Welcome to my last part of my Emirates A380 (2023) trip report!
Note: This trip report is shorter as most of the essential information of the airline's A380 can be found in my previous trip report (Part 1).
Introduction
Time really flies especially when you are having fun. This flight marks the end of my flying adventure in the summer of 2023, it has been a successful trip and one that I hope to do it again in the near future. Anyway, I will be doing a short summary of this flying adventure soon and if you happen to be considering flying on any of the airlines I just flown with, you can check them out.
Flying with Emirates so far has been pleasant but nothing spectacular happened during my 4 flights including this one. What is attractive about flying with this airline? The cheaper airfare (depending on the season and usually they cost lesser than the national airline of the destination you are flying out of ) and also a comfortable Y Class experience flying the A380.
Anyway, let me finish off my Emirates trip report, the last sector as I made my way home after a fun trip in South America, so without further ado, let's begin this trip report!
(Safari special livery - Photo: Darren Koch)
In-Flight Entertainment
I did my online check-in and this time the flight was full.
About Dubai Airport
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the primary international airport serving the citizens of Dubai and is one of the busiest International Airports in the world. This airport also handles more A380 aircraft than any other airports and the city of Dubai also has a secondary airport (DWC) Al Maktoum International Airport which serves just a handful of airlines and is a hub for Emirates Cargo. Dubai International Airport was opened in 1960 and is managed by Dubai Airports Company. Besides Emirates and Flydubai, Air India Express, Fedex Express and IndiGo are regulars at this airport. With 2 runways, (12L/30R and 12R/30L), both runways have sufficent runway length to be able to cope with the heaviest and biggest aircraft, the A380 and Boeing 747-8F.
For the terminals, Emirates operates operates its own terminal 3 and share the concourses with FlyDubai. Most international operators operate from terminal 1 and for terminal 2, it is used for budget airlines and airlines that operate flies to the subcontinent and Persian Gulf region.
The interior map of the airport (Photo: Airportguide)
Emirates future (2023)
Some of my favourite special liveries of Emirates
(Journey to the Future - Photo: Stefan Sydow)
(Destination Dubai - Photo: Bastian Ding)
(The airline's 50th Anniversary special livery - Photo: N94504)
Transit in DXB Airport
I did a check and I had to blink my eyes! Why? The aircraft that flew me from London, would also be flying me to Singapore! What are the odds of flying the same aircraft when the airline has a fleet of over 100 A380s.
This time my layover time was shorter so I hanged around about an hour in the departure hall before heading to the gate for my connecting flight.
Gate B17 was where my flight was departing.
Hello again, A6-EVO!
My ride: A6-EVO (Photo: Mark. A Harris)
Airbus A380-842 (Owned aircraft)
Delivered to airline on June 2021
Configuration: F14 C76 W56 Y338
Engines: 4 X Roll Royce Trent 972
268th Airbus A380
Age: 3 years old (June 2023)
Built in Toulouse (TLS)
Flight route: DXB-SIN
Miles: 3,633
My seat: 66A (Photo: Aerolopa.com)
Date of departure: 15th June 2023
Airline: Emirates
Flight: EK354
Route: DXB-SIN
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Registration: A6-EVO
Load: 100% in Y Class
Terminal: 3
Gate: B17
Schedule departure: 0305
Boarding: 0223
Push back: 0319
Take off: 0340
Flight duration: 7 hours 10 mins
Actual flight time: 7 hours 18 mins
Schedule arrival: 1500
Actual arrival: 1458
Departure runway: 30R
Arrival runway: 20R
My in-flight experience
From my previous flight, this aircraft took about 2 hours for the airport staff to clean up and prepared for the next flight, not much rest for this whalejet. Boarding took place about 40 minutes before the schedule departure and it took a while to get everyone settled. While at the gate, the time on our watches went past the departure time but eventually, we pushed back and after a long taxi to the runway, we departed about 35 minutes behind schedule.
As this was a red-eye flight, a light snack meal was served first before the lights were turned off to allow some of the passengers to rest. There was turbulence from time to time but nothing bad to mention. The cabin crew on this flight was certainly better than the previous flight, the ones I met in the lower deck were friendly and helpful. There were 2 meals offered on this flight. The snack meal was offered first and about 90 minutes before arrival, breakfast was served. Overall it was a pleasant flight and we landed at Changi Airport 2 minutes ahead of schedule. With that, my summer trip has ended.
