Flying Emirates A380 Business Class London to Dubai.

It had been six years since I’d last flown on Emirates business class, as my most recent flights have been with Singapore Airlines and various other airlines, and Emirates First Class when I used up the last of my Emirates airmiles. I’d had a really poor experience when I last flew their business class back in 2016, so wasn’t keen to repeat it.

However, when I was offered a very cheap last-minute upgrade on my recent Dubai to London red-eye flight, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out in 2023 and see if the service had improved at all.

With a last-minute upgrade you don’t get a few of the key benefits of business class: there’s no extra baggage allowance, no lounge access, and no chauffeured taxi at the other end of the journey. But, you of course do get a lay-flat bed and all the perks on board.

So, ready to find out how my Emirates business class flight was? Let’s go!

London Gatwick Boarding Experience

The flight was EK010 from London Gatwick to Dubai, and boarding the flight was slightly chaotic – the staff never actually called for those in First and Business to board the plane, they first called families with children under the age of two, and then immediately started boarding economy.

It was a bit awkward as we all sat there in the separate First & Business boarding area looking at each other, unsure whether to start boarding or not. Finally we all just started boarding without the staff calling us forward, but because we had all boarded so late it meant we weren’t really able to enjoy our glass of champagne on the plane before take-off (it was whisked away about 10mins after we were given our glasses).

I’m fully aware this is a very ‘first world problem’, but given this is what you pay extra for, it was disappointing to not get the full service and experience.

Weirdly, the business class cabin was at the very back of the plane on the A380, so we all trudged through economy to the small business cabin at the back.

Emirates A380 Business Class In-flight Experience

Settled in my window seat (7B), we didn’t have very long before it was time to take off. Quickly downing the glass of champagne as they had to take it away, we then sat on the run-way for a bit and eventually took off around 22:15.

The plane was half-empty, which is likely why I got such a good deal on my upgrade, and as a result the flight was nice and quiet.

Business class features

The seat had the usual business class features: plug sockets, USB points, the little personal mini bar with soft drinks, tablet for controlling the entertainment system, and a good amount of storage. We were also given the standard Emirates Bvlgari Amenity Kit.

Emirates have been providing Bvlgari kits for as long as I’ve flown with them (since 2009/2010), and it’s never really changed much over the years.

The Lay-flat bed

The only downside to the red-eye flight from London to Dubai, is that it’s slightly too short for a solid sleep. We had about an hour from take-off to when they started serving dinner, and then it took them about 2-hours to complete dinner service. So by the time dinner had finished and we could go to sleep, we only had about 4 hours of the flight left.

I set-up the lay-flat bed myself using the buttons and mattress, and managed to get about 3-hours sleep before waking up an hour before landing. One thing I will say, is that the pillows and blanket they provide in business class are *perfection*. I love them so much – they’re so soft and cosy!

Feeling a little peckish, I wandered down to the bar area at the back…but I’ll tell you more about that below!

Food & Drink Experience

I’ve always been a big fan of the food on Emirates, but I was really disappointed this time around – to the point I only had two out of the three courses at dinner. The menu looked really good, but perhaps I just chose the wrong dishes…

Dinner onboard

I started with the Arabic Mezze, which frankly was nowhere near as good as Etihad’s Arabic Mezze.

Then I chose the ‘Bzar chicken’, which was Chicken in a traditional Arabic spice marinade, served on aromatic rice. It was not good. I love Arabic food but this tasted like a crap economy meal and 100% was not the standard you would expect in business class.

Disappointed, I declined dessert and instead chose to sleep. However, waking up an hour before landing, I went to explore the bar at the very back of the cabin (and plane)…

Emirates Business Class bar

I loved the bar! I sipped on a ginger beer and nibbled on a few little cakes and baklava. They also had a few sandwiches and other food bits on offer, but I was happy with the tasty little cakes.

The design of the bar was so much more subtle and more sophisticated than the tacky orange-brown wood in the cabin itself – I just can’t understand why the cabin isn’t designed in the same style as the bar area (although I think their new first class is).

It was just really nice being able to walk around and sit on a different chair that wasn’t your plane seat!

I had a lovely chat with the friendly stewardess behind the bar as I ate my sweet treats and then walked back to my seat to finish watching a documentary before landing.

Emirates Onboard Service

To be fair, the service onboard was much better than I’ve experienced previously on Emirates – usually they’re incredibly unfriendly no matter how nice I am to them.

The service at check-in was still absolutely dire (why does every Emirates check-in staff always look at me and talk to me like I’m a piece of dirt, no matter which class I’m flying in!?), but the onboard staff I encountered were very friendly and accommodating.

Was it Worth it?

I’d been having muscular issues the week before the flight, with a nasty compressed nerve in my elbow that was causing me a huge amount of pain, as well as ongoing back pain from when I fell down the stairs in January and damaged my lower back. So for me it was worth it just for the extra comfort and having the lay-flat seat so I could keep my arm propped up and straight.

However, if I hadn’t been experiencing those issues, I don’t think it would have been worth it.

The flight is so short (well to me, anyway – I’m used to 24+ hour long haul flights) that by the time you’re in the air, have eaten dinner and had a nap, it’s time to land again.

I’d say business class is definitely worth it on long-haul flights that are 9+ hours long. But less than that and there’s just no point unless you desperately need the extra baggage allowance (which you don’t even get if you upgrade from economy or premium). I’m also still not a huge fan of Emirates’ tacky wood effect design, and much preferred Etihad A350’s sleek new business class product that I flew in 2022, and Singapore Airlines business class.

Still, it’s always nice to experience it at a drastically reduced price (or free, if you have the miles available!)