Emirates A380 Business Class From London Heathrow To Dubai

A few days ago, I flew back home from London to Dubai for the summer with Emirates. Considering the airline operates up to seven flights daily, there were plenty of options for me to choose from.

Having reviewed their Boeing 777-300ERs with the new cabins during my last trip, this time, I chose to review their Airbus A380 business class, which featured new cabin designs.

For Comparison

Flight Review: Emirates Boeing 777-300ER Business Class London Heathrow To Dubai

While the carrier operates 6 Airbus A380s daily on this route, it also deploys a seventh service operated by the Boeing 777-300ER.

My flight number was EK4 from London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) and was operated by one of the carrier’s 5-year-old Airbus A380-800s. While the airline operates over 100 examples of the aircraft type, this aircraft is among the few that features updated cabins and Emirates’ popular premium economy cabin.

At LHR

With a scheduled departure of 20:40, I got to Heathrow’s Terminal 3 exactly three hours before the flight and proceeded to entrance F of the terminal, which is the designated area for Emirates Check-Ins.

Once inside, I proceeded to the counters allocated for Business class passengers, which were not too crowded despite there being three Emirates A380s scheduled to depart within a period of three hours. The check-in and luggage drop-off was quite smooth, and in less than five minutes my bags were tagged, and my boarding pass was at hand.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

From within the check-in area, there is an escalator that takes the passengers straight to the emigration and security. Here, business and first-class passengers can utilize a separate section that has advanced security scanners that do not require passengers to remove their electronics from their handbags and passengers need only stand on a scanning platform instead of being manually frisked by a security agent.

The whole process of checking into the flight and reaching the airside took less than 15 minutes, after which, of course, I was subject to Terminal 3’s evening crowd with passengers flocking about the terminal.

At the gate & Boarding

Since I was flying on one of the A380 services, the gates were relatively close to the main concourse, unlike the gate used by Emirates’ 777 service which is usually located a bit further away. Another advantage of flying the A380 is that the Emirates Lounge for business and first-class passengers is located less than 30 seconds away from the A380 gates that the airline uses.

Since I got to the gate early, there was not much rush, and once inside the gate, I had a spectacular view of the apron, and right in front of me were two Emirates A380s, side by side. As one vacated, another Emirates A380 took its place.

Boarding began slightly delayed but it was done efficiently. First, Business and Skywards Platinum, Gold, and Silver passengers were requested to board first, followed by Premium Economy and Economy passengers as per their seating zone. This being an A380 gate, there was a direct jet bridge access to the upper deck of the aircraft which allowed me to leave the terminal and the crowd at the gate behind quite quickly as I walked toward the aircraft.

At the aircraft, two smiling crew members greeted me and showed me which way to head to get my seat, 25F.

The seat

With the Emirates A380 business class cabin featuring 76 seats in a 1-2-1 staggered configuration, the ideal seat for a solo traveler such as myself would be the window seat (A or K) in the odd-numbered rows. Since none were left, I decided to go for a seat that offered privacy from the isle and chose one of the middle seats that had a seat console separating me from the isle on one side and a large seat partition separating me from my neighbor.

While there are some obvious visual changes, such as the faux-wood finishing around the IFE and the consoles, the seat features remain pretty much the same, with each seat getting individual AC nozzles, overhead lights, universal and USB-based power outlets, personal seat side minibar, a comfortable blanket and pillow.

HOWEVER! the biggest difference is the seat itself and how it is much more comfortable than the seats in their older cabin. Check out the comparison:

With extremely soft leather upholstery and additional headrest padding, the seat comfort is elevated to a whole new level. With the new interiors, the cabin also looks sleeker and more luxurious.

The seat turns into a fully flat bed, and it is very comfortable and spacious to sleep on. The seat can be controlled by the seat side buttons, or it can be adjusted in a more personalized way using the seat controls on the main screen, the console tablet, or the seat side remote. The separation between the seats can also be controlled by the seat side buttons or the IFE, with features to even lock the privacy partition in place.

Passengers are served scented hot towels before departure and before landing.

Inflight entertainment

Having consistently won awards for well over a decade, Emirates’ ICE system is the best in the skies, with thousands of channels of movies, TV shows, music, and games, ICE has something for everyone. With content available in multiple languages and content from various parts of the world, everyone can have an enjoyable time onboard regardless of their destination or how long the flight duration is.

Within ICE, passengers can also access award-winning content from streaming services such as Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+, BBC, Shahid and more.

Passengers can also access the information section to access the airshow features, which include access to three high-definition external cameras of the aircraft – Downward facing, Forward facing, and Tail cameras. Additionally, passengers can access the 3D voyager map which provides detailed data of the flight with interactive maps and animated views from the cockpit and more.

Passengers flying into Dubai can also access data from DXB’s flight boards to keep track of arrivals and departures, which is a particularly useful feature for connecting passengers.

There were also some interesting new features I noticed within the communication section of ICE which is pretty useful for passengers. While features such as inflight WiFi, seat-to-seat calling, and streaming content from your personal device to your screen have existed for a long while now, there were new features such as an audio mixer to control the quality of sounds you could listen to.

Another feature was the option to set a timer alarm so that passengers could wake up as per their preference and, lastly, there is now an option (Next Seat Share) to share your screen with the seat next to you so that passengers traveling with a companion or group can enjoy content together at the same time.

Additionally, the IFE system has a very user-friendly interface and can either be controlled by the main touch screen in front of you, or you have the option to use the detachable touch screen tablet on your seat side console or the touch screen remote also located by your side. While this might seem over the top, in reality, it is quite cool. You can watch a movie on your main screen, have the external camera or the airshow open on your tablet, and you can browse what movie or TV show you wish to watch next on your remote.

