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Published: February 10th 2011
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Last week was a amazing week as we had Tiffany at home for 10 days, but for this, read Mari blog entry (coming very soon)...what a week of happiness! After this, back on the road for me...again...
DISCLAIMER: I wasn't very sure if it's a good idea or not to publish this entry. Before you judge anything, please read the entire entry. Luxe it is, but at a bargain. Sadly, I will have to agree with those who say this is not an eco-friendly entry. Cleaner airplane fuel is the way to go for the future...hopefully we will have a cleaner fuel in a not so distant future.
The A380 has been out for a while. Currently , only 5 airlines are operating them, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Lufthansa and Air France. A lot more airlines are joining the big bird game in 2011. Singapore Airlines and Emirates are the only two operating suites in first class.
Little huge problem, the A380 is a long-haul plane. My dream was to fly with it in great conditions....but up to not so far ago, a return first class on Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Hong Kong were sold at 2000usd....you
are crazy or what...a day flight of 4 hours, return 2000usd minimum...no way!
Than suddenly Emirates started to operate the big bird on the Bangkok-Hong Kong route, a 2h and 1/2 flight. The catch... Emirates have two showers in First...coming back on it further.
I normally never go "only" to HK, but use HK as a stop-over to somewhere else. This time, I had to do a short 24 hours trip only to Hong Kong for some business. It is still high season due to the end of Chinese New Year. No seats available anymore on Air Asia. Cathay was a whopping 900usd in Economy, but as I fly a lot with them, they give me garantee seats at a decent price of 450usd return net....as fuel surcharges are bloody high for the moment...and will remain so for the future...
So now this is the deal, return Bangkok-Hong Kong on Emirates, one way in Business, return in First...680usd. I admit, 680usd is a lot of money, but it is "only" 230usd more than the cheapest fare I could find in Economy!
What you don't get for that price is the "limo" ride to pick you up
at home and bring you to your final destination, it's ok, I took the metro/train.
What do you get for 680usd...
Bangkok-Hong Kong Business class. Lounge is nice, but nothing amazing to speak about. It's a late lunch flight. The 2/3 of the top floor on the A380 is occupied by Business Class, everybody with his own little cocoon...flat bed, soft drink mini-bar, huge screen, I'm impressed. The wine list is nice, Moet for Champagne not that creative...Food is serve on plates, which is pretty rare for business class. The sad thing is that because this plane is so big, you lose the privacy and exclusivity feeling of flying a premium class. The best part must be the bar at the back of the plane. On long-haul, this must be a pretty fun social pace.
I had a dinner in HK, a short night, seeing a friend for breakfast, than so business to do before going back to the airport at 6pm.
Hong Kong-Bangkok, 150 minutes, seat 1K, Emirates. I'm super excited, a true child. I love flying and have had the chance tofly few round-the-world....but A380 is new to me...and First it is.
The
Wow effect...they have 14 seats, calling them suites (out of 517 passengers) and 2 showers for the first class happy few! First thing first, visiting the place and booking my shower once airborne. Fligh attendants here double as tour guide for lucky grown-ups who are super excited. Never saw so many passengers with their camera out on a flight!
The bathroom is pretty big. It does actually look more like a cruise ship small bathroom. You do receive 5 minutes of shower time...meaning 5 minutes of running water. There is an indicator of how much water is left, like a fuel gauge on a car. The pressure is ok, not great, but hey, I'm showering in a plane.You have all the toileteries you would find in any palace to pamper yourself, and yes, I had a glass of Dom Perignon 2000 delivered to my little bathroom time.
This experience is the only one you can have on a commercial aircraft...beside this, you could be t Obama on Air Force One, the French president or maybe an Emir on his own jumbo! But those, I won't be tomorrow....
This is my 14th First class flight, I had the
chance to experience Luthansa long-haul (average), Thai (average food, great caviar), Cathay long haul and short haul. Cathay has been my favorite for years. Singapore Airlines short-haul...amazing wine list, as well as Dragonair (below average). Most of those have been done either on miles, upgrade or really amazing discount...I hate blowing money for so few hours.
So how does Emirates rate? Short flight, so no caviar...I love caviar, but this is normal for a short flight. Food...business is as good as First. The best kitchen in the air for me is still Air New Zealand business class. Wine list....Dom P (not very original but always nice), Sauvignon blanc from NZ...nice, plus some nice Margaux, very nice Sauternes...the best is the Hennessy Paradis. I love this Cognac, but way out of my reach due to the price...having two glasses of Hennessy Paradis is worth half of my flight price...imagine! So yes, I would not have drive a car after this short flight....but wow, it was nice!
The suite....what's that for a marketing tools...it's actually pretty small, Cathay new first class seat are way bigger. My door was not even working properly, and this is suppose to be a million
dollar seat. Ok, it's way better than economy, but not much impressive than business. And speak about privacy, I'm only 1m75, but I can see easily in each cubicle...this is clearly not the place for a couple cuddle...
A380, big bird, and it's true, the plane offer a quieter experience than most of the other commercial flights.
This was a trip. a huge experience. I don't run after the last phone, don't even have a blackberry or Iphone, don't own a car....but when it comes to have some fun while travelling, if a great deal is there, I'm the first to want to enjoy the experience....next time it will hopefully be with Mari.
Official policy of Emirates....the shower is for one at a time....ok, but if Mari managed to enter the bathroom without the flight attendant really seeing her going in....will you ask here to leave...answer...no!
Next trip is....tomorrow...and we are going backpacking...no flights...well....kind of backpacking...
Some dream their life, I live my dreams....life is good...
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anonymous
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Pure luxury
Even at that discount (and quite hefty too), I still can't afford it! Thanks for taking pictures. Now, I know how it looks up there. ;-)