Emirates Airlines Economy Class Review

If you are an avid international traveler, you are probably familiar or at least have heard about Emirates Airlines. Known for it’s in-flight luxury and award winning service, the airlines flies to hundreds of location around the globe. Keep on reading my post for an in depth review of Emirates Airlines economy class.

Growing up in Dubai, Emirates Airlines was my family’s number one choice for our annual vacations. Are you thinking of flying with Emirates Airlines because you want to experience the luxury too? You’re not alone- an in-flight shower sounds too good to be true. This review will focus more on my flights from Washington, D.C. to Dubai and vice versa.

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ABOUT EMIRATES AIRLINES

My flying experience started with Emirates from a young age. Growing up in Dubai, this was the only airlines I flew with for the 10-12 years of my life. Don’t ask me why, I was too young for an opinion, just followed wherever I was taken. The airlines has definitely evolved over the years. The whole concept of an in-flight shower and full service bar in the air was non-existent years ago.

Emirates Airlines is an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 1985. Over the years, it has won several awards for it’s outstanding customer service and is the fourth largest airline.

My review is focused on the economy class, well because I have yet to experience any of the other classes. Since I have flown with Emirates numerous times over the last few decades, I truly believe I can give you a thorough and honest review and comparison of the quality, whether it has been consistent or dropped.

Emirates flies to more than 155 destinations in more than 80 countries around the world. I have flown from Washington, D.C. to Dubai, Delhi, London, etc.

If you know only thing about the airlines, it probably is the full service bar & shower in the planes. Bad news, this is only for first and business class users, economy class gets lots of tissues and free water. Sorry to break the bad news to you!

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BAGGAGE POLICY

Emirates has a pretty generous baggage policy, however, it is not the same for every route. I know there were recent changes to the policy from the U.S. and Africa. Click here to read the complete details.

I have learned to pack light for most of my trips unless I am headed on a longer trip. I do tend to travel mostly with a carry on. This carry on luggage has been with me to several destinations and fits the standard carry on dimensions for many international flights. Click here.

Are you a light packer or do you need usually need 2 large suitcases for a 3 day weekend?

IN FLIGHT MEALS

As I get further into this post, I am going to review more of my experience on my flight from Washington, D.C. to Dubai and back, A380. As far as the quality of food is concerned, I feel it has definitely gotten better over the years, the meals seemed to be gourmet dishes prepared by chefs. Can you recall the last time you had a good meal on a flight?

A trifold menu is handed to each passenger shortly after the plane takes flight. Here is how the menu read:

Beverages

• Cold drinks- Selection of juices and soft drinks
• Hot drinks- Coffee and tea
• From the bar- Range of red and white wine, beer, spirits and liquors

Lunch

• Appetizer- Conchiglie salad with peas and feta
• Main course- Chicken and herb ragour, served with steamed vegetables and potatoes with chives OR palak paneer, curried spinach and cottage cheese, served with coriander rice and dal bukhara
• Dessert- Fruit of the forest crumble, berries with custard mousse

Light Bites

• Snacks- Emirates pizza, vegetarian pizza topped with tomatoes, melted cheese and oregano
• Fruit and snack bars- Available between meal services

Breakfast

• Appetizer- Fresh seasonal fruit
• Main course- Scrambled eggs with chives, served with has browns, baked beans and sauteed mushrooms OR medu vada, lentil fritters served with upma and vegetable sambar
• Bread- Danish pastry

Where have you seen such a menu before? Definitely not on a flight.

As stated before, my flight from IAD to DXB was 14+ hours long (been on several of these), it was a fully booked flight. Having said that, about 3 hours 45 mins before landing, I asked for some snacks but to my disappointment I was told that they ran out of them! I truly wish they were better prepared for this flight. Just for comparison purposes, during my previous flights from DXB to London, the staff would walk up and down the aisles with a basket full of fruits and snacks (full flights too).

Overall, the menu selection was good and has improved, however, the food quality is not consistent to different routes. I can’t vouch for the flights from other continents, but would love to hear if have any experience.

INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

This was my favorite part of my flight. Emirates Airlines inflight entertainment is the best from what I have experienced so far! The A380 had over 3500 channels including news, Discover Dubai, Dubai airport info and more! There also was a selection of hundreds of shows and movies in many languages. Do you typically fall asleep on long flights or watch every single movie/show possible? I find it really hard to fall asleep on flights, so the variety of movies definitely help pass my time.

Discover Dubai is full of information if you are planning a visit to Dubai. It includes the history of the city, sample itineraries, hotels, beaches, businesses in DXB, top attractions, shopping, restaurants, amusement parks and much more!

So if one fine day, you wake up on a flight to Dubai, just check the inflight entertainment section, it tells you literally everything you would need to have a blast in the city all without any research beforehand. The About us section talks about the lounges, the plane fleet, etc. If you are looking for more information on the DXB airport, there is a section dedicated to it also. Everything you’d need to know such as the terminal, customs, baggage service, dining & shopping, connections, etc. all at your fingertips. No more getting lost at the airport! You can also learn about all the events happening in DXB. How crazy!

The itinerary section also had options for making the best of your layovers in DXB, whether it was for 24 hours or longer. They did all the work for you, love it! Oh and I forgot to mention, inflight wifi was not free (boo!). I can’t recall the price but it was too high for me so I passed. It was free for first and business classes.

TOILETRIES BAG

For a comfortable long flight, you are provided a cozy blanket, pillow and headphones for entertainment. A toiletries bag is also handed out within the first few minutes of your flights. The pouches are designed exclusively for the airlines and they include comfy socks, eye sleep mask, ear plugs, tooth brush and paste. The pouches can definitely be reused to carry your day to day essentials, save them! If you are feeling spendy, you can also browse through the inflight shopping magazine for some duty free goods such as perfumes, make up, etc.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Now this is a big topic for many and rightfully so. If you are spending your hard earned money, you expect to be treated respectfully. Personally, I don’t expect outstanding service, just respectful treatment. Most of the flights have been good in terms of customer service, few of them have been outstanding, and a couple here and there not so great. IAD to DXB- the crew looked like they didn’t have their sh*t together. Seemed unorganized, running around, slow service where the first meal took an eternity to reach the back of the flight (announcement was made of when to expect the meal). Again, it was a packed flight, I get it, but this is my honest opinion so I bring up the lack of quality service. Other flights, I have had good to excellent service. Overall, customer service is pretty good with a few rare occasions.

CONCLUSION– EMIRATES AIRLINES ECONOMY CLASS REVIEW

Emirates airlines has been my go-to airlines for decades now and most likely will continue to be so. When picking an international flight, price, reputation and timing is what influences my decision before I book it. Emirates tickets are certainly not the cheapest, and surely not the most expensive. To give you an example, IAD to DEL with a layover in DXB was $1095 on Thanksgiving Day, cheaper options were available ranging from $850- $1000 for airlines such as Turkish and Qatar airways. However, both of them had long layovers and inconvenient timings.

The award winning airlines has made a lot of changes and have remained innovative to stay at the top of the industry. Now the big question, is Emirates Airlines still the best? In my honest opinion, the answer is no. Are they one of the best? Absolutely yes! The inconsistency in customer service and food quality are my biggest issues, however, the overall flying experience is phenomenal.

The seats even in the economy class are very comfortable, I can only drool over the first class suites. The planes are well maintained, showing minimal wear and tear on the inside and are clean! Bathrooms are maintained throughout the long flight and well stocked with supplies.

In flight entertainment is arguably better than your tv at home! Overall, if you are debating whether to book your flight with Emirates Airlines or not, I’d say go for it! If you are used to the low priced flights in the U.S. or Europe, Emirates will make you hate flying in those ever again. If you are a Lufthansa, Delta, British Airways type of flyer, I still think Emirates is a lot better than most of those airlines. I hope you find my post on Emirates airlines economy class review helpful.

So have I helped you make your decision yet? Are you ready to book that flight?

P.S. I highly recommend extending your layover in Dubai, it is an amazing city!

SAVE ME- Emirates Airlines Economy Class Review