The cabin of the A380 (Economy Class)
The 3-4-3 seating configuration on the A380 comparing to the Boeing 777, this is more comfortable due to the larger diameter of the A380.
The view from my seat.
The mood lighting does have the calming effect to me.
This mood lighting means its rise and shine! We were served breakfast shortly.
I didn't use much of the IFE system as I spent most of the flight resting.
The view from my window seat.
Legroom space was adequate.
The bulkhead row
In-Flight meals
I had a choice between this turkish sandwich or the Pizza (I had on my SIN-DXB) flight for the snack meal and a cup of gingle ale for my beverage.
I choose the seafood pasta for breakfast, the other option was egg omelette.
Overall, I find this meal to be alright, nothing spectacular about it . However, I am happy with the amount of food given to each passenger, that is quite a generous serving.
In-Flight Entertainment
At this point, we started our descent into Singapore.
It was good weather at Singapore as our approach and landing was smooth.
Emirates 354, you are cleared to land!
Window shot photos
Getting ready to depart at Dubai Airport
I didn't take much photos from this point onwards as somehow I fell asleep and woke up during the taxi towards our gate at terminal 1.
Thanks for the ride, A6-EVO! She flew me from LHR to DXB and from DXB to SIN!
My flight summary
Welcome to Changi Airport!
The first thing I checked was the location of my luggage and thankfully, it came along with me.
Do I prefer the old or new Y class seats?
The old seats
IFE screen
The new seats
IFE screen
Both seats look similar with the headrest but I don't find either of them comfortable especially for my back after a few hours, I had to place a cushion on my back to make myself more comfortable. However, with the standard 32 inches legroom space for each Economy class seat (except the emergency rows), it was bearable for me. So which seats do I prefer? The old or the new? This is a tough question as I find them very similar in quality. The new seats gets my vote as I prefer the colors on it and find it easier to adjust the headrest.
My ratings
Website/Mobile app: 4/5
Airport Ground Service: 4/5
In-Flight Service: 3/5
In-Flight Entertainment system: 4/5
Seat Comfort: 3/5
Cabin Ambiance: 4/5
Cabin Condition: 3/5
Punctuality: 5/5
In-Flight Meal: 3/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Overall rating: 38/50
Percentage: 76%
Conclusion
I am glad to have tried out both the old and new Economy Class seats. As mentioned before, I am not a fan of these seats, the cushion is a bit hard so after a few hours on it, my back may ache especially sitting still for a while. However, the good legroom space and the great entertainment system makes up for it with the huge number of movies, TV and audio selection to choose from and also the exterior camera to enjoy the view outside especially if you are not seated by the window. In addition, I was also impressed with the in-flight meals as the airline offered generous amount of portion and selection and also the Tandoori Chicken I had on the 3rd flight (LHR-DXB flight) gets my vote for the best meal among the Emirates' flights. As for the cabin service, it really depends on your luck what kind of crew you get and since all 4 flights were served by different nationalites, there is a lack of national identity flying with this airline, same goes with the other middle eastern rivals (Qatar and Etihad) but on the overall, I enjoyed my flights. Comparing the Emirates in 2012 and the current Emirates, there isn't much difference with the in-flight experience. You can tell, the airline is serious about providing the passengers as much comfort and convenience, hoping that they be keen on visiting Dubai or at least transit through the primary airport, DXB.
If you haven't flown on Emirates A380, you should do so and if the price is right, do check out the Premium Economy Class, it does look impressive.
For now, I am in search of flying more exciting airlines for next year, so hopefully I can bring you more exciting trip reports. Stay tuned!
Hope you enjoy this trip report!
For my previous trip reports of Emirates 2023
Part 1: SIN-DXB A380, click here.
Part 2: DXB-LHR A380, click here.
Part 3: LHR-DXB A380 (Previous trip report), click here.
Next trip report: Flying Singapore Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 (Part 1: SIN-PEN), click here.
Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Charles
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