My original review for Emirates was in the not recommended pile. What? Readers are practically walked through my Emirates experience from beginning to end, complete with photos. Am I supposed to walk on eggshells in a world where there are events like the Bay to Breakers race? Can't I mention movie star lookalikes one might see, demographics surrounding international travel, and likeable but crusty airport personnel at East Coast U.S. airports? It seems that maybe people who profess to be liberal really aren't. This goes along with what a coworker who is a Berkeley grad once said: 'When you have a long list of shoulds you need to adhere to, that's not liberal.' Please "don't tread on me" when it comes to my writing style.
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I didn't ever think I'd be writing a review for this airline - Emirates. It seemed that, like its domicile, it could be expensive, a little flashy, and all that goes with that.
I had done this once before - not booked a return ticket to the U.S. ... I'd later look for a low-priced ticket. Through the various sites, I once did this quite well and made the acquaintance of AirTransat from Lisbon to Montreal (close enough) on an excellent flight at an incredible price in low season.
This situation was similar, except that it was summer. I found only a few low-cost flights. An interesting one left at 8:20 a.m. With Malpensa being so far out, this seemed arduous. I saw a late afternoon flight, but the airline codes were not clear to me. The price was right. Which airline is EK? Holy moly. It was Emirates. And, for that price, this and the connecting flight were priced together and 2 bags were included. Note that this is seen with some Middle Eastern and North African carriers (Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, etc.). It seems to be culturally driven ... stays with relatives may be longer and there could be a lot of apparel, purchases, and gifts. But it worked out well for me. I had two bags.
The story gets better. The aircraft was the Airbus 380. Here, the flight came up from Dubai and, from Milan, one can purchase the segment to New York - JFK. Other airlines do the same thing as they pass through Europe and continue on to the U.S. or Canada or vice-versa.
This was an adventure on all levels. MXP was slightly inefficient in boarding this large aircraft. Once inside, things were looking up. The seating was very comfortable and the legroom was almost generous. Emirates does not have a small area of economy seating upstairs. As such, this makes for one lengthy twin aisle, 3-4-3 economy section in successive cabins on the main level of this aircraft.
The Emirates A380 was immaculately clean. Not only that, there are also nice touches everywhere you look - from simulated burled wood insets around the windows to other thoughtful features in the lavatories. The food was very good. One would think the Emirates cabin and flight crews would uniformly be from the Emirates or the Arab speaking world. That's not the case, though native Arab speakers are definitely on hand. Both the cabin crew and the cockpit crew were very international. Passengers were informed that the cabin crew could assist travelers on board in a whopping 27 languages! Verbal and visual announcements for this MXP-JFK flight were in English, Arabic, and Italian. The service was very polished for being in the economy cabin. In-flight options were interesting and, sometimes, it was more fun to follow what the slick looking Airbus 380 was doing on the 3-D flight screen. Some were watching televised programs. Others were sleeping. One woman seated slightly ahead of me who boarded in Milan was an Italian Dyan Cannon-lookalike and, instead of cheering on the L.A. Lakers like the Dyan Cannon of today does, this woman chose to placidly look out the window over the Atlantic. I sometimes do that since I can't watch programs or sleep on planes.
Deplaning in New York and meeting the crusty folks at passport control went smoothly after this comfortable flight. I like crusty folks because they are often more genuine.
I never thought I'd be on one of Emirates' planes, never having needed to or imagined going to Dubai. I thought I would just continue to see their planes at different airports going forward. I was thus surprised by other possibilities among their available routes ... and flying Emirates to return to the U.S. from Western Europe!
If it sounds like an easy 4 stars for Emirates, it is. However, everything seems heightened to a superlative of sorts compared to other airlines I've flown on, especially for the economy cabin: the cabin's features, the legroom and comfort of the seats, the aircraft in their fleet, the breadth of their crew, and even the relative value of included things you may pay extra for when cobbling together add-ons to an economy ticket on other carriers. I'd say it was a 5-star experience and, to date, Emirates is the best airline I've traveled on. read more