Dropped off at Birmingham's check in area for Emirates (right at the very end of the terminal) so much quieter for drop off as there are not many cars there. 2 desks manned and waited a couple of minutes for 1 to become free. Were assigned prerequested seats of 2A/B. No fastrack tickets issued for immigration as Birmingham is undergoing a lot of renovation work so queued for 30 minutes to get through on a very hectic Friday night with lots of people being called out of queue due to imminent flight departures.
Had a quick look around duty free and went to the Servisair lounge which is very small, has a limited amount of choice for drinks and plastic wrapped pieces of cake. Never ever pay for entrance into this lounge as it's just not worth it.
Took a long hike to the 'holding pen' and waited until boarding was announced. During that wait, it was nice to see my husband's schoolfriend who is a first officer for Monarch departing his own flight and had a quick chat. Pre-boarding of business class and small children occurred and settled quickly into our seat. There are only 37 or 38 business seats on the A330-200 in a 2-3-2 set up. Only 2 or 3 seats were spare and people who had the middle of a 3 swapped as necessary.
We had a fantastic FA looking after us - he advised us he was from Lebanon and that it was his last flight with Emirates as he was going to work for another airline. He made our flight one of the best ever, constantly topping up my champagne and was extremely friendly throughout.
The pre-take off champagne was offered (and of course accepted) and canapes given out quickly after take off. A drinks round was served swiftly too - whilst serving this drink, the FA asked what main course you would like with your meal to speed things up.
Choice of meal:
Starter: Oriental noodle salad or smoked corn-fed chicken and salad
Main: Sauteed prawns or Organic chicken breast or fillet of veal or poached salmon
Dessert: Chocolate orange souffle or sticky toffee pudding
Between us we had the Noodle and chicken starters and prawns and veal for main with the two desserts being tried too. All were extremely tasty and filling. No faults with the food at all.
Settled down and watched Wild Hogs with John Travolta which is a good airplane film as no concentration is required as the entertainement system on the A332 is not ICE and therefore cannot be stopped and started at will. I find it much easier to watch something like this when being served food and drink as there's not really a plot to lose.
Had a couple of hours sleep - seats on the Airbus have a lot of legroom, even when someone reclines in front of you but are slightly more narrow than those on the 777, but the 777 doesn't have as much legroom and when somone is fully reclined, it can be difficult to get out if you are in the window seat.
Close to landing, had a light snack and given fastrack immigration vouchers but unfortunately on landing, had to be bussed into the terminal which took quite a while.
Overall, a good overnight flight to Dubai, arriving at approximately 7.30am. Using this flight, I find it allows you more time in Dubai without using an additional day's holiday allowance from work.
