Flight Review: Emirates Business Class Boeing 777(-300ER & -200LR)
Flight#: EK118
From: Istanbul (IST)
To: Dubai (DXB)
Flight time: 4h 30min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Flight#: EK255
From: Dubai (DXB)
To: Barcelona (BCN)
Flight time: 7h
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR
Believe it or not, this was my first flight ever with Emirates. Attending the IATA AGM, which took place in Dubai in June 2024 offered me the chance not only to try out the famed airline, but also its flagship Business Class product, no less!
I would have hope to fly one of the legs on Emirate’s A380, but the itinerary and schedule requirements meant I did finally experienced two flavours of the airline’s B777 product and on two segments of varying length. Both of the flights were during night time, which has its own pluses and minuses (not least of them the quality of the pics!) and just long enough to be able to enjoy most of the elements of the experience.
So, let’s see in this flight report how the experience of flying Emirates’ business class looks and feels like!
The flight was provided courtesy of Emirates. Opinions are all my own.
First leg of the itinerary: IST-DXB(B777-300ER)
I start this flight review with the flight to Dubai on a Emirates B777-300ER. To check the return flight out of Dubai, including my review of the Emirates Business Class Lounge experience at DXB, just keep reading, because the flight report concerning the return leg is laid down further down.
In fact, I won’t be explaining much about the Istanbul pre-flight experience, since, it is not really Emirates’ home airport.
Let’s start by saying that the online check-in was pretty smooth. Included in my business class ticket was the option to book a chauffeured drive to the airport. I did not use it in Istanbul, because I arrived there by air, but I did so in all the other three airport transfers involved in this trip. Will comment about it later on.
Emirates doesn’t have its own lounge at Istanbul Airport, so it shares the IGA Lounge with a bunch of other airlines. Although perhaps not representative of the typical Emirates experience because the service is provided by an external company, I have added some comments about it here.
The overall experience at the IGA Lounge was good.
Food choices are correct, although not extravagant or particularly luxurious.
At the time I visited (evening), it was rather crowded and there was a somehow buzzing atmosphere with even some live music!
But interestingly that most people tended to concentrate on a narrow section of the lounge, closer to the entrance and the food stalls, leaving a whole somehow more withdrawn area (connected to the rest but separated by a flight of stairs) quite empty and perfect to work or relax.
While that area is a bit further from the hot food buffet, it has its own supply of coffee, drinks, snacks and a bar.
I also liked the fact that the IGA Lounge has compartments to leave your bag while you are at the lounge.
Perhaps the part that could be improved is internet access, which is available (unlike the general Istanbul airport free wifi which is only available for one hour!!!) but it is hard to connect to. I had to find a member of the staff to log me in, because the wifi registration kiosks (not a great experience in any case) were not working properly and the instructions to log in where nowhere to be found.
Outside of the lounge, another positive point of the Istanbul experience is that Emirates ground staff (or that of its local ground handling supplier) let me check-in the bag quite a few hours before my flight. I guess it helps that Emirates has several flights a day out of Istanbul, so I didn’t have to wait to two or three hours prior to the flight to be able to do so.
Last but not least, a particularity of the boarding process: there were two sections on each side of the boarding gate, physically separated by a wall, one for economy class passengers (which was pretty crowded), the other one for all types of “premium” passengers.
So now let’s go to the actual flight!
Let’s start by the cabin.
This particular aircraft was fitted with Emirates legacy cabin.
Let me be clear: Emirates business class product is excellent (and I will explain in detail why in the rest of this post), but I also got the impression that there as far as some aspects are concerned, its legacy cabin is not anymore at the top of its game.
I am thinking, particularly, about the 2-3-2 seat layout, which means that some business class seats lack direct aisle access. Likewise, compared with some of the latest business class products that have been introduced to the market, these seats offer a somewhat limited level of privacy.
At this point, it is important to mention that Emirates is in the midst of a massive cabin refurbishment program that will see it invest over $2 billion to update its cabin interiors. This project started in 2023 with the A380 fleet and all the B777 that remain in the fleet will have their interiors revamp as well.
The cabin interior project is so important to Emirates that its CEO, Tim Clark, is trying to get Boeing to pay for the refurbishment of the B777s, since repeated delays in the certification and entry into service of the new B777X aircraft means some of these will have to remain in service for longer and Emirates wants the experience to remain consistent.
But, let’s get to this particular flight…
There was a welcome drink, of course!
I was seated on row 6, which is in a bit of special place in the cabin, since it is the last business class row before the economy class cabin and separated from the rest of the business class cabin by a sort of open galley and a pantry area.
