Emirates' new flight from Dubai to Sao Paulo which debuted October 1, marks the first ever direct flight between the Middle East and South America, with the carrier offering a 15½ hour (14½ on the return leg) six-weekly service on the route. The carrier is using its new Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft on the flight, complete with recently introduced products in both business and first class, and with a total of 98 flights weekly from the UK, and few direct services from the UK to South America, it provides an alternative for those seeking a way to Sao Paulo. We flew first one way, business back to test the new products on board.
First class: Dubai-Sao Paulo
The connection: I arrived into Dubai on an overnight flight from London Gatwick, touching down just before 0715. We taxied to stand, so it was just a short walk to the connecting flights section of Terminal 1. Security checks passed quickly and I was back airside by 0730, into the bustling shopping mall that is Dubai International Airport. I had a couple of hours before my 1000 flight, so I headed to Emirates' first class lounge which is located just after Gate 21, directly opposite the business class lounge.
The lounge: As regular passengers with Emirates will know, despite the first class lounge at Dubai being large, with over 100 seats in the main area, it is also busy. The lounge overlooks the tarmac, and is an airy space with cream leather seats and sofas, and palm trees and waterfalls dotted around the lounge. There is complimentary wifi internet access, although this was not working (a common occurrence according to colleagues), but there are also a handful of internet terminals at the far end, all connected to a printer. Facilities include a self-service food and beverage area with an impressive range of hot and cold snacks, restrooms with showers, luggage storage, three plasma TV screens, various newspapers and magazines including international editions of The Times, a couple of departure boards, and even a massage chair in one corner.
Boarding: First and business class passengers were called first, with the former boarding through a separate entrance to the front of the plane. My coat was taken as I sat down, and stowed in a cupboard just in front of my suite. Drinks and newspapers were offered, and the a la carte meal service explained, before the captain announced we would be delayed due to the "20 tons of fuel taking a while to fill up". We took off around 45 minutes late, with assurances this would be caught up in-flight. Half of the first class suites were occupied, and around the same proportion in business class, with economy being pretty much full from what I could see when stretching my legs during the flight.
The Suite: There are just eight first-class suites configured in two rows of 1-2-1, each with electronic sliding louvred doors enabling passengers to shut themselves away from the world if they so wish (albeit with a gap of around a metre between the top of the doors and the ceiling). It really is like having your own cabin in the air, with a comfortable leather chair that transforms into a 84-inch fully flat bed, complete with a padded lining to lay out over the flat bed, and comfortable duvet and pillows. There are a huge range of facilities and amenities including: foldaway vanity mirror with light (plus two other mirrors in the suite), reading light and standing lamp, slide out drawer with writing kit, fold down soft drinks cabinet, large fold out table, and a 23-inch TV screen. Amenities include pyjamas, slippers, and a washbag with toothpaste and brush, shaving kit, roll-on deodorant, comb, tissues, and a box of Bulgari products including a small eau de parfume bottle, body lotion and after shave cream. There is another set of amenities under the vanity mirror, with moisturisers and smelling crystals to help either relax or re-energise.
Emirates has also introduced its revamped Ice Digital Widescreen on this aircraft. As well as the hundreds of on-demand movies, TV programmes, music albums, games and radio stations, passengers can now plug their digital cameras, mp3 players or PDAs into a USB slot, allowing them to access their photos or play their own music through the IFE system. As with the previous Ice offering passengers can also view up to date news headlines, create playlists and pause and save movie settings. The IFE can be controlled either through a wireless handset (in older versions of Ice this is wired), or by using the touchscreen TV. Noise cancelling headsets are provided in both first and business class, with a switch to allow outside noise in when speaking to flight crew.
