Last month I flew on an Emirates A380 from Dubai to Frankfurt, to join a cargo flight carrying medical aid around the world. Here is the latest Emirates A380 Business Class trip report.
Emirates Business Class Lounge
Apart from the social distancing requirements in place in the seating area, and improved hygiene overall, perhaps the most positive part was that the lounge buffet is back at the Emirates Lounge. However instead of serving yourself, you tell the lounge staff what'd you like and they will serve you at the buffet station. As a buffet fan, I am happy to report that the selection on offer is similar to pre-pandemic days.
The Lounge is usually not overly busy in the early afternoon, as there are less flights than in the morning.
Most of the single items like sandwiches, fruit and desserts are now pre packed and served individually.
Emirates A380 Business Class
My flight EK47 to Frankfurt was operated by an A380 with registration A6-EVG. I was not surprised to see that there were just 120 passengers onboard this 500 seater. Currently, the connectivity is very challenging out of Dubai (and other Middle Eastern hubs) due to the borders of most of the countries in Indian sub-continent and Asia Pacific being closed. Most of the traffic is O&D (Origin and Destination) only.
Why Seat 23A is a Preferred Seat
My seat 23A is located in the mini cabin towards the rear on the upper deck. Apart from the fact that the window seat has better privacy, it is also a bulkhead seat; this gives you extra privacy from the bulkhead divider and a bigger footwell than in the other seats.
My seat 23A 
legroom and footwell of seat 23A
Window Seat on Emirates A380 Business Class 
Window Seat on Emirates A380 Business Class
Aisle Seat on Emirates A380 Business Class 
Aisle Seat on Emirates A380 Business Class
Center Pair Seat on Emirates A380 Business Class 
Center Pair Seat on Emirates A380 Business Class
Emirates no longer hands out their sanitation kit, instead giving out individual sanitizer gel and a mask.
There were quite a few A380s leaving in the afternoon, bound for Amman and Cairo.
The side bins in the window seat give you extra storage.
After take-off the flight attendants came round with the mattress to put on top of your seat, these help to create a more comfortable seat. It is good to see Emirates offering mattresses not only in First Class but also in Business Class too.
Wine menu on Emirates Business Class 
Wine menu on Emirates Business Class 
Wine menu on Emirates Business Class
Lunch came with individually wrapped bread, the rest was pretty much the same as you would have expected pre-pandemic.
I was impressed with the quality and presentation. I think the Middle Eastern dishes are a better choice on this route, as the catering is from Dubai.
The Emirates onboard lounge, at the back of the A380, is now fully open and stocked with beverages and snacks.
About halfway through the short 6 hour flight, the flight attendants came round offering ice cream.
This is how it looks like when the seat is laid flat. I slept for about 2 hours onboard. Seat 23A, like all the other window seats, has better privacy, as you are away from the aisle foot traffic.
Summary
I had a very enjoyable Business Class flight on the Emirates A380. In fact I feel that it is a much better product than their B777 offering, as these mostly have a 2-3-2 configuration. This summer, Emirates is operating 30 A380s around the world.
Given that the long haul flights are from full, Emirates often has reasonable upgrade offers available during online check-in. Do look out for that when you do your online check-in (in my case, I was offered an AED 2,760 upgrade to First Class).
