(updated October 2026)

Emirates has long had the reputation of being the crème de la crème when it comes to providing a luxury passenger experience in their top product. I must admit, I never found another airline that provides a similar experience.

As I write this, I am in a First Class Suite on Emirates flight EK 333 from Manila to Dubai. We will arrive in Dubai in 2 hours and I am sorry the flight will be over soon.

Although I have flown on their double-decker A380 which has a standalone bar and a shower for first class passengers, I actually prefer First Class in their 777s.

When I boarded the plane, I was escorted by an attendant to my seat. The size of my compartment is about the same as first class compartments with most major airlines, but the wall and stone table and the sliding door make it seem larger and more luxurious. There is a large, permanently-mounted screen instead of screen that needs to be swung out.

There is a closed compartment next to the seat. Push the button to open it and it reveals bottles of sparkling and still water, a glass, and a couple jars of snacks.

The safety video says there is a compartment for storing my carry-on luggage under the shelving in front. That’s true on their limited number of planes with Game Changer Suites, but I have never seen it on their other planes.

The first time I flew with them, I asked where I should put my bags. I was told to just put them on the floor in front. That is unusual, but I found it quite convenient for getting access to my items during the flight.

They gave me a kit with toiletries and asked if I would like a pair of pajamas. Along with the pajamas, the attendant gave me a bag that I could use to carry all the items they gave to me. Emirates is the only airline that I know that gives a bag with their amenities. It seems like a little thing, but that is something I really appreciate. (I once broke a tablet on a flight on another airline because I tried to stuff too many free giveaways into my carry-on. That never happens with Emirates.)

They seem to change the contents of the toiletry kit early this year. They always have Bulgari cologne; sometimes I think the cologne is special, sometimes less so. One of the attendants told me they also change the contents of the woman’s toiletry kit each year as well.

Shortly before take-off, two attendants offered me coffee service. They had a box with 3 types of dates. They offered me a date and fragrant Arabic coffee.

In my opinion, there are three things that set Emirates First Class menu apart from that of other airlines:

• Dom Pérignon champagne
• Caviar
• The Arabic Mezze .

Dom Pérignon Champagne

One of the flight attendants asked me what I would like to drink. When I said, “champagne”, she immediately broke out the Dom Pérignon. I read someplace that they are not allowed to open the Dom Pérignon until after take-off. The attendant told me that depends upon the airport of departure and in most cases, they are now allowed to serve it on the ground.

BTW, I learned on this flight that Dom Pérignon makes a rosé. I had it with lunch and it was very good. Unfortunately, they almost never have it.

Even better is Dom Pérignon’s premium champagne, Plentitude. However, it is rare they have it onboard. I am told they normally serve it around Christmas time.

After we were in the air, I ordered caviar. This was maybe the 4th time in my life I ate caviar. In the past, I didn’t like it at all, but I have been told Emirates only serves the best. I wanted to see if it was really as good as I have heard.

They asked what I would like to drink with it. I said vodka, but only if it was ice-cold. The attendant immediately put a bottle of vodka in the freezer.

It took them 20 or 25 minutes to prepare the caviar and the condiments.

The caviar was very good. However, personally I do not think that the eggs, onions, and chives they serve with it added to my enjoyment. I now ask for it with just the sour cream and lemon and blinis.

The attendant who served me told me that he added to my record that I want my vodka with caviar to be ice-cold. He said that in the future, they will put a bottle of vodka in the freezer when I board. Now that’s service!

I had an Arabic mezze for the appetizer. Look at its size! It was much too much for an appetizer. The was the second time I had it, and just like last time, I wasn’t able to finish it.

I have learned to wait an hour or more after eating the mezze to have my main course.

Lunch and dinner consist of three courses: appetizer, main course, and dessert.

Besides the mezze, they offer soup, salad, or some other option such as salmon for the appetizer.

For the main course, they have 5 options. Typically, they would offer a beef dish, another meat or chicken dish, fish, shellfish, and a vegetarian option. Often, one of the options is a biryani, an Indian dish with basamati rice.

To finish the meal, they have a couple types of pastry, fresh fruit, or a cheese plate. I have never seen them serve ice cream.

My most recent meal was lobster biryani. I did not like the lobster very much. It certainly wasn’t a Maine lobster.

Besides the Dom Pérignon, they have wide selection of wine. Most of the wine is French, although they do have a 40-year old tawny port from Portugal. They have recently added a delicious South African dessert wine call Vin de Constance.

