Habibi, Fly Emirates Business Class to Dubai
Here’s a crazy sentence: I sipped a glass of Moet in my Emirates business class seat en route to Dubai with my 5 year old son sitting next to me.
Granted, I only took a few sips until he accidentally knocked into me somehow, sending my half full glass of champagne onto my lap and the floor, but still. I took a couple of obligatory “we made it” champagne flute photos before the mishap, so we’re fine.
So let’s backtrack a moment. How in the world did we even find ourselves in such a luxurious situation?
We had just spent 3 amazingly beautiful weeks visiting family in the Philippines and we were technically on our way back to the States, with just a little minor (or actually, a very major) pitstop on the way: Dubai. Thanks to my nerdy hobby of researching the heck out of potential travel experiences, I found out that Emirates offers a free stop over in Dubai. This means that if you have a connecting flight that stops in Dubai, you can stay for a few days and experience the UAE (instead of just waiting a few hours in the airport for your next flight). So when booking our return flight home from the Philippines, we decided to fly on Emirates from Manila to JFK, with a 3 night stop over in Dubai. Coupled with some Hyatt hotel points, our stay in Dubai was practically free.
We originally booked economy tickets for the way home, but luckily at the last minute, we were able to upgrade to business class at check in at the airport in Manila. Next thing you know, we were off to 8 hours of luxury.
For those of you who know a thing or two about Emirates, yes, it is exactly as luxurious as you’d think it is. We had priority boarding through a separate skybridge and were offered onboard drinks almost immediately at arriving to our seats. Everything about the business class cabin felt swanky, from the amber and walnut designed interior to the plush chairs and ample personal space. It was safe to say that even before take off, it was already the nicest flight I had ever been on.
Gabriel was absolutely blown away by how big his seat was, and by all the lights, storage compartments, and TV that was all his for the trip. He reclined the seat, made it lay flat, put it back to sit straight up, all probably dozens of times. I can confidently say that his experience on Emirates created a new type of love for travel for him, and for myself too.
The flight was 8 hours long and I feel absolutely weird saying that it wasn’t long enough. We had full meal service twice on the flight, a full breakfast and later on lunch. I had a traditional mezze platter with some of the best hummus I’ve ever tasted (in air and on the ground), a tasty prawn and rice dish and a decadent chocolate cake for dessert.
After eating I slipped into the softest Emirates pajamas (which I still have and use all the time) as the cabin lights dimmed to a ceiling full of stars. I was too excited to sleep and just wanted to savor every moment of the experience.
Emirates does a really good job at spoiling kids on the flight. Gabriel had a special kids meal, they gave him a duffle bag, a blanket, a pilot stuffy, an activity coloring book, and took a polaroid picture of him as he lounged like a little prince in his oversized business class seat. They called him by his first name, and he soaked up every moment of it. Just like me, he didn’t sleep a wink during the whole flight. It’s safe to say he was as excited as I was.
I had only ever flown business class one other time, on a nonstop flight from Hong Kong to JFK on Cathay Pacific, which we were upgraded to complimentary at the gate (which is also very nuts, and I’ll write about that in another story), so I didn’t have much experience to compare it to, but I also know that I am completely spoiled with having tried Emirates business class. I’m pretty sure not many other flights will compare.
I’ll be forever grateful that we had such a unique experience in the skies, it’s something that I’ll cherish for a long time. There was something truly special in seeing the passion for travel ignite in Gabriel while we flew from one country to another, something that I hope he holds onto for a long time as well. His new love for aviation continued when we got home as he wanted to watch all he could about different airlines’ first class and business class seats.
Emirates business class has some big shoes to fill, so now let me go because I have to find lucrative ways to fund my 5 year old son’s expensive taste in travel.
