Today I continue my journey eastwards from Bangkok to Hong Kong. In addition to the usual suspects (Thai Airways & Cathay Pacific), there are some interesting alternatives operating on the route – airlines like Kenya Airways or Ethiopian. Eventually, though, I am unable to resist the lure of the fabulous A 380. And so, I settle on Emirates Airlines.
Check-In
Emirates Airlines checks in on rows R to T, at the far end of the departure concourse at Suvarnabhumi Airport. There are also self-service machines available for check-in.
From check-in I follow the signs to Fast Track security, which really is very swift. Behind that is passport control, and then I’m airside.
I follow the signs to the Emirates lounge, which is located on the junction where the D, E, F, and G concourses meet.
The Emirates Bangkok Lounge
Emirates operates a fairly large lounge here in Bangkok. However, there is only the one lounge for both First and Business Class passengers.
When I arrive, the lounge is deserted. There’s only one other person there.
Emirates’ branding takes a bit of getting used to and is just a little bit old-fashioned. This also goes for the lounges, which always remind me of the hotel lobby of an American mid-range hotel.
There are plenty of food options, but I’m not really hungry, so I don’t have anything.
Boarding
At 13:15 an announcement is made in the lounge that the flight is ready for boarding. Luckily, boarding is already quite progressed when I arrive, so at least the gate area is clear enough for me to take a few shots of my aircraft.
The Cabin & Seat
The Emirates First Class cabin is another one of those products that hardly need an introduction. It’s been a while since my last Emirates experience, and I must admit that I’m quite taken aback by how badly the cabin design has aged.
Everything is in mint condition and perfect working order. But it just looks so dated. The leather seats and the gold coloured plastic just really aren’t doing it for me.
Amenities
In terms of amenities, though, there’s hardly beating Emirates. There’s a small vanity with cosmetics.
Funky, very fluffy slippers.
Eye shades.
Your own little mini bar.
And of course, the shower.
The Crew & Service
The crew are very friendly and personable. My aisle is being served by a competent young lady from Argentina. The purser informs us that there are 20 cabin crew on this flight who together speak 16 languages.
The purser comes by to welcome me aboard and asks if there’s anything I need help with. I tell him I’d like to have a shower before the meal, so he books me for the first slot.
The Meal
The menu is quite extensive, especially considering that this is a flight of only two hours.
Figuring I’d have something light, I order the caviar service, followed by the Arabic mezze with a side salad.
As soon as the food starts arriving, I realise my mistake, because there’s nothing light or small about the two courses. First, it‘s the full caviar service, with all the trimmings and a large helping of caviar. The dish is quite elaborate and nicely presented. For a starter I think it’s actually a bit too big.
This is followed by the Arabic mezze which, again, turns out to be quite an elaborate dish.
Once I’m done, the table is quickly cleared away and the crew hand out scented hot towels.
By this time we’re already descending into Hong Kong.
Arrival in Hong Kong
The approach into Hong Kong is scenic and takes us over a string of small islands with lush vegetation.
We land and make the long taxi to our parking stand. It seems like we’re taking quite a circuitous route. Hong Kong airport has become a perpetual building site. I’m guessing they’re building a new terminal or maybe a new pier.
The terminal is very quiet. There’s hardly anyone around. Passport control is a breeze, with only two other people ahead of me in the queue, and only takes about five minutes to complete.
Conclusion
This flight with Emirates was nice. The food was excellent and nicely presented. In fact, it rather took me by surprise. The last time I flew Emirates First Class on this route eight years ago, I was decidedly underwhelmed by the rather poor quality of the food and the minute portions. They‘ve definitely done their homework! Other than that, the seat is very comfortable, it’s just very ugly to look at. However, from what I understand, Emirates is planning to refurbish the cabins of over forty A 380s, so hopefully this also means that they’ll be upgrading the First Class cabin too.
Interesting. I thought the showers weren’t offered on flights below 3h.
I don‘t think they like it. But it‘s not that you‘re not allowed.
Emirates first class——in fact, the whole airline has always struck me as incredibly tacky and one of my least favourite. Give me the calm and sober tastefulness of AF LX and LH!! Hong kong is on my list of places to visit. Interesting fact—–One of my cousins once managed the Mandarin Oriental.
The MO is on the island, I think, near what used to be the admiralty.
Yes—–and his mother was ‘Head of womens fashion’ in Harrods in the 60s/70s. She was influential in me getting my first job there.Awful news about the SQ flight from London today eh?. Is this a leisure or work Trip William?
Further about the Emirates A380——- Just read that they are refurbishing their A380s,which will be a touch more sober and will have less ‘bling’—— they are keeping 14 F class seats though, which i think are a few too many if they want to make it fairly exclusive.
Yes and no. While it certainly doesn‘t feel very exclusive, evidently they don‘t have any problems filling 14 seats of premium revenue.
I see your point. BA went from !4 down to 8 and[i think] immediately improved the look of their cabins—— and at some point fairly soon will be introducing a new A380 F class cabin.
I‘m quite curious about BA‘s new First Class because what they have now has fallen way, way behind what the European competition is offering.