Pic: Emirates First Class Lounge Entrance in Dubai
After a two night stopover in Dubai, it was time for the second part of my Emirates A380 First Class adventure: The World’s longest Airbus A380 flight!
Emirates EK215
Dubai (DXB) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Tuesday April 29, 2014
Departure: 8:55AM
Arrival: 2:15PM
Duration: 16hr20min
Distance: 8,339mi (13,420km)
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 2K (First Class)

Pic: Emirates First Class Lounge, Concourse A, Terminal 3 in Dubai
I had my hotel pick-up (Emirates Chauffeur-Drive service) scheduled early in the morning to make sure I had enough time to discover the massive Emirates A380 Hub. Concourse A is 645m long, has twenty (20!!) A380 gates and a dedicated First Class floor with seating for 1491 First Class passengers. Note that an Emirates A380 has only 14 First Class Suites, multiply that by 20 and you realize there can only be a maximum of 280 First Class passengers present at any given time. They like to think big in Dubai! 🙂

Pic: Emirates First Class Lounge Duty Free Shopping
After a quick look at some of the dedicated First Class Duty Free Shops, I headed to one of the à la carte fine dining restaurants for breakfast.

Pic: Breakfast at the Emirates First Class Lounge in Dubai
The menu read as follows:
Intro, A la carte Breakfast page 1 and 2, Appetizers & Soups, Main Courses, Sandwich & Cheese Selection, Desserts & Hot Beverages and Bar Service.
I had a bottle of Moët, cappuccino, fresh orange juice, poached eggs with white toast and waffles.

Pic: Emirates Airbus A380 First Class – Suite 2K
Upon boarding I was welcomed by first class flight attendant Joon who escorted me to my seat. A few moments later, in-flight purser Ben introduced himself. I was quite surprised he knew I was a travel blogger. The social media folks at Emirates must have informed him after they noticed my live tweets and instagramming on my AMS-DXB flight.

Pic: Emirates A380 First Class – Suite 2K Seat
I was excited to see the A380 featured the ‘new’ First Class suites with 27-inch HD screen and an iPad like In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) & Seat Control tablet. Note: The Emirates ICE system features 1600 (!!) entertainment channels including over 300 movies, hundreds of TV choices and thousands of music tracks.

Pic: Emirates A380 First Class Suite IFE & Seat Controls Tablet (2012 version)

Pic: Emirates A380 First Class BVLGARI Amenity Kit
I was provided with an Emirates ‘beach bag’ containing pajamas, slippers and BVLGARI amenity kit.

Pic: Emirates First Class – Arabic Coffee and Bateel Dates
As first pre-departure drink and snack, I was offered Arabic coffee and exclusive Bateel Dates. Followed by a glass bottle of Dom.

Pic: Emirates First Class – Dom Perignon 2004 as pre-departure drink
The Emirates First Class menu read as follows: Bar Service 1, 2 and 3, A la Carte Dining 1 and 2, Sweet Delights & Cheese Selection, Hot Beverages & Light Bites, Champagne, White and Red Wines, Dessert Wine & Port. I started with a First Class classic, Iranian Caviar with Grey Goose wodka.
Pic: Iranian caviar with Grey Goose wodka and Dom Perignon 2004 Champagne
My personal flight attendant Kinga went great lengths setting up my dining table in a perfect manner!

Pic: Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 2003 Pauillac
I had several meals during my 16 hour flight, here are some of the highlights:

Pic: Emirates First Class – Almond and Artichoke Soup

Pic: Emirates First Class – Seared Tuna

Pic: Emirates First Class – Ricotta Cheese and Spinach Tortellini Pasta

Pic: Emirates First Class – Chocolate Molten Cake for Dessert

Pic: Emirates First Class – Coffee and Tea Selection
There was even a separate menu for Coffee and Tea at Emirates First Class.

Pic: Emirates First Class – Hennessy Paradis Cognac
Emirates is the only airline in the world serving this extremely rare cognac crafted from several hundred eaux-de-vie aged from 25 to 130 years old. Hennessy Paradis retails at ~€550 ($750) per bottle.

Pic: Emirates A380 First Class Suite with full flat bed
My culinary highlights were followed by a few hours of rest in the privacy of my suite with closed doors.

Pic: Emirates First Class A380 Suite with Full Flat Bed
The ICE in-flight entertainment system with 27 inch HD widescreen was awesome to watch movies!

Pic: Emirates A380 First Class Suite with closed doors
Before my arrival in LAX, I refreshed with a fantastic inflight shower Spa session (check my previous Emirates First Class trip report for pictures). Traveling for 16 hours in economy class must be quite a challenge, but when in Emirates First, you wish the flight would be even longer! I hope to have the opportunity to fly more with Emirates in the near future, preferably in First. 😉
PS: A special thank you goes out to purser Ben, flights attendants Kinga & Joon and their colleagues for the excellent service & hospitality.