Emirates Airbus 380: First Class from Dubai to New York JFK

About a month ago, I checked my Skywards account for the first time in 5 years and realized I had 200,000 Skywards miles to spend. Some of them were expiring this year, so what to do, what to do? I booked a First Class ticket to New York.

When you travel First Class with Emirates, the ticket comes with complimentary pick-up and drop-off chauffeur drive service. I had booked the car early, so I would have enough time to fully enjoy the First Class Lounge, which was quite an experience on its own, but more on that in another blog post.

Let’s instead fast forward to departure and my 3A window suite. Yes, a suite, not just a seat. After departure, you can close the doors, so you have your own little cabin, complete with a big screen tv, a mini bar and a snack basket. And guess what was in the basket? Lakrids by Johan Bülow! The good ones with salted caramel.

The amenity kit was from Bvlgari and the bag was so pretty. The content was pretty much the same as in Business Class, that is, Bvlgari perfumed body lotion and facial cream, a small brush, a mirror, napkins and a perfumed wet wipe. In addition, the First Class kit also had a larger miniature bottle of Bvlgari eau de cologne and a lip balm.

In First Class, food is served on demand, so whenever you’re hungry you can order whatever you like from the a la carte menu. I had eaten so much in the lounge that I was still in food coma when I boarded the plane, so it required a 3-hour nap before I could as much as think about having dinner. At that time it was dark outside, so my photos don’t do the food much justice, but here’s what I had:

First out were canapés with grilled venison, smoked salmon and blue cheese on gingerbread followed by caviar with chopped onion, grated egg, sour cream and lemon. Then I had lobster and prawn as a starter and kingfish as a main course. The kingfish was dry, but everything else was delicious. For dessert I chose the sticky date pudding, which I’ve had on board before, and which Emirates makes to perfection.

At Emirates, they serve Veuve Clicquot in Business Class, but in First, the bubbles are Dom Pérignon. I’ve always learned that you shouldn’t mix different kinds of alcohol, so I stuck with champagne throughout the trip. I think I almost finished an entire bottle on my own, but hey, it was a 14-hour flight:)

One of the real thrills at Emirates First Class is that you can take a shower on board, and of course I had to try it. The bathroom is huge and there are all the beauty products and amenities you need in case you didn’t bring your own. The shower itself is limited to 5 minutes to make sure they don’t run out of hot water, and there’s a timer inside the shower so you can see how much time is left. but that was enough for me.

Time flew, literally speaking, and before I knew, we were touching down in New York. Oh how I wanted to stay a little longer in my suite, but outside, New York and my driver was waiting for me, and a big black Mercedes made sure that this amazing journey ended in style.