Review: Emirates A380 First Class, Frankfurt-Dubai

Emirates A380 first class suite, Frankfurt to Dubai

Cebu & Expo 2020 Flying Emirates First & Business Class

Finally, after my short first class flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong in 2013, I am now flying the A380 on a much longer flight. I have originally booked a business class ticket from Frankfurt to Cebu and then upgraded to first class the Frankfurt-Dubai segment just because I knew it would be operated by an A380 which has the onboard shower spa 👍 I think first class on the Boeing 777 is great but I would not prioritize it for upgrades right now unless it is the Game Changer 😉 This aircraft also features the newly revamped onboard lounge which was introduced in 2017 so it was more than timely for me to take this flight.

Flight: EK48
Departure time in Frankfurt (FRA): 22:20
Arrival time in Dubai (DXB): 6:40 + 1 day (actual was 5:57)
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800 (A6-EVJ)
Seat: 1K
Duration: actual 5h 37m
Date of flight: August 31, 2021
*This is a revenue ticket, used miles to upgrade, First Class flight #52

Video on YouTube



Complimentary Chauffeur Service

Emirates uses Blacklane for this service and my chauffeur was a very nice guy from Somalia who came around 6:10pm (10 minutes earlier) at the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre where I stayed for the day.

Mercedez-Benz E Class AMG Line

As usual, a bottle of water and a hand sanitizer was provided. Wearing of face masks was also obligatory.

Terminal 2, Area E Frankfurt Airport

Terminal 2E, Frankfurt Airport

It only took us about 25 minutes to reach the airport which meant I had about half an hour before check-in opened.

Self-service check-in kiosks

Check-in Counter, Desk 998

The check-in desks for Emirates passengers were desks 993-999. For Platinum and first class passengers, desk 998 was used. There was one guy ahead of me although I did not see him in the first cabin so I am guessing he has Platinum status. Check-in began at 7:27pm and when it was my turn, I was asked to present my PCR test. I told her I didn´t need one to enter the Philippines. She checked it on her system and agreed with me. I presented the QR code from the Mactan Airport website as well as a confirmed hotel booking (for quarantine) for 10 days to the agent and moments later, I was issued my boarding passes all the way to Cebu, a meal voucher worth 25 Euros since the lounge was closed and a hotel voucher for Le Meridien Hotel for my long connection in Dubai. Of course, I would not be able to use the Le Meridien Hotel since the travel ban was extended and I had to stay at the airport to be eligible to enter the Philippines.

Hotel voucher

The passport control was empty so I was done in no time at all.

MoschMosch (Dining Restaurant for Emirates Premium Passengers)

MoschMosch Restaurant is located steps away from security check (and looked like a cozy place) so I went ahead and ordered a quick dinner. I thought the Cha Han with seafood and the dessert was very good 😋

Security Check

There was priority lane for premium and status passengers although the staff did not bother to check my boarding pass.

Boarding,  Gate E2

As I was early, I saw the crew on our flight waiting in the same gate 😉 Boarding started at 9:25pm beginning with those flying in first and business class and those with status.

Aircraft, Airbus A380-800 (A6-EVJ)

I did not know that DO&CO is doing the catering for Emirates as well. I know how great this company is since I´ve flown a lot of times in Turkish Airlines business class as well as in British Airways business class.

Our ride to Dubai 👍

First Class Cabin, Upper Deck

I was met by a friendly cabin attendant upon showing my boarding pass and was escorted to my private suite, 1K.

A380 first class cabin



The first class cabin has a total of 14 suites in a 1-2-1 configuration. On this flight, half of the cabin was occupied.

Private Suite 1K

Welcome to my suite 1K 😉

The suite is pretty much like the way I remembered it during my flight in 2013. A few things have been changed though like the travel well kit, writing kit, headphones, touch screen mode controller and of course the addition of a face mask and a hand sanitizer. Also, the Voss water in the personal minibar is now gone.

A 25ml hand sanitizer and a face mask is now offered. An eye mask was also available since it was a night flight.

I love the design of the latest touch screen mode controller since the older one was bulkier and this one is slimmer.

