the best thing is that in the case of long flights the hostesses leave a cart with drinks and snacks at the disposal of the passengers who come to the kitchen.
On the other hand, you are given a blanket and headphones. In 2014 they also gave me a small case with a pair of socks, toothbrush and toothpaste. I managed to accumulate four cases, two on the way and two on the way back, but when I made the same trip this year they did not give me that blessed case. I guess they don't deliver it anymore. Another change that I noticed is that while in 2014 I did not have to pay a penny to select the seat, this year they did charge me, about 50 dollars.
You may think that it is not worth paying so much to book but when the trip is more than 30 hours you want to choose your seat. Boeing 777s have a few rows of two seats towards the tail and those are without a doubt the best when you expect more than a day of travel.
Emirates Business Class
I have been fortunate to travel in Business and not because I paid for it but because of a series of problems that I suffered on my last trip. A damaged plane, 48 hours in Rio de Janeiro, a flight operated by Iberia and an ICE system that did not work on the way back on the Tokyo - Dubai route assured me a jump to this fantastic class. We should all fly Business!
After envying for years those few people who enter the plane before you, well dressed and light luggage, I was finally able to do the same. And what a luxury! Not only you get on the plane firstYou walk through another door and you never see anyone from the economy class. At least on First Class planes. You go through Primera, yes, the older sister of Business. Emirates deploys in these two classes much gold luxury, well arabic style.
In Business the seats are super comfortable and have several positionsEven they make bed for sleeping. The pillow is of better quality, firmer, and they give you a box with Bulgari products inside: perfume, cream, mirror, tissues, toothbrush, shaving cream, comb. They greet you with a glass of champagneay before each meal you are given a menu. The hostesses set up the table for you and here there are no plastic trays or aluminum foil lids: it is all crockery. They even offer you hot bread!
You have a electronic tablet to use the ICE it snaps into the side of the seat and the headphones are of good quality, not the classic Turista plastics. And yes, if you have the face of having paid for your seat, the hostesses serve you in a supreme way. I clarify this because it was not my case. To finish, I had two diametrically opposite experiences in terms of treatment of Emirates staff.
My personal opinion is that it's a great company while everything works wonders But hardly one problem becomes all the others: groping, haughtiness, food stamps at Subway instead of clear answers and a string of problems. A large company should also be large in those moments and not show annoyance at the questions or complaints of its passengers. Did you travel by Emirates? What is your opinion?