Emirates First Class (Suites) trip report

This is the Auckland-Sydney leg trip report.

Check in took place at Auckland airport international terminal Emirates first class check in desk. After that, I was off to the Emirates lounge. Emirates first class passengers share the same lounge as business class passengers, so no added benefits.

I went for the lounge shower first. There were only 2 shower rooms located in the toilet which at that time was empty. 

After my warm shower, I sat in the lounge and had some food.

3 Emirates A380 planes were parked at the airport at that time. They will all depart shortly within each other to Australia before continuing on to Dubai.

Boarding was called in the lounge and I made my way to the gate which is a good 10 minutes walk away.

Boarding was already under way for economy class. Upon entering the flight, a flight stewardess happily informed me that I am the only first class passenger on the flight!

Cheers again!

The only first class passenger

Me and Emirates stewardess

Writing kit, vanity kit all free to take away. The TV with ICE entertainment

A selection of drinks by the side

Staircase down the aircraft. In an Emirates A380 aircraft, First and business class are located on the upper deck. Economy class occupies the entire lower deck.

Pre-departure champagne, nuts, dates and arabic coffee was offered. I took some photos before the flight departed.

After take off, the curtains were drawn and throughout the flight, I never saw another fellow passenger. With the almost empty first class except for me, it definitely feels as if I'm in a private plane.

After my meal, the purser informed me shower is available. Now, having a shower at 39,000 feet in the sky in a flying plane is a totally awesome feeling. Shower water is available for only 5 minutes. There is a timer that tells you how much time left.

Emirates toilet and shower

Emirates suites doors, operated by a button

Emirates first class window shades

Emirates shower

After my shower, I'm back in my seat and reclined into a bed before descent started.

Emirates first class flat bed. In my opinion not as comfortable as SQ

Emirates first class express arrival card. The arrival immigration queue for express card holders was long and only 1 counter opened. For the rest, the queue may not long but there are many counters. Not sure which is faster.

In comparison, I feel that the Emirates only lags behind SQ in terms of seat and bed width. The seat is narrower. In terms of all other facilities, it is definitely better. No amenity kit is provided as it is a short daytime flight.

This flight is one of the cheapest to enjoy Emirates first class if paying cash. All in all, a wonderful flight. The shower made it even more special. 

SQ Suites class trip report

Other than visiting New York city, this is another highlight of my December vacation. A once in a lifetime trip. I have accumulated sufficient miles to redeem an SQ A380 Suites class ticket to Auckland. And since the redemption is available for the date I wanted, I quickly booked it. A check on the website states that a one-way ticket costs ~S$6700, beyond my budget. Using my miles, I only need to pay the taxes.

For the return trip, I wanted to try out Emirates first class (Suites) on A380. So, I paid in cash for the one way flight from Auckland to Sydney, costs ~NZ$1300.

The Auckland-Sydney flight was blocked at 3.5 hours, but the actual flight that day only took 2hr 40mins. I hope it was longer. 

For a longer flight, I could have took the Auckland-Melbourne flight for the same price. But then I wanted to explore Sydney. 

For the Sydney-Singapore flight, I took Scoot. This will be the first time I'm taking Scoot and also try out the Boeing 787 dreamliner.

Fortunately for me, things went according to plan. Soon I'm on my way.

SQ Suites class is a must do for any aviation hobbyist. Just once. It all started at Changi Airport Terminal 3. There is a separate First Class terminal just before the departure hall. I had to walk out of the terminal 3 building and walk along the pavement to reach the First Class terminal. 

Even before reaching the doors, a porter had walked towards me and took my luggage. Another lady appeared and asked for my destination. 

The check in interior is made up of plush office seats. I sit on a leather chair while waiting. The decor gives a luxurious feel.

After getting my boarding pass and the Private Room invitation, another door leads me to a lone passport officer. After that, it leads to the duty free shopping. The escalator to the lounge is nearby. 

After showing the Private Room invitation card to the lounge dragon, I was escorted past the Business class lounge, past the First class lounge, to the Private Room. The place felt like a small, high class restaurant.

Menu was given to me to place my order. The menu was only a few pages long, not a lot of choices. I ordered a lobster dish, a foie gras dish and champagne.

SQ Private Room menu

  

US prime beef burger with foie gras

Sauteed lobster

After a few sips of the champagne, while waiting for the food to arrive, I went for a quick shower. The shower room was kept clean, spotless and comes with all bathroom amenities.

Private Room shower

I gobbled down my meal and asks the lady in charge to help print my travel itinerary from my email. As it is close to departure time, I requested for a buggy to send me to my gate.

On the buggy to my gate!

There is no dedicated security for premium passengers, so I had to queue up behind a bunch of school-going Japanese or Korean children. 

The Suites class on this flight was full. The usual pre-departure drinks and nuts were given.

After take-off, the amenity kit, slippers and pyjamas were given. My lobster thermidor meal was served.

New generation Suites class seat

Only Row 3 window seats has 3 windows.

The TV screen is bigger than in Business class. Below is the ottoman

Pre-departure drink - Krug

The recline is definitely larger, compared to what I've read online before.

Pillow and bolster, great for sleeping!

Suites class menu

In a leather bound book

Satay with evian bottle (only for first class)

Lobster thermidor. I think the lobster is slightly bigger than for business class

Bose noise cancelling headphone. I think this is the same as for business class

After take off, I switched to Dom 2006

Cheers to SQ Suites class

The doors to my suite is manually controlled, unlike Emirates. The toilet is only slightly bigger than economy class, which I feel lags behind Emirates. 

The bed is folded down flat and requires the flight attendants to do it. I feel that the bed and the duvet is more comfortable than in Business class. And I do not need to sleep at an angle.

Flat bed with duvet, 2 pillows and a bolster

Manually operated Suites doors

In the morning, my strawberry waffles meal was served. And before I know it, it is time to descend.

All in all, SQ Suites class is a wonderful experience. However, once is enough, as the SQ Business class is also a great experience.

Shanghai '15

This is my 2nd trip to Shanghai. The purpose of this trip: 

for my mum to do some shopping.

for me to earn kf miles to achieve gold status before year end. I realized that I'm just short of a few miles to get the status.

to visit Yu Yuan garden in Shanghai, which I didn't get to see on my previous trip.

The familiar SQ economy seat. Which is already very comfortable. No complaints here.

SQ economy meal

Shanghai maglev. Under 8 minutes from airport to city

Yu Yuan garden. Need to purchase tickets to enter.

My flight home on the A380. On this plane, there is an economy section on the rear of the upper deck. The seating is 2-4-2 and is more roomy. The window seats come with additional storage on the side.