The new writing kit is black in color (it used to be brown) and the travel well kit is now from Byredo consisting of a 10ml pillow mist, 3ml sleep oil, 10ml facial toner,5ml  eye cream and towelette (it used to by Temple Spa).

The new headphones, Bowers & Wilkins 👍

A380 safety instruction card, air sickness bag

Suite 1K only offers 2 windows unlike 2K where it has 3.

Duvet and mattress pad for turn-down service later ;)

Mini closet

There are no overhead bins so I placed my rollaboard under the screen and which I secured with these belts.


View of the (bigger) Shower Spa and the stairs leading to the main deck (economy class cabin)

Moments after settling in, Vicky the flight attendant taking care of my side of the cabin came to introduce herself and asked if I wanted some pre-departure drinks. I declined and told her I´d just grab a drink from the mini bar in case. She offered some pyjamas although she only had medium or large so I took the medium one. 

Bulgari Amenity Kit & Pyjamas

She came back shortly after with a bag containing the pyjamas, the male amenity kit and slippers. The first class amenity kit consisted of a 50ml shaving foam and razor by British company Gentlemen´s Tonic, a comb, a pack of tissues, a dental kit, a 35ml deodorant spray from Lynx and my favorite Bulgari products (a 40ml after-shave balm, lip balm, cleansing towel, a 40ml body emulsion and a 30ml perfume bottle Bulgari Le Gemme Tygar Eau De Parfum). I have always thought that the first class amenity kit of Emirates is one of the best there is 👍

This set of pyjamas (photo taken at home after the flight) is according to Emirates the world´s first moisturizing sleepwear range to be delivered for an airline 👍

Hydra Active 👍

Vicky also asked if I would be taking a shower and told her YES! and that I would love to do it after take off. I asked if she knew if the onboard lounge is the new one and she thought it was the old one. It would turn out to be the new one when I visited it. Moments later, Toby the purser from Australia introduced himself and told me that he would give me an extra 5 minute water supply during shower so I`d have a total of 10 minutes 😉 Thanks Toby! He also offered to give me a tour of the upper deck but I declined since I decided I´d do it alone and quickly.

Around 9:47pm, it was time for some dates and Arabic coffee. There was a choice of dates with almonds, plain or with orange. I chose the one with almond.

Arabic coffee being served

Arabic coffee and date with almond 😋
A couple of minutes later, I was offered a hot towel. And then a refill of the Arabic coffee which I declined.

At 9:57pm, the captain came on the PA with his usual welcome aboard message and some flight information.

Safety Onboard Video

The safety onboard video was shown on the screen around 10pm. It started in Arabic language followed by in English and lastly in German.

We had our pushback around 10:08pm.

At exactly 10:20pm, we had the usual A380 "quiet" take off 😉

About 10 minutes after take-off, the purser came to offer me the menu card and wine list. He asked if I wanted to drink something while a staff prepare the shower spa for my shower but I told him I was fine.

Shower Spa

This is the larger shower spa located on the left side of the cabin. Toby gave me a quick tour of the shower spa which was helpful since I forgot some of its features already 😉

The A380 Shower Spa with the new design (photo by Emirates) looks like this and has the Ghaf tree, the national tree of the UAE on the background instead of the Dubai skyline. I believe they are using this A380 on flights to Paris which has the new premium economy.

A380 Shower spa

There were hand lotion and hand wash by Irish company Voya as well as Bulgari perfumes for men and women.

The shower amenities consisted of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, cleanser, lotion (30ml each bottle) and soap all by the organic and sustainable Irish brand Voya. There was also a shaving kit, dental kit, cotton pads, cotton buds, a nail file, shower cap and a brush comb. Unfortunately, they no longer offer the loofah sponge.

In the corner is this beautiful orchid 😊

Screen

The hairdryer is located inside a small cabinet under the screen.

Hanger

The toilet is hidden below a nice cover 👍

As promised, I got 10 minutes of water supply 😉

In case there would be turbulence, I was told to sit. There is also the call button in case I would need help.

An oxygen mask would drop from this overhead area should the cabin lose pressure.

Power outlet, air nozzle and paper cups

Needless to say, I had a fantastic time showering 37,000 feet above the ground 😊

Social Area

On offer in the social area for first class passengers are fruits, sandwiches (beef, grilled veg and egg), a snacks basket (mixed dried fruits, jelly beans, Keogh´s crisps, original M&M´s, Hunter´s potato chips), Perrier and Evian water.

