The Emirates Chauffeur Drive pickup went as smoothly as ever & had a surprisingly clear run to Manchester. The only negative here was the pickup time – 09:30 for a 14:05 flight. I was at the airport just after 11:00 – just meant it gave me more time to drink Emirates champagne (more on that subject later). I did query the pickup time with the driver & he said they have to be at the airport in time for the inbound flight (and allowing a bit in case it is early) to do a drop-off from that flight.
You could tell the schools are back now as Manchester Airport was dead quiet compared to my previous trip last month. The check-in agent advised the load was light on todays flight.
In security, I got the random ping on the metal detector. To say that the secondary screener was thorough is an understatement (he stopped just short of the strip / cavity search). He was also 100% miserable too. Then all my electronics got swabbed too. Unsure if they were being extra vigilant because of the date (September 11). The screener almost seemed disappointed that he had not found anything on me. Give me the choice between a body-scanner & that secondary screening – I’d take the body scan any day.
Anyway, up to the Emirates Lounge. Got a seat by the window and had some food (excellent quality IMO, even if it is not prepared to order as in the Clubhouse). I resisted the temptation of the bar until after noon, when I did manage a couple of glasses of bubbly. There is no “alcohol watch” of any kind here as the bar is free-pour. One bloke walked past me six or seven times while I was in the lounge with a fresh glass of champagne each time.
Boarding was called just after 13:30 so down to gate 12. That pier at Manchester is a dump (at best). Got to the gate and there were not a huge number of people around for saying an A380 was parked up. First and Business Class boarding was delayed (so why didn’t they tell the lounge this?) while security checks were completed. After the delay, time to walk up the jetbridge & was greeted at the door. BP checked and greeted “Welcome back Mr Kraken, [name omitted] will take you to your suite”. Said crew member then took me to the suite and explained the features. Initial impressions are “wow”, mixed with “this is a bit OTT”. Not over keen on the wood effect / gold décor, but it is very Middle-Eastern I guess. Having seen pictures on A.Net of the First Class bathrooms with shower, I had to take a look – now this is “wow” – if not a bit crazy being on a plane.
Back to the suite and the Dom Perignon was offered – it would have been rude to say no. Looked at the menu and it is very similar to the Business Class one – in fact some of the items are identical. Did notice that there is not the “We apologize if your choice is not available” anywhere on the First menu. I suspect they load a lot of catering & if they really have problems, take from Business Class. Can’t see food running out being a problem today – First is only half full.
Pushed back about 15mins late and it’s going to be about 7h40m to Dubai. Interestingly we took off from the “new” runway at MAN – I didn’t think they normally used that in the middle of the day to appease the local residents.
Once airbourne the service began. I must have been a very easy passenger for the crew as you will see when you read on. I accepted another glass of Dom when they came round after takeoff. Emirates First claims to offer a true “freedom menu” but lunch was served about an hour out of MAN. As I’d effectively had two starters (a plate of smoked salmon & a cold trout salad) in the lounge, I passed on a starter & just had the Lamb noisette as the main course. It was excellent – certainly up there as one of the best dishes I have had on a plane. Followed the lamb up with the cheeseboard, which as normal on Emirates was very good in terms of quality and portion sizes. I was by now stuffed.
I actually found the First suites to be a little too private. I had a window suite – so a “single” one and with the doors closed, you were in your own space and you could not see any of the comings & goings in the cabin (not that there would have been many – only half full). Clearly this is the idea and it would be ideal if you needed to work on the flight – especially if you’re looking at confidential stuff on your laptop.
In order to see some other faces on the flight, I ventured down to the bar at the back on a few occasions. It was clear that quite a few Business Class passengers had made this their home for the flight (including Mr Champagne from the lounge). On each subsequent visit to the bar, it was louder & rowdier with people clearly getting more and more inebriated. On one of the later visits to the bar I got chatting to a girl from Manchester (no, nothing dodgy) and was there a while. My cabin crew member from First came and found me to ask if I wanted anything off “your menu” serving to me as the bar snacks on the bar were aimed at Business Class passengers. I ordered the Canapes & a short while later, 2 plates of Canapes were delivered – one for me, one for my drinking friend (she had not ordered them).
