Getting to the Airport

A day before departure, I receive an email and a WhatsApp message from the chauffeur service, confirming my pickup from the SO/ Bangkok at 17h25. My flight to Dubai does not depart until 21h25, but even in good traffic, it will take at least 45 minutes to reach Suvarnabhumi Airport. And good is generally not an attribute you would use in describing the traffic in Thailand’s capital of 12 million inhabitants. Much to my surprise, a silver Mercedes pulls up in front of the hotel on time at exactly 17h20, and the bellman informs me that my driver from Emirates Airlines has arrived. And much to my even greater surprise, we manage the journey to Suvarnabhumi airport in only forty minutes – despite the traffic.

Check-In

My driver pulls up at door 9, which is the closest entrance to row T, where Emirates checks in.

Emirates has separate queuing lanes for each one of its four cabin class. There are two counters open for First Class passengers, and both are empty when I arrive. The friendly young lady behind the counter checks me in straight away, and then gives me detailed instructions to fast track security and immigration. Although it’s also written on the boarding pass, she informs me that the Emirates lounge is now in the satellite terminal, and explains how to get there.

On my boarding pass it says that the lounge is in SAT1, from which I’m jumping to conclusions and assuming that there are plans to eventually build a further satellite which would then be SAT2.

Emirates Premium Lounge Bangkok

The Emirates lounge is located on the fourth floor, one floor up from the gate area. As in the old lounge here in Bangkok, there is no segregation of Business and First Class passengers. In comparison to the previous lounge, though, the new one is substantially larger. They’ve also updated the design and style, so it doesn’t look quite so old fashioned and stuffy anymore.

There is a large dining area with an extensive buffet of hot and cold dishes. It’s difficult to take photos that can do justice to the variety of dishes available. The service in the lounge is excellent. Of course, there is plenty of staff on duty. But even so, they’re attentive and constantly make sure the lounge looks tidy and clean, removing used dishes almost the instant you place them back on the table. It’s quite impressive, actually!

There are three showers available in the washrooms, and they’re a vast improvement over the showers in the old lounge, which had started to look a bit grimy when I visited the lounge a year ago, in 2024.

Boarding

My boarding pass says that boarding won’t start until 21h15 for our 21h35 departure. But by 20h40 I’m starting to get restless. I also figure that general boarding for the big bird has likely already started. So, I leave the lounge and head to the gate one floor down.

There are two queues for boarding – one for Economy Class passengers, and one for First and Business Class passengers and frequent flyers.

The Cabin & Seat

Everything about the Emirates Airlines First Class cabin and seat is flashy and ostentatious. But as ever, taste is a matter of personal preference and cultural norms – and understated is not really the Middle Eastern preference. In the lobby of the First Class cabin, just as you come up the stairs from the main deck, is where the two First Class washrooms are located. This is also where they set up the First Class inflight snack bar. It features a water cascade on the wall behind the orchid in the picture below.

The seat itself I find ugly and unattractive. Granted, way back when it was introduced, this was the first seat on the market with privacy screens that could be closed completely. But it’s a bit past it now.

There are no overhead bins, which means that any bags must be stored under the seat. Even with just my small suitcase and my backpack, it’s a bit of a tight fit, especially when the seat is extended into the lounging and sleeping position. The seat is also quite short. I’m 184 cm tall, and in the sleeping position my feet stick out over the end of the bed, so that in fact they end up resting on my suitcase, which is not at all comfortable.

Amenities

In terms of complimentary amenities, I think the Emirates First Class product is more than a bit over the top. In the side of the seat there is a minibar with still and sparkling water, a glass and some snacks. The minibar is lowered into the side panel during take-off and landing.

There are separate vanity kits for men and women. They are Bulgari branded and, unlike many other airlines, the content of the kits is useful. It contains:

• a toothbrush and toothpaste
• AXE deodorant
• Gillette shaving foam and shaver
• tissues
• a packaged refreshing towel
• a brush
• earplugs

In addition, there are cosmetics by Bulgari, including a flacon of Bulgari Kobra men’s perfume, which is overpowering, not very nice and rather cheap smelling. A cheap, low quality perfume is easily recognizable by the fact that they use synthetic scents that linger on the skin longer than natural scents, which disperse.

There are more cosmetics in the vanity which is laid into the seat’s desk.

There’s also a snack bowl with a variety of sweet and savoury items, which are replenished on demand. The basket features things like Lindt dark chocolate, licorice, mixed nuts, vegetable crisps, and smints breath freshener.

In the drawer there’s also a notebook and a pen, both of which have obviously been designed to look like a traditional Moleskin notebook and Blancpain pen. I’m not sure I would have done this in Emirates’ position, as just the look and feel quickly make it obvious that neither is the real thing. I think I would have gone for something that is a little less obviously a cheap copy of an original.

And then there’s also the goody bag. Emirates provides pajamas, slippers and eyeshades in a tote bag, which I think is a brilliant idea because both their pajamas and their slippers are rather nice.

The Service & Crew

The crew on this flight really shine. All of them are very polite and polished in their interactions with passengers. Upon entering the aircraft, the cabin attendant welcoming passengers aboard calls for one of her colleagues to show me to my seat on 1A. He’s quite formal in his manners. He leaves me to settle in and store my bags. Before he goes, he asks me what I’d like to drink. A short while later, he returns with the sparkling water I requested. He tells me that the drinks in the minibar are not chilled, so I should just let him know if I need some ice. Interestingly, he comments that, “I see you’ve travelled with us in First Class before”, and inquires if I need him to explain the seat’s functions. Apparently, Emirates keeps a close watch on who its passengers are and what their travel habits are.

Once boarding is completed, the crew pass through the cabin with filled dates and cardamom scented coffee for a traditional Arab welcome. This is followed by a very, very hot hot towel. The flight time to Dubai is five hours and forty minutes.

The Meal

Just before we push back, the crew also hand out the food and drinks menu, which is in a slightly odd format, as it looks and feels more like a glossy magazine than a menu. There are quite a few goodies to choose from. Even so, I don’t eat on this flight. Once we’re airborne, I change into my pajamas, close the doors and read. About an hour out of Dubai I change back into my clothes and ask for a coffee with milk, which is served with two cantucci biscuits.

Arrival in Dubai

Eventually, we start our descent into Dubai. It’s a quiet, smooth approach, and for a change we don’t even have to hold before we land. As the crew pass through the cabin to make their final check before landing, they hand out small boxes of local Emirati sweets as a farewell gift. They’re not very good and are generally just sweet.

After landing, we taxi to our stand on the B concourse, which is good because it means that I won’t have to catch a shuttle to arrivals, which is located in the basement of the B concourse.

Getting into Town

Behind customs there are signs pointing First and Business Class passengers to reception for the chauffeur service. The process is swift. I show the agent behind the counter my boarding pass, and he promptly hands me a receipt and directs me to exit number four, where an enormous BMW is already waiting to take me to the Sofitel Downtown Dubai.

Conclusion

This was a pleasant enough journey in Emirates First Class from Bangkok to Dubai. I think what impressed me most is the seamless service – from the pick up at the SO/ Bangkok to the arrival at the Sofitel Downtown Dubai. Other than that, though, and as previously mentioned, I don’t really like the seat. I also thought that the onboard experience, while okay, was a bit lacklustre and felt more like a trip in Business Class with a slighly bigger seat.