Opposite the social area is the stairs leading to the main deck.

Back to my private suite, I was offered something to drink and chose a glass of apple juice with no ice. I was also offered some fresh fruit skewers. Then I decided to order from the menu (caviar, lamb and chocolate dessert) before heading to the onboard lounge. First they had to check how many passengers were there and when the attendant found out there were only 2 passengers, I got a go signal.

Business Class Cabin

The business class cabin was pretty empty.

Onboard Lounge

Inspired by private yacht cabins, the new revamped lounge offers a more intimate and social area. Of course, I love the new design and color.

Seating area, right side

At the back of the lounge is the 55 inch LCD screen.

A lovely emergency exit 😉

When asked if they have Dom Perignon here, the cabin attendant told me all the best things are found in the first class cabin 😉

Some desserts

Sandwiches

Savory mixed nuts

Moet champagne

Red wine

Rully (white wine) There is also the Austrian wine Laurenz.

Dining

Aperitifs, Digestifs and Spirits

Cocktails

Juice and sofdrinks, Mocktails, Hot drinks


Breakfast, Appetisers

Main course, Desserts

Wine list




The china being used by Emirates are from Royal Doulton while the cutleries are from Robert Welch.

Table setting for caviar service with mother of pearl caviar spoon 👍

Gourmet House Caviar 30 grams (from 19£ to 26£)

Emirates used to serve the caviar on the plate but according to Vicky, they have recently started serving it on the tin jar. The caviar was perfect as expected 😋

The "Lamb Salounah" was almost perfect. It was a little bit salty for my taste.

The "Double Chocolate Torte" was very good 😋

To end the meal service, I asked for a cup of green tea (Dilmah) served with some pralines from Coco Jalila from the UAE. 

And since I love collecting amenity kits, I asked Vicky if she had a spare female amenity kit and with no problem, I got one. A hot towel was also offered.

And finally, I had to take a picture of the Dom Perignon Vintage 2008 which costs about 260USD.

Turn Down Service

Then, it was time to watch some movies before going to sleep.

From the movie selection (award movies category), I ended up watching a bit of "Nomadland".

Time to close the door and have some privacy 😉

And watch some stars above and below 😉

Wifi

Make sure you add your Emirates Skywards membership number to your booking 24 hours before your flight to get free wifi services.

There is also a map of the wifi coverage.

Lavatory

Aside from the 2 shower spas in front of the cabin, there is also a lavatory located at the back near the galley on the right side, as you can see on the signs.

Lavatory

Just like in the two shower spas, Bulgari perfumes were also offered in this lavatory.

Lavatory, aft

Lavatory, aft

Landing in Dubai

Around 5:15am and with 45 minutes left before landing, the captain came on the PA and gave us some update among others, that we would be starting our descent in 15 minutes and that it is 32 degrees in Dubai. He also informed us that we would be landing 30 minutes ahead of schedule. About 25 minutes before landing, hot towels were offered.

View of Dubai skyline including the Burj Khalifa

We landed in Dubai before 6pm which is very much ahead of schedule 👍

The A380 that flew us from Frankfurt to Dubai

Transitting in Dubai Airport

As a first class passenger, I was one of the first ones to disembark. Already waiting was an Emirates agent with my name (plus two more). We got escorted all the way to the Business Class Lounge. It was a very long way to the lounge.

Thankfully, half of it was done with this golf cart 👍

CONCLUSION

There it was, my second flight on Emirates A380 in first class. I was really looking forward to this trip because I am a big fan of the Shower Spa. Maybe for others it is not that important but I really think showering in the sky is one of the coolest things to experience, not to mention I got twice the allotted time of water supply. I´ve experienced using the shower spa aboard the Etihad A380 a few times but I think nothing beats Emirates. Of course, the dining experience was fantastic, the quick visit to the refurbished onboard lounge was very worthwhile, getting both amenity kits was extra special and lastly the crew who took care of me were simply the kindest and friendliest. No wonder Emirates First Class was voted World´s Best First Class on TripAdvisor. To all the crew on this flight, Shukran 😉 

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