About 90mins out of Dubai, the seatbelt sign went on and all the crew in the upper deck-rear galley emerged to empty the bar. Some passengers could not remember where there seats were and had to be taken to them. Seriously, there were some p*ssed people on that flight. Oddly enough, we did not encounter any turbulence even though the seatbelt sign was on. I commented on the smooth flight and suggested that the seatbelt sign may have been “arranged” to my crew member and she admitted it was done as the bar was getting out of hand.
After about half an hour [and doubtless removal of all service items from the bar] the sign went off, so it was time for a shower before landing. All I can say is it is a weird experience as you are not used to removing all your clothes and getting soaking wet on a plane (well I am not!) The hot water in the shower has a 5min time limit on it – but I was out before it cut-out.
Not long after I was back in the suite, the seatbelt sign went on for the long slow decent into Dubai. We entered at least two, maybe three holds out over the Gulf before being dispatched to fly over Dubai then double-back for landing.
Landed at Dubai and we were very lucky with gate allocation – got one right in the centre of Concourse B – you could not have got much closer to Immigration / Baggage Claim if you had tried. Unfortunately this did not mean bags on the reclaim belt fast. All looked good at first – got to the reclaim belt and the monitor said “First bags in 3mins” – but there must have been a problem getting the containers off the aircraft as time went backwards [a bit like the estimated time remaining on Microsoft Office updates]. About 15mins later, after a trip to Duty Free, the bags started to appear – containers had been loaded / unloaded in the right order as all the first bags on the belt were First Class / Business Class ones.
So, I am no longer an EK First virgin. What did I think (in short)? Excellent suite, very private (which may not suit everyone). Service was Emirates at it’s best, brilliant crew. Food – excellent. On-board shower – excellent, you arrive 100% fresh. Obviously, the lounge in MAN, ground facilities and IFE are the same as Business class.
Would I fly Emirates First again? Definitely yes (if someone else was paying) – if I was paying, I’d probably go Business class as you still get a good seat, good food and the bar.
The lasting memory of the flight is the amount of alcohol that some people were putting back – even after pre-loading in the lounge at Manchester. I know Virgin have a policy to refuse alcohol based on consumption or behavior. Emirates clearly don’t as they were plying people who were past it with yet more drink. (And don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a drink as much as anyone!)
Hope this has not been too bad to read!
James
You could tell the schools are back now as Manchester Airport was dead quiet compared to my previous trip last month. The check-in agent advised the load was light on todays flight.
In security, I got the random ping on the metal detector. To say that the secondary screener was thorough is an understatement (he stopped just short of the strip / cavity search). He was also 100% miserable too. Then all my electronics got swabbed too. Unsure if they were being extra vigilant because of the date (September 11). The screener almost seemed disappointed that he had not found anything on me. Give me the choice between a body-scanner & that secondary screening – I’d take the body scan any day.
Anyway, up to the Emirates Lounge. Got a seat by the window and had some food (excellent quality IMO, even if it is not prepared to order as in the Clubhouse). I resisted the temptation of the bar until after noon, when I did manage a couple of glasses of bubbly. There is no “alcohol watch” of any kind here as the bar is free-pour. One bloke walked past me six or seven times while I was in the lounge with a fresh glass of champagne each time.
Boarding was called just after 13:30 so down to gate 12. That pier at Manchester is a dump (at best). Got to the gate and there were not a huge number of people around for saying an A380 was parked up. First and Business Class boarding was delayed (so why didn’t they tell the lounge this?) while security checks were completed. After the delay, time to walk up the jetbridge & was greeted at the door. BP checked and greeted “Welcome back Mr Kraken, [name omitted] will take you to your suite”. Said crew member then took me to the suite and explained the features. Initial impressions are “wow”, mixed with “this is a bit OTT”. Not over keen on the wood effect / gold décor, but it is very Middle-Eastern I guess. Having seen pictures on A.Net of the First Class bathrooms with shower, I had to take a look – now this is “wow” – if not a bit crazy being on a plane.
Back to the suite and the Dom Perignon was offered – it would have been rude to say no. Looked at the menu and it is very similar to the Business Class one – in fact some of the items are identical. Did notice that there is not the “We apologize if your choice is not available” anywhere on the First menu. I suspect they load a lot of catering & if they really have problems, take from Business Class. Can’t see food running out being a problem today – First is only half full.