This layout, as far as I am aware of, is found on those Emirates B777 aircraft fitted with two cabin classes, so it does not apply to the entire fleet.
This last row is, in fact, located right behind the aircraft’s main frontal door, so this means during the boarding process, you will see a constant stream of people passing through on their way to the economy class cabin. On the plus side, it is physically separated from the rest of the business class cabin, so during the flight it offers a more secluded, premium, feel (particulary, if, as was the case on this flight, it is partly empty!)
This is what awaits the business class passenger at this seat:
Blanket and pillow
Set of slippers (you can see them on the pic below combining with my aviation-themed socks!) and eyemask
A pair of good quality headphones
The crew also came shortly after and distributed amenity kits.
Interestingly, there is a male and a female version of it. It is Bulgari-branded and pretty well stocked! (possibly the most complete amenity kit that I’ve seen in quite a long time). Pretty solid.
And here is an overview of the different buttons and electronic outlets that you can find on or around your seat.
On the top right image you can see how the seat is fitted with universal in-seat power outlet and USB ports.
On the armrest you find the seat position controls, which allow the seat to be stretched across the wide gap towards the wall in front.
Another set of buttons (bottom left image) allows you to move up or down the panel that separates you from the neighbouring passenger (next to it you can also see the console which is one of the ways you can manage the IFE system, more on this later…).
Last but not least, the side lamp, which is pretty powerful and can be directed towards where you need it.
And here you can see how the seat looks like when in night mode and with the IFE screen on.
Note that the crew has laid out a mattress (the white cover you see on top of the seat), which adds some extra softness to the seat.
We will get back shortly to the IFE screen and the related content platform, but, in the meantime, I wanted to mention also the fact that there is also an inflight paper magazine, although it is mostly a shopping catalogue.
Right behind me there was also a magazine rack with several international titles. Although, as you shall soon see, the inflight entertainment system is so powerful and complete that I guess those magazines don’t get pulled very often.
Here, in addition to gauging the amount of space available, you can also see the Inflight Entertainment (IFE) seatback screen from the passenger perspective.
The screen is pretty impressive, really user-friendly, responsive and smooth to navigate (perhaps the best in this aspect of all the similar systems I have tried lately).
The content catalogue is also broad and deep, it has got a really broad selection of movies, TV shows, documentaries and other types of content. In fact, way more than I had really time to even seriously browse through during the flight once subtracted the time to eat and sleep!
It has even live TV and news from CNN and the BBC.
The inflight entertainment platform, which Emirates calls “ICE”, can be accessed, primarily through a large seatback screen, but also through an iPad-like handheld device that is found on the side of the seat.
This tablet that you can use either to control the main seatback screen or to watch content independently. It is hooked to a support point on the side of the seat and can be freed by pressing a button.
There was also inflight wifi, although it is not free (even on Business Class) unless you are on certain loyalty tiers. I was told by a crew member that, upon signing up for the Emirates loyalty program you get to enjoy one complimentary session (as long as your details had been processed through the airline’s systems by the time of the flight).
As in the case of the other content, not enough time to test it properly (and not particular need either, since I was trying to catch up on some sleep during this night flight!).
In any case, I post here the data plans for reference (there was also an even more basic messaging-apps-only plan for $4.99).
And now…time for the food!
Emirates did not disappoint on this front. This was a late night flight, so we had a snack and then a dinner.
For the latter you can choose two options out of the late night dining menu, with whichever accompanying drinks you fancy.
I posted here the menus Emirates offer to business class passengers, for reference. This, of course, varies from flight to flight.
Here is the midnight snack (+Espresso Martini):
…followed by the main course: Turkish mezze and beef shashlik.
I must admit I am no culinary critic, but the whole meal was excellent. The mezze make for great inflight food and the meat was very tasty. It also smelled as if it had been recently barbecued. This was served with a mix of different types of bread.
So top points for the food experience!
Return flight: DXB-BCN (B777-200LR)
The return flight has similar in some ways to the first one, but it also presented some novel elements, and not only when it comes to the aircraft (a B777-200LR instead of a B77-300ER), but also on the ground.
Let’s start by the airport transfer, which was taken care of by Emirates, through the business class chaffeur service (Note: I have been told that it is only available on some types of business class tickets, no all of them).
The fact is that I was really, really impressed by the overall experience and how smooth it was to book it through the Emirates website and to find the driver at the right time and location.
The system already comes with some predetermined time slots and, in the case of Dubai, a list of hotels and other locations pops up, so it takes less than two minutes to arrange. They are able pick you up or take you to addresses within a 40km radius of the airport.
I used the service in three separate occasions (arrival to Dubai and subsequent departure and arrival in Barcelona).