The flight: This being a day flight, I spent most of it either working on my laptop, watching movies, or eating from the a la carte menu. All seats throughout the plane have a socket for charging laptops, and an 110V adaptor was provided when requested – the table in the first class suite is easily big enough to work on, and there is plenty of other storage spaces and shelves to put papers or beverages on. You can order from the first class food service at any time, but there is a 30-minute advised wait for hot food orders (although invariably my choices came quicker than this). Appetisers included Iranian caviar, salmon and chive fritters, poached king prawns and smoked salmon, while main courses are served on china crockery with Arthur Price steel cutlery, and ranged from grilled fillet steak with horseradish gravy, to lobster fishcakes, chicken tikka masala, and spinach and porcini mushroom lasagne (delicious). There were also "light bites" including sandwiches, pizzas and empanadas, and for the sweet-toothed sticky toffee pudding and homemade chocolate cookies. Dom Perignon was available by the glass, and there was also a signature frozen martini cocktail. Coffee is served with a small box of Godiva chocolates.
I found the seat very comfortable, but it would have been useful if the table had the ability to slide forward, as it felt just slightly too far away for eating from. The seat functions were pretty easy to figure out (I passed on the stewardess' offer to run through it with me), with everything being controlled electronically through the wifi handset, from the recline, to the massage functions and the sliding doors. Once I realised the touchscreen TV could be used to activate the IFE functions I ended up using this method for the rest of the flight, as the wifi handset was at times slow to react to choices, and involved undocking and redocking from its charger for each use. A little tip for controlling the volume – it can be done directly from the telephone handset underneath the armrest (which also has some other limited IFE controls), rather than going to settings on the wifi controller.
This is the first flatbed I have used where despite stretching out as far as I could, my feet did not touch the end of the suite. This is helped by the fact that there is some space at the end of the bed which is effectively the bottom of the coat storage cupboard, so I could hang my feet over the edge of the bed into this space – a welcome bit of extra legroom for a six-footer used to having his feet sticking out from under the duvet. I slept for a couple of hours, and when I awoke my Ice system had frozen, but was reset by the stewardess and worked fine after this.
Arrival and transfer: As predicted we landed just ahead of time at 1820, with premium passengers disembarking first. Immigration was swift, and having hand luggage only I was through to arrivals by 1835. Emirates offers chauffeur transfers at both ends for business and first class passengers, and my driver was waiting with a board as I exited customs. His Vauxhall Vectra was parked in a nearby car park, and the journey to my hotel in the south of the city took around 40 minutes. Emirates will transfer premium passengers anywhere within a 70km radius of the airport – anything over this incurs an excess charge.
Verdict: A fantastic product. It's hard to find fault in such an excellent service, from the comfortable fully-flat bed and comprehensive inflight-entertainment options, to the on-demand food and beverage service.
Price: When Business Traveller checked online today, a return flight from Dubai in first class (leaving November 12 and returning November 15) cost £4,802.
Business class: Sao Paulo-Dubai
First impressions: As with first class, Emirates' business class offers complimentary airport transfers when pre-booked, and mine was waiting outside my hotel ahead of me checking out. The journey to Terminal 2 of Sao Paulo's Guarulhos Airport took around 45 minutes – arriving for the night flight passengers are less likely to encounter heavy traffic on the city's notoriously busy highways. I arrived at 2235 for my 0125 flight, and headed for check-in zone D, since as yet Emirates does not offer online check-in on the Sao Paulo-Dubai leg of the route.
Check-in: There were three economy check-in desks, two for business, one for first class, and one for group check-ins. I was advised that the same 100ml limits on hand luggage liquids applied – ironically my first class amenity kit from the outward leg pushed me over the limit in this respect, so I checked one piece of luggage into the hold – business class passengers are allowed a total of 30kg of checked luggage (40kg for first class).
There were half a dozen passengers in the business class queue, and around the same for economy, but as the first class lane was empty this effectively became a third business class queue, so check-in was fairly swift. I couldn't see a fast track security lane, so joined the queue of around 30 people for a ten-minute wait for security checks. Laptops were required to be removed from hand luggage, and shoes passed through the scanner.
