Review: Emirates Business Class A380 LAX to Dubai

This trip started at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles Int’l (LAX). Emirates are flying an A380 daily between Dubai and LAX. This flight is currently one of the longest A380 flight in Emirates network, with a block time of nearly 16 hours.

The Emirates Lounge at LAX

Emirates has its own lounge at LAX. The Emirates Lounge at LAX is located on the sixth floor, to the left side of the terminal, after security screening.

The lounge has the usual Emirates Lounge high standards, with a good amount of food choices; there are also outdoor sections which are preferred by many. Here are some photos of the Emirates Lounge LAX.

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Emirates A380 Business Class

The Emirates Business Class on the A380 is located on the upper deck, behind First Class. There are a total of 76 seats, occupying 2 sections; each seat has direct aisle access and can turn into a fully flat upon recline. On this flight my seat was 25K, the last window seat; the window seats all have an extra side storage bin.

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Here are some pictures showing the details of the Emirates A380 Business Class seat. There is a mini-bar on the desk next to the seat, 2 USB ports and power points are located on the console. There are also 2 remote controls as well and there are individual fan nozzles above the seat.

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Emirates Business Class use Bvlgari Amenity products, I really like the “back-pack” like design that they delivered in.

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Below is the food and beverage menu from my LAX to Dubai flight, there were 3 choices for each course.

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The Flight

The flight time to Dubai was just under 15 hours. The plane registration was A6-EOF and was sporrting a Dubai Expo 2020 sustainability blue livery. We took off from runway 24L, then flew towards the Pacific before turning in a NE direction and then heading over: Las Vegas, Utah, Montana, Canada, North Atlantic over Greenland, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Persian Gulf and finally the UAE.

After reaching cruising altitude the flight attendant came around to place these white mattress on top of the seat, for additional comfort. I really like these proper mattress, as opposed to the thin “sheet” used by other airlines.

I enjoyed having 3 screens (1 main and 2 on the remote control) so I could enjoy the entertainment on one, map on another and the tail camera view on the third! The ICE in-flight entertainment on Emirates is one of the best in the sky, as it offers a wide variety of foreign language movies and music.

Dining

I chose smoked duck as my starter and beef tenderloin with gnocchi as my main dish. The main course was divine, as the beef was so well seared.

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Wi-Fi Internet

In terms of Wi-Fi Internet on-board, there are two options:

• Skywards Member
• Non-Skywards Member

Emirates is offering free internet for Skywards members, who fly in First or Business Class. A discount is available for Skywards members who fly in Economy.

However, as I credit my miles to Alaska Airlines I had to chose the non-skywards option. Here are the options:

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I opted in for the up to 150Mb plan, at a cost of $9.99. The Wi-Fi internet was extremely slow and almost un-usable; I received a refund after writing to the customer service of onair. I assume there were too many users on the free internet plans.

I slept for 7 hours on this flight and then ordered the beef pie from the snack menu and Bhatia chicken from the bar menu. They were both very tasty and filling.

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2 hours before landing into Dubai, I saw my second sunset (17:30 in Dubai) but it was 06:30 in LA. A full breakfast was served and I had the waffles with fruits.

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Verdict

My flight was totally full in the Business Class section. With a good seat, I was able to rest undisturbed. The flight was very pleasant in Business Class. On an ultra long haul flight like this, nothing is more important to your well being than a good rest.

Here are some Pros and Cons of flying Emirates Business Class on A380

Pros

• Excellent Emirates Lounge, entitled to a limo transfer on higher fares.
• Fully flat bed with direct aisle access (much superior than the B777).
• There is an on-board lounge at the rear of the Business Class.
• Free Internet for Skyward Members.

Cons

• No dine on demand, though you can order snacks anytime.
• You may be sharing the flight with up to 76 Business Class passengers. The window seats can be booked out quickly. Less privacy than with other Business Class offerings.
• Very slow internet on-board at times. Discriminatory pricing favours Skywards members.

The Best Seat in Emirates A380 Business Class

The window seats offer more privacy and are the most sought after. 9AK, 11AK, 14AK, 16AK and 18AK are quieter as they’re in the middle, far from toilet and galley; 23AK and 25AK are also very good in the smaller section after the bulkhead. If you’re travelling with a partner, then obviously the middle pair seats are the best.

I’d avoid row 6 and row 26 as they’re closest to the galley and the on-board lounge (bar) which has more noise and lot of foot traffic.

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