When arriving in Dubai, there is even a specific section of the airport where you are given a voucher with a number and directed to your car. When they are picking you up at your hotel or at your destination airport, you get a message with the car details, the exact spot where to find it and driver contact details.
On all three occasions the service was spotless and very professional and using very nice cars.
Dedicated Emirates First and Business Class check-in area at DXB Terminal 3
Another interesting thing is that Emirates has a dedicated entrance and check-in area within DXB’s Terminal 3, which is for the exclusive use of premium travellers (business, first or certain loyalty program tiers). This means, of course, a much less congested facility, which you can sweep through really quickly even when checkin in baggage.
The Emirates Business Class Lounge at Dubai International Airport
Next, it was time to hit the Business Class lounge, which is located one floor up the main terminal concourse. Let’s see how it looks like…
Interestingly, at the time I arrived it was pretty empty, but unlike at other airports I’have been to lately, it started filling up progressively well past midnight.
The lounge is certainly very large and it is divided into several spaces with different types of seating arrangements.
There are also some secluded areas, separated from the main corridor and eating areas, where it is possible to lay down in a sort of chaise longue. This is where you find people trying to get some sleep, many with blankets on. It is still an open area, but way quieter than the rest.
These different seating areas are punctuated by the presence of several toilet and shower “blocks” (as seen in the picture below) as well as different food stations (which double as bars as well).
There are different food areas: Middle Eastern and Mediterranean, Asian, Desserts and International. The latter one, thoug, was located next to a smokers area and there was smell of smoke all around, so I would recommend avoiding it.
The Lounge has also its own wifi network. One thing that I found a bit lacking is information about the time needed to get to the different gates (not a trivial matter considering the dimensions of DXB’s T3!)
And now, to the second flight of this 2x1 flight review…
The DXB-BCN flight was also a night one (departing 3.25am) and it had the curiosity that it is, actually, part of a 5th Freedom flight that continues to Mexico City. So, regardless of whether your destination is Barcelona or Mexico City, everyone de-boards the plane. The crew overnights in Barcelona and is replaced by a fresh crew and the passengers continuing to Mexico City board the plane again, plus new passengers get onboard in BCN.
In my case, I got off the place in BCN, so my segment was “only” 7 hours.
Btw, kudos to the crew member that made the announcements also in Catalan language, a small gesture which not all airlines do when flying to Barcelona and which means quite a lot to speakers of the language!
The aircraft was also a Boeing 777, but a different version from the previous flight. This one was a B777-200LR and, instead of seating at the back of the business class cabin, I got to sit on the very first row, on an aisle seat.
Some aspects of the flight, such as the IFE screen, internet connectivity and amenities, were the same as in the previous flight, so I won’t entertain myself describing them again.
The seat looked, mostly the same too, although there were a few small details that were different.
First is this footrest in front, which was not there in the previous flight. Also, underneath the footrest there is a compartment where it is possible, for example, to leave shoes.
Other small differences concern the electronic position controls for the seat, which had a bit of a different interface here, even if the seat had pretty much the same features. Other electronic outlets were also positioned differently, again without substantial differences in the way they worked.
There was also this little “mini bar” on the side.
Again the bed is made and ready to sleep a bit…Note also the starry ceiling!
A couple of snaps to show how the toilet looks like. Note the cloth towels for the hands. There were also some toiletries, like toothbrushes, available.
Since this flight departed Dubai at 3.25 and arrived in Barcelona at 8.25am local time, I was doubtful about the sort of food that would be served onboard: dinner? breakfast?
As it turns out, Emirates has solved that brilliantly: if you wish you can get some light bite (most people sleep through, though) and, later, breakfast is served before landing.
Here is what the spinach, mushrooms and feat cheese quiche looks like. Not that I was very hungry, particularly after having had a late dinner at the Emirates Business Class Lounge in Dubai before our departure, but thought it would be interesting to try for the sake of completing this flight report.
And here is the breakfast, cinnamon French toast, which was really, really tasty!
I know that your can not 100% ascertain the flavour through an image, but sometimes you can really “eat with your eyes”, so judge by yourselves…
It is not as long as the flight reviews published on this site, but Emirates also wants you to review the experience at the end of each flight. How did I rate it? Check the next section…
Our Take
Emirates has an amazing business class product and this extends from the moment you get picked up to go to the airport, to the dedicated terminal, the lounges and, of course, the service onboard, which was super professional and attentive at all times.
If the “soft” elements of the service are top notch, I am sure that the “hardware” elements will just keep getting better as Emirates complete the roll out of its cabin revamp program, which will see the B777 fleet retrofitted soon too!