The lounge: Emirates uses Brazilian carrier Varig's executive lounge (up a flight of escalators from the departures level), which is also shared by South African Airways among others. It's a fairly tired looking space, but nevertheless has the required amenities (apart from showers), including hot and cold snacks, and complimentary wifi access, albeit a little slow.
Boarding: Boarding commenced around 0040, with premium passengers up first. I was sitting in the first section of business class seats (two rows of 2-3-2 configuration) just behind first class. From what I could see business class was around a third full, and economy was around the same for this Sunday night flight. Coats were taken and drinks offered before the captain said there would be a delay due to the rain meaning only one runway was in use at the airport. We eventually took off at 0155.
The seat: I was sitting in 6A, in the first row after first class. This new business class seat electronically converts into a 72-inch lie-flat bed – it's not quite horizontal to the ground, but it is definitely one of the more comfortable angled lie-flat beds I have tested. I often find with these type of seats that you tend to slide down the bed over time, which makes it harder to get a good night's sleep, but in this case when the seat is converted there is a small dip in the middle where two sections meet, effectively holding you in position when lying down. Pillows and blankets are provided, although the latter was made of a material that produced a lot of static, and was disappointing compared with the duvet in first class. The seat configuration means that those sitting in window seats, or in the middle of the row of three, have to climb over their neighbours to get out.
The IFE system is identical to what is offered in first class, with the exception of a slightly smaller TV screen at 17 inches. Other features included an electronically controlled wooden privacy screen, fold out table (which can either be half opened to include a drink holder, or fully opened for meals and work), smaller fold down drinks shelf, cup holder, reading light that can be adjusted for brightness and direction, and a couple of storage spaces for magazines, etc. The same washbag was offered as in first class, and an eye mask and socks were given out separately.
The flight: The food service isn't a la carte like in first class, but there is a snack menu available throughout the flight with sandwiches, crisps, fruit, etc. Soon after take off we were offered an "As you like it" menu which included Brazilian empanadas, Ipanema grilled chicken salad and smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. By then it was around 3am, so I converted the bed and slept soundly under the ceiling stars (these are also present in first class although I hadn't noticed them) for around 6 hours until I was woken by the stewardess for breakfast – in first class there is the option to switch a light on outside your suite requesting that you are not disturbed. I opted for an omelette and fresh fruit, before plugging in the laptop and working for the next few hours. My wifi handset can't have been docked properly early on, as when I went to try out some of the massage functions it was out of power. The choice of films and music on the Ice system are excellent, from new releases to classic films and albums, all searchable either by category or from an A-Z list.
Around two hours before arrival we were served dinner, with choices including grilled Brazilian steak in a black pepper cream sauce, prawn biryani (which I opted for), and poached fillet of seabass with a fresh basil sauce and sauted fennel. Desserts included a tangy lime and lemon meringue, and warm chocolate apple betty.
Arrival: We arrived on time at Dubai International Airport, but were parked away from the terminal building, which meant we then had a 15 minute transfer by bus, first to the connecting flights section and then to arrivals. A recorded announcement apologised for this, saying that a "dedicated Emirates terminal' is currently being constructed. There were large queues for passport control, but as luck would have it another line was opened as our flight arrived, so there were only half a dozen people in front of me. By the time I was through to baggage claim my bag was already on the carousel, and I was outside the airport by around 2240. The chauffeur drive service at this end is available to anywhere in the emirate, with passengers checking in at the chauffeur drive lounge just past arrivals. My hotel had arranged a transfer for me though, so I didn't use this option this time round.
Verdict: An excellent service, with a comfortable lie-flat bed and superb in-flight entertainment facilties. My only gripes were the quality of the blanket and the long bus transfer from the plane, but overall this is a great business class, and one which we will see being extended through the Emirates fleet over time.
Price: A return flight in business class for the same route and dates as above cost from £3,155.
Contact emirates.com.
Mark Caswell
