This is a rather belated post on my experience flying Emirates (EK) from Singapore to Brisbane (and vice versa) early this month. Am writing about this because I have never flown this airline before. And being the anxious traveller, I’ve never really travelled long-haul since going to Germany in 2002. It goes without saying that am not the type who sleeps throughout, so long flights are like purgatory to me 😀
It didn’t help any that this Emirates flight was turbulent for 80% of the time that it took us to travel to Brisbane (or more than seven hours of flying) The pilot even had to apologize during his voice-over. It was quite scary that I had no choice but to get over my fear of flying or just faint. LOL. Good thing I had faith in Emirates because of its excellent safety record (no crash ever). It got me to thinking that when conditions in the sky do not favor it, it doesn’t matter what airline you’re riding or how big it is. Of course, it’s more shaky in a smaller plane but being in a Boeing 777-300ER for this flight didn’t help either.
The flight crew distributed menu cards before serving. Emirates is quite generous in its meal portions and our companion Adrian said he really enjoyed the dessert. I have no opinion since I hardly touched my food. I do remember asking for several glasses of red wine just so I can sleep the turbulence away!! 😀
Serving time. The stewardess on the left is a Filipina. As with other Middle Eastern airlines, the crew members come from different countries.
Emirates’ entertainment offerings are rather extensive, especially the movies (which I didn’t get to watch at all). Aside from the flight path, the screen shows the view from the plane’s external cameras, such as before takeoff. You can even send an email or SMS from your seat but I’ve never tried this service.
I found the whole Emirates experience for this flight “average.” It’s worth noting that on the way to Brisbane, the plane was only 40 % full. I had the whole row to myself, and the stewardess even encouraged me to lie down on the seats. It wasn’t the same situation going back to Singapore. The flight was full because some of the passengers were going straight to Dubai.
I did promise to myself that the next time I’ll fly to Australia, am trying Singapore Airlines and their jumbo A380 jet 😉
a turbulent flight means praying time for me! I just couldn’t bear that feeling of fear especially when my imagination starts running crazy. My longest plane flight ever was less than two hours, I couldn’t imagine myself sitting for 7 hours experiencing a very bumpy ride. But these are just some of the fears we have to face if we really want to travel…
Sarah, I prayed a lot too. I was expecting less movement because it was a big plane, but I was wrong. We really have to endure these things if we have to travel and conquer places. Just remember , it must have been worse during the time of Columbus and Magellan 😀
Just took an Emirates Flight from London to Manila and vice versa and found it awful food was horrible, service was non existince, I’ve flown with KLM, Cathay, Qatar and Thai and found Emirates the worst airline in food and service, and for the 1st time in 9 yrs my luggage was broken into and they say it was due to security check. How bad can it be.