Having reviewed Indian carriers on international routes and a European carrier as well, I decided it was now time to travel with a Middle East carrier – Emirates.
I had to travel to India and I was checking out my flight options – sadly Berlin, being the capital of Germany, has very limited access to international destinations. The options that I had were Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, British Airways and Lufthansa.
I did not choose Qatar Airways as the second leg of the journey from Doha – Bengaluru would be operated by the Indian LCC IndiGo.
No doubt IndiGo is one of the best airlines currently operating in the country. However, I couldn’t imagine myself sitting in a cramped leg space for almost 4 hours with no meal. Technically, I could buy a meal but due to lack of ovens on-board IndiGo’s aircraft there would be no hot meal option.
I stumbled upon a great deal from Emirates from Frankfurt to Bengaluru, and cherry on top was my second leg of the journey would be operated by their Airbus A380!
Without thinking twice, I made my reservation. Now it’s time for you to sit back and enjoy my flight review with Emirates on-board their Boeing 777.
Emirates: Frankfurt to Dubai
Flight Details:
- Flight Number – EK 44 (FRA-DXB)
- Departure Airport – Frankfurt International Airport
- Arrival Airport –Dubai International Airport
- Registration – A6-EGO, 12.7 Years old during the time of flight.
- Aircraft Type –Boeing 777-300ER
Pre-Check-in Experience
Emirates has a user-friendly application which lets you select your seats, and modify your reservation. I had to make some changes to my booking, and I could easily navigate it through the app itself. My previous experience with the Air France application hasn’t been great at all!
Now, when I opened the Deutsche Bahn application to make my train reservations to travel from Berlin to Frankfurt, the price of the cheapest train for that day was a whopping €61. Then, I remembered seeing an advertisement saying Emirates and Deutsche Bahn have an agreement to sell train tickets via the Emirates app.
When I navigated to it under “My Bookings”, I could make a reservation on any DB train from any location in the country to Frankfurt for just €28! I was now all set for my journey with Emirates.
Arrival at Frankfurt International Airport
I arrived at Frankfurt International Airport in ICE train and it was a short 10 minute walk. Emirates counters had a long line, mainly because there were 2 flights departing at an interval of 2 hours to Dubai.
Check-in at Frankfurt Airport
Check-in was little bit hectic due to the crowd and it took me almost 1 hour to get through it. My bags weighed exactly 300gms below the allowance, which was a relief for me.
Security Check at Frankfurt Airport
Security check and Immigration at Frankfurt airport has always been well organized and efficient, so in roughly about 25 minutes I had cleared immigration. The security check took around 10 minutes, and I headed towards the gate.
Boarding Experience
Emirates had a very organised boarding plan. Unlike other EU carriers (Air France & Lufthansa) they were boarding via zone, which ensured less chaos and more organized boarding.
We were greeted with a lovely set of crew who had a big smile on their faces and they guided the passengers towards their seat.
The Seat
This aircraft comes in 3-4-3 configuration, and I was seated on seat 41A. Leg space was good enough – my height is 176cm. I did not face any difficulties through the flight with leg space.
On the seat they had kept a blanket, a pillow and a pair of headphones. The IFE screen was big enough to have a good experience. It had a lot – and I mean a lot – of choices available for their passengers. I have never seen such a vast collection of media on any other airline.
There was a universal power outlet right under the IFE which worked for the entire duration of the flight. With Vistara, for some reason the outlet hardly had power during the flight.
I could certainly tell that the aircraft was showing signs of ageing, the interior looked dull and handrest as well as IFE’s had some visible wear and tear marks on it
In-flight Service
Soon after take-off I made myself comfortable and took a short nap, only to be woken up by the cabin crew who served my meal before other passengers. I had pre-booked a special “Indian Vegetarian Meal”. The meal was marked with my seat number as well as my name to ensure the meal reached the right person!
It was a nice touch. The food tasted good, and they did also offer a wide range of alcoholic beverages. I think the service was over in the initial 3 hours of the flight. The crew later came around to collect the food tray and offered a choice of coffee and tea.
As I settled in for rest of my flight, I was amazed by their collection of entertainment they had to offer on their flights. I mean from live television to movies from almost every part of the world, including regional movies and tv shows, they had it all. I must say no other airline can beat Emirates when it comes to their wide selection of entertainment.
In the last 2 hours of flight, crew returned and handed out desserts – vanilla ice cream. I decided to do the “Loo review” – I wasn’t expecting it to be in the best condition as it was almost towards the end of flight. To my surprise, the crew had done a wonderful job in maintaining the cleanliness. The washroom had basic amenities such as a hand wash and a body lotion.
Arrival at Dubai
We arrived at Dubai International Airport after a delay of almost 35 minutes. I wasn’t worried as my layover as I had almost 3 hours. Dubai Airport in contrast with Frankfurt Airport was very well maintained. The airport was spacious enough and had clear markings to direct transit passengers. It was my first time in DXB and I feel in love with the airport.
Everything was super easy to navigate and the airport’s Duty Free had almost everything what one could buy.
Conclusion
Emirates overall impressed me! Their food was really tasty and up to the mark. The crew was friendly and always on their toes to assist the customer.
Emirates really needs to upgrade the interiors on their older Boeing 777’s. Perhaps this is just me being picky, when actually most of the things I experienced were perfect.
Emirates serves only one meal on its flights of 6 hours, and the crew had not put out any snacks in galley. This was surprising to me, as I did feel hungry after the meal service. Unfortunately, there was nothing provided in the galley. By comparison with Vistara or even Air France, both the airlines do lay out certain snack options for passengers who wish to grab a quick bite.
My next flight from Dubai to Bengaluru is on their A380 and the review for this trip will be published soon.
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