Their spirits menu includes Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 years old, Johnny Walker Blue, 2 single malt Scotch whiskeys, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Hennessy Paradis, Tesseron Cognac XO, Grey Goose Vodka, and numerous apertifs such as Baileys Irish cream. Two spirits they don’t have that I would like to see are Kahlua (they do have Tia Maria) and Drambuie.

When I first flew with Emirates, I had to be a Skyward member to have unlimited internet access. They have changed the system so that all First Class, Business Class, Platinum members have full access.

Recently, they have installed Starlink for internet access on their flights between Dubai and Boston. It is excellent! Unfortunately, they do not have it on their flights between Dubai and Manila. I understand they intend to add it eventually. The older service is all right, but not in the same class as Starlink.

On the Boston side of my trip, Emirates sends a chauffeur at no charge to pick me up at Logan airport to take me to New Hampshire (the chauffeur will take passengers up to 50 miles). When I depart from Boston, Emirates sends a chauffeur to pick me up in New Hampshire and take me to Logan airport.

Unfortunately, they do not offer a similar service in Manila.

My biggest complaint with Emirates is their frequent flyer program. With one exception, miles expire after 3 years even if you fly regularly with Emirates. The one exception is if you have Platinum status. However, to obtain Platinum status, you must fly enough to get 150,000 tier miles in a year.

I make two or three round trips in First Class each year between Boston and Manila. For that, I will get 95,000 or 142,500 tier miles.

I find many of the declared benefits for the different statuses to be misleading. For example, they say guests with Platinum status will receive 100% bonus Skyward miles. However, when I use their mileage calculator, I see that for a first class flight from Boston to Manila I will receive 23,750 Skyward miles (all of which are tier miles) if I have Blue Status (their lowest level), but I will receive 30,250 Skyward miles (and 23,750 tier miles) if I have Platinum status. How is the additional 7,500 Skyward miles a 100% bonus??

I have run into similar misleading declarations about their program several times.

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Emirates is not a member of any airline alliance. Since I fly with them so much, I lost my OneWorld Emerald status. Still, flying First Class on Emirates to Manila is MUCH more enjoyable than flying Business Class on American, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, or Philippine Airlines. Surprisingly, it is also less expensive.

In the initial version of this post, I said I was not a fan of Emirates lounges. Things have changed since then.

The lounge I found to be particularly disappointing was the Marhaba lounge in Manila. They have since closed it. Passengers now use the First Meridian lounge that is shared by several airlines and run by the corporation that makes San Miguel beer. It is attractive, but I find the selection of food and drink better in the lounges run by Emirates.

I regularly use the lounges in Boston and Dubai. I also used used the lounge at Heathrow a few months ago. All three are excellent.

Surprisingly, the selection of spirits is better at the Boston lounge than at the Dubai lounge.

The First Class lounge in Dubai is very large and they probably have 10 chefs that work all night. They prepare various dishes and pastries and meals to order. I recently had a steak dinner there that was cooked to perfection.

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They have a room where passengers can sleep between flights. Although nothing luxurious, 3 or 4 hours of sleep in it made a huge difference when I had to wait overnight for my next flight.

Since my layovers in Dubai are typically over 6 hours and less that 25 hours, I can request Dubai Connect. Emirates will provide me with a hotel room at no charge, take me to the hotel, and bring me back. They also include a meal at the hotel.

I have never used this feature before, but I will in two weeks. I will update this entry afterwards.

Back to the lounge: normally when I arrive and walk into the restaurant, several members of the staff say “Welcome back” to me. I usually ask for a wine recommendation with dinner. Although they don’t have a fixed wine list, their selections are consistently excellent. The best wine I drink each year is at the Dubai lounge.

One last thing … one of the first times I flew with them I left the lounge in time to get to the boarding gate about 10 minutes before the boarding time shown on the flights board. When I got there, the signs were saying “Final Notice”. I was one of the last people to board the plane. I don’t know why getting there 10 minutes before the declared boarding time was cutting it close.

The airport in Dubai is enormous. It can easily take half an hour to go from the First Class lounge in Terminal B to a gate at the end of Terminal A. Although, they have trams that you can flag down, it still takes a long time to get to the gate. In addition, the lounge and the boarding gates are often on different floors.

I have learned to allow lots of time to get to my gate.