Emirates A380 Business Class Review: Incheon to Dubai
I’m finally getting around to writing about my Dubai trip from this summer.
My Emirates Business Class review
Emirates uses Incheon International Airport Terminal 1
and they also offer a chauffeur service!
Check the details for the chauffeur service here.
Business lounge
Since there’s no dedicated Emirates lounge at Incheon International Airport,
you’ll use the Asiana Business Lounge instead.
The Asiana Business Lounge
has three locations in Incheon International Airport Terminal 1,
and we used the West Lounge since it was closest to our gate.
I should probably do a separate post just on the lounge.
Boarding
Anyway, after spending some time in the lounge,
we headed to Gate 43.
Our flight was scheduled to leave close to midnight,
so I was already feeling a little tired before boarding.
The A380 is a double-decker aircraft,
so boarding is split between the lower and upper decks.
Economy is on the lower deck, while First and Business are upstairs.
I was weirdly excited to head up to the second floor—it was my first time on an A380.
For reference, even when you fly Emirates,
you can still earn Korean Air miles.
At check-in, just ask them to credit the flight
to your Korean Air frequent flyer number.
The front of the upper deck is First Class, and the back is all Business Class.
There are a lot of Business Class seats.
I usually fly Korean Air, so stepping onto a foreign airline felt noticeably different in terms of cabin mood and overall vibe.
Seat
Since we booked our tickets pretty late,
only seats in the back were left.
Window seats aren’t the easiest if two people want to sit together,
so we chose the middle seats.
As soon as we boarded, they handed out hot towels and welcome drinks.
My husband had champagne, and I had juice since I was pregnant.
Even the center seats have a divider you can raise,
so if you’re seated next to a stranger, you can still have some privacy.
Of course, we had to take a quick boarding photo.
We’re 182 cm and 169 cm tall, and this was about how much legroom we had with our legs stretched out.
If you’re shorter, your feet might not even reach.
There’s also a small storage compartment in the ottoman area.
I slipped my shoes in there after taking them off.
Safety card and screen
The screen can also be switched to Korean language mode.
Next to the seat,
there’s also a small tablet you can pull out and use.
And every seat comes with its own personal mini-bar.
It was stocked with Evian, Perrier, and soft drinks,
though it’s not refrigerated—it’s just a room-temperature mini-bar.
You also get seat controls and a reading light.
This was the only kind of power outlet available.
There wasn’t a standard 220V plug.
Restroom
There are several restrooms, so during the 10-hour flight,
I don’t think I ever had to wait that long.
Inside, it didn’t feel dramatically different from an economy restroom,
maybe just a little more spacious.
Amenities
They provide slippers and an eye mask, and honestly, the slippers were not bad at all.
The headset was decent too.
Once you’re seated, the crew walks through the cabin
and hands out the amenity pouches.
They’re by Bulgari, and the men’s and women’s versions are different.
The men’s kit includes shaving foam and a razor,
while the women’s has things like a mirror and a hair tie.
It’s nice to receive, but honestly,
aside from the toothbrush, I don’t use most of it.
After that, they also hand out pajamas.
The loungewear comes in two sizes, S/M and L. My husband accidentally took the L, and it honestly felt like it was made for someone close to 2 meters tall.
I’d say S/M is more than enough for anyone up to about 185 cm.
10-hour flight
Since it was a night flight, they dimmed the lights after takeoff.
Then the ceiling lit up with little stars, which was such a fun touch.
During meal service, I think the cabin was glowing in this reddish light.
I changed into the loungewear too.
I thought about going straight to sleep, but
since I probably won’t be flying Emirates that often, I decided to enjoy it a little more.
I started browsing the movie selection and spotted a familiar title.
It was While You Were Sleeping, a film written by my uncle!
It didn’t stay in theaters long, but it’s actually a fun movie. Choo Ja-hyun and Lee Moo-saeng are in it, so if you fly Emirates, it’s worth a watch.
Onboard bar
Next up: the onboard bar.
At the very back of Business Class, there’s a bar like this.
On the wall of the bar area,
there are illustrations of Dubai landmarks like Burj Al Arab and Palm Jumeirah.
A flight attendant stands in the middle
and pours drinks to order, and if passengers want,
they can even step into the bar area and take photos.
First and Business Class passengers can come by freely
to have a drink and grab some snacks.
There’s whisky, cognac, and even a cocktail menu.
And since this is a Dubai-based airline with many Muslim passengers,
they also offer a surprisingly wide range of mocktails.
Snacks were set out all around the bar,
and you could either eat them there or bring them back to your seat.
There were filling options like sandwiches too,
and it seemed like the selection changed throughout the flight.
My husband got himself a glass of whisky,
and because I was pregnant, I went with a non-alcoholic virgin mojito.
The pour on that whisky was seriously generous.
That said, you don’t have to go to the bar to get a drink.
When the beverage cart comes through, you can order from your seat,
and even outside of service times,
you can just ask a flight attendant anytime.
Take a look at the drinks menu photo.
In Korean Air Prestige Class, they had Rémy Martin XO,
but here they serve Hennessy XO.
If the drinks are complimentary, you might as well go for the good stuff, right?
My husband ended up having about two glasses of Hennessy XO.
Beyond that, they also had wine, vodka, gin, beer, and more.
There’s a great range of alcohol on board, so if you’re flying Business Class,
it’s worth trying a little bit of everything.
This post is getting way too long, so I’ll save the inflight meal, bedding service,
and the rest for part two.