Pushed back about 15mins late and it’s going to be about 7h40m to Dubai. Interestingly we took off from the “new” runway at MAN – I didn’t think they normally used that in the middle of the day to appease the local residents.
Once airbourne the service began. I must have been a very easy passenger for the crew as you will see when you read on. I accepted another glass of Dom when they came round after takeoff. Emirates First claims to offer a true “freedom menu” but lunch was served about an hour out of MAN. As I’d effectively had two starters (a plate of smoked salmon & a cold trout salad) in the lounge, I passed on a starter & just had the Lamb noisette as the main course. It was excellent – certainly up there as one of the best dishes I have had on a plane. Followed the lamb up with the cheeseboard, which as normal on Emirates was very good in terms of quality and portion sizes. I was by now stuffed.
I actually found the First suites to be a little too private. I had a window suite – so a “single” one and with the doors closed, you were in your own space and you could not see any of the comings & goings in the cabin (not that there would have been many – only half full). Clearly this is the idea and it would be ideal if you needed to work on the flight – especially if you’re looking at confidential stuff on your laptop.
In order to see some other faces on the flight, I ventured down to the bar at the back on a few occasions. It was clear that quite a few Business Class passengers had made this their home for the flight (including Mr Champagne from the lounge). On each subsequent visit to the bar, it was louder & rowdier with people clearly getting more and more inebriated. On one of the later visits to the bar I got chatting to a girl from Manchester (no, nothing dodgy) and was there a while. My cabin crew member from First came and found me to ask if I wanted anything off “your menu” serving to me as the bar snacks on the bar were aimed at Business Class passengers. I ordered the Canapes & a short while later, 2 plates of Canapes were delivered – one for me, one for my drinking friend (she had not ordered them).
About 90mins out of Dubai, the seatbelt sign went on and all the crew in the upper deck-rear galley emerged to empty the bar. Some passengers could not remember where there seats were and had to be taken to them. Seriously, there were some p*ssed people on that flight. Oddly enough, we did not encounter any turbulence even though the seatbelt sign was on. I commented on the smooth flight and suggested that the seatbelt sign may have been “arranged” to my crew member and she admitted it was done as the bar was getting out of hand.
After about half an hour [and doubtless removal of all service items from the bar] the sign went off, so it was time for a shower before landing. All I can say is it is a weird experience as you are not used to removing all your clothes and getting soaking wet on a plane (well I am not!) The hot water in the shower has a 5min time limit on it – but I was out before it cut-out.
Not long after I was back in the suite, the seatbelt sign went on for the long slow decent into Dubai. We entered at least two, maybe three holds out over the Gulf before being dispatched to fly over Dubai then double-back for landing.
Landed at Dubai and we were very lucky with gate allocation – got one right in the centre of Concourse B – you could not have got much closer to Immigration / Baggage Claim if you had tried. Unfortunately this did not mean bags on the reclaim belt fast. All looked good at first – got to the reclaim belt and the monitor said “First bags in 3mins” – but there must have been a problem getting the containers off the aircraft as time went backwards [a bit like the estimated time remaining on Microsoft Office updates]. About 15mins later, after a trip to Duty Free, the bags started to appear – containers had been loaded / unloaded in the right order as all the first bags on the belt were First Class / Business Class ones.
So, I am no longer an EK First virgin. What did I think (in short)? Excellent suite, very private (which may not suit everyone). Service was Emirates at it’s best, brilliant crew. Food – excellent. On-board shower – excellent, you arrive 100% fresh. Obviously, the lounge in MAN, ground facilities and IFE are the same as Business class.
Would I fly Emirates First again? Definitely yes (if someone else was paying) – if I was paying, I’d probably go Business class as you still get a good seat, good food and the bar.
The lasting memory of the flight is the amount of alcohol that some people were putting back – even after pre-loading in the lounge at Manchester. I know Virgin have a policy to refuse alcohol based on consumption or behavior. Emirates clearly don’t as they were plying people who were past it with yet more drink. (And don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a drink as much as anyone!)
Hope this has not been too bad to read!
James