Emirates Skywards members, of course, have access to complimentary Wi-Fi packages depending on their Skywards status and their class of travel.

Wi-Fi services are active soon after reaching cruising altitude and is easy to connect to. The network remained connected and stable throughout the flight and was fast enough to use apps such as Google Chrome, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.

Amenity kits

For over a decade, Emirates has partnered with the European luxury brand – BVLGARI, for its business and first-class amenity kits which feature an evolving range of scents and products made exclusively for Emirates passengers.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

The contents vary slightly between the mens’ and womens’ kits.Mens’ Kit:

Womens’ Kit:

Passengers can use other amenities within the aircraft lavatory, which include dental kits, face towels, BVLGARI or VOYA perfumes, hand cremes, and sanitary products. Furthermore, all passengers receive a pouch with extremely comfortable eye masks and footwear to use in flight when seated or moving about the cabin.

Meal service

As soon as I settled into my seat, a crew member came by with a selection of boarding drinks which included fresh orange or apple juice or a glass of Champagne (on my flight it was Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label NV which is served exclusively onboard Emirates flights). I settled for a glass of delicious orange juice.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

Shortly after this, the crew members distributed the food menu and wine list to passengers and began noting down passengers’ meal choices if they had not pre-ordered their meals online already.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

When it comes to flight catering, Emirates provides a wide variety of options to choose from and ensures that even passengers with dietary restrictions can have a hearty meal in the flight. From vegan to gluten-free to Jain meals, passengers can select a meal that suits them online ahead of the flight.

The crew also took down the passengers’ after-take-off drink orders and asked if they would like to be woken up for the breakfast service before landing. For my post-take-off drink, I went for my go-to – Virgin Mojito with assorted nuts.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

As for the dinner service, I had the Traditional Arabic Mezze for the appetizer, the Duck Confit Sandwich as the main course, and the Chocolate Mocha Marquise cake for the dessert.

For breakfast, the two options were either a Seasonal Fruit Platter or a Cold Plate. While I chose to forego my breakfast and sleep a little extra during this overnight flight, from my previous flights on this route, the Cold Plate looks as follows:

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

The food, as always, was delicious, and the portions of each course were perfect. It was not too much that I struggled to finish the meals, but it was not too little either that I felt unsatisfied.

The onboard lounge

If, by chance, you are hungry or would like some snacks to enjoy the movie you are watching, you can just stroll back to Emirates’ world-famous A380 lounge. In the lounge, there are a few noticeable changes as well.

Compared to the previous lounge layout, the newer aircraft have leather padded, comfortable seats and tables on both sides of the lounge, bringing a more communal feeling to the area and making it easier for passengers to socialize with other passengers. It is an area where passengers can unwind, and take a break from their own seats, and indulge in a selection of snacks and drinks, making it so easy to forget that you are actually on an airplane.

However, if you don’t feel like socializing, you can always grab the drinks or snacks and return to your seat or even ask the crew members to bring you the snacks from the lounge which are mentioned in your menus.

Crew and service

The crew service throughout the flight was impeccable as ever. From the time of boarding, till it was time to deplane, the crew members were incredible and were ready to serve passengers at all times. The crew members of my flight came from 16 different countries and spoke 11 different languages.

At various points during the flight, I clicked the crew call button and a member of the cabin crew always showed up within seconds. The crew members were super friendly and approachable, which made it easy to communicate with them, making the flight experience all the more seamless. This level of service and attention to detail is what makes the Emirates Business Class experience all the more enjoyable.

Keeping up with my traditions, of course, I had to get some Polaroid pictures taken!

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

Arrival and disembarking

Despite a delayed departure of over 40 minutes, the flight landed 5 minutes ahead of schedule, with a flight time of just over six hours. Disembarking the aircraft was a quick and efficient process as passengers were able to deplane straight from the upper deck onto the terminal. The crew, as always, with their winning smiles, bid the passengers farewell.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

The view from the jet bridge showed that three jet bridges were being used. One on the upper deck for the 90 passengers in first and business class, one at the very front of the main deck for premium economy passengers, and the second bridge connecting to the second door of the main deck for economy passengers.

On the jet bridge, there were Emirates and Marhaba ground staff to facilitate passengers requiring mobility support or expedite procedures for passengers who need to be transferred to their onward connection flights. Upon picking up the bags and leaving customs, business and first-class passengers who have booked Emirates’ complimentary chauffeur services are signposted to a separate section of the arrivals hall.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

Overall thoughts

An exceptional factor about the Emirates experience is that the service is always spectacular and seamless, regardless of the aircraft type or whether you are flying in an old cabin or a new cabin. This level of service and soft product consistency is hard to come by.

As for the hard product, the Emirates A380 business-class is easily one of the best in the world and while the new cabins are not available on all aircraft at the moment, Emirates is in the process of a multi-billion dollar retrofitting program for its aircraft, which means soon, more passengers will have the chance to experience the new cabins.

But the older business class cabin onboard the Emirates A380 is still a solid product and offers exceptionally high levels of comfort which, when combined with the consistent delivery of service from the Emirates crew, makes the flying experience amazing.

For Comparison, the older A380 business calss cabin review!

Flight Review: Emirates A380 Business Class Dubai To Mauritius

For passengers wishing to experience the A380, Emirates flies it to 47 destinations worldwide.

Have you flown the Emirates A380 before? Let us know of your experience in the comments below.