Airline Review: Emirates economy
The journey starts with passengers sitting on the tarmac for 90 minutes but does the food, seats and service make up for it? We find out.
The journey starts with passengers sitting on the tarmac for over an hour but does the food, seats and service make up for it? We find out.
Take a seat
This flight starts (or, more accurately, doesn’t) with passengers squirming in their seats. We’re loaded on time but an already challenging departure time of 2.15am pushes out to 3.29am as we sit on the tarmac waiting for delayed connecting passengers.
It’s great to know this flight will wait for you but three scary words are circling in my head: SYDNEY 11PM CURFEW. As the late-running passengers buckle in, the captain reassures us we’ll still land on time (he’s right; somehow we’re only five minutes late).
With all that time to look around, I inspect the fabric seats and surrounds closely. Configured 3-4-3, they feature charging ports (although if I want to charge up using a two or three-pin plug, I’ll need to make friends with my seat neighbours as my seatback provides USB charging only).
My amenity kit is decorated with a mountain gorilla, highlighting Emirates’ work with the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce to combat the illegal wildlife trade. The pouch contains on-brand tan-coloured socks, eyeshade and toothbrush, as well as toothpaste and earplugs.
Tech talk
Once in the air, thoughts turn to food. With no printed menu, we’re supposed to log into the wi-fi to read the in-flight menu but I repeatedly get a “service temporarily unavailable” message.
On the menu
Our first meal is breakfast rather than an extremely late supper. Sadly for me, both hot breakfast options are savoury egg dishes (I have an aversion to airline-cooked eggs). I decline both the scrambled eggs with rosti, baked beans and mushrooms, and the cheese omelette with chicken sausage and creamed spinach, and enjoy the cold tray of fruit salad, yoghurt with sour cherry compote, croissant with jam and butter.
Halfway into the flight, while the cabin is still dim and the ceiling spangled with stars, boxed margherita pizza slices are distributed to those who are hungry. For dinner (the airline calls this lunch but it’s dinnertime in Sydney), I opt for the “hot and sweet” chicken and steamed rice, served with a chickpea salad, bread roll, sweet and salty nuts and dried fruit, cheese and crackers, and vanilla and caramel profiteroles.
I know Emirates can do transformative things with chicken and rice (thanks to the banging chicken biryani I devoured on the way over in premium economy), so this vaguely Asian dish is disappointing.
That’s entertainment
Emirates’ ICE system is famed for its extraordinary level of choice, offering everything from new Hollywood releases and acclaimed drama box sets to music and card games (there’s a reason Skytrax awards the airline’s in-flight entertainment five stars). As I visited Sicily this year, I reminisce with season two of The White Lotus.
At your service
My first set of headphones gives out and I need new ones; they arrive 14 minutes later. Not bad considering this is a full flight.
On the downside
I use the toilet only once but it could be tidier. Skytrax confirms I’m not alone in this experience, giving Emirates’ economy long-haul three stars for washroom cleanliness.
In the bag
I travel carry-on only (7kg permitted in economy). For the record, this route operates on a weight concept rather than number of checked pieces. For economy passengers, luggage limits vary according to the type of fare and range from a limit of 20kg to 35kg.
Make your points
If you’re a Qantas frequent flyer hoping for status credits from this 12,375km flight, you’re out of luck (Emirates is a codeshare partner but not in the Oneworld alliance); you’ll receive QFF points only.
On the ground
This flight departs from Terminal 3’s A concourse; if you’re connecting from another concourse, you could have quite the skedaddle given Dubai Airport’s magnitude.
The bottom line
One-way economy fare from Dubai to Sydney from $1860 based on airline website search departing three months from publication.
The verdict
Bouquets for this flight waiting for delayed passengers and making up lost time in the air; brickbats for the lack of imagination with the hot breakfast menu.
Katrina Lobley was a guest of Oceania Cruises.
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