Flight Review: Emirates A380 Business Class Dubai To Mauritius

Summary

Seamless experience: From the stress-free check-in process to the comfortable onboard seats, the entire Emirates experience is seamless and relaxing.
Excellent crew: The attentive and friendly crew members contribute to a more comfortable journey, always available to assist within seconds and even offering Polaroid pictures as souvenirs.
A treat to fly A380: Flying on the A380 is always a treat, with more privacy in the staggered business class configuration and access to Emirates' award-winning ICE entertainment system with a wide range of content.

Last week, on my roundtrip between Dubai and Mauritius with Emirates, I chose to review the business class product onboard the airline's world-famous Airbus A380. My outbound flight was EK-703 to Port Louis Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolan Airport (MRU) in Mauritius.

While this review will focus on my flight to Mauritius, certain aspects of my return leg will also be referenced for comparison between daytime and overnight flights.

At Dubai International

EK-703 has a scheduled departure time of 10:10 from Dubai International Airport (DXB). Considering the morning passenger rush, I arrived at the airport three hours before my flight at the separate entrance for Emirates first and business class passengers at Terminal 3, where I was greeted by airport staff in place to assist passengers with their luggage and trolleys.

Upon entering the terminal, passengers can use one of the airline's Self Service Check-In kiosks (airport staff are present to assist passengers who require help) or proceed to walk a little further and join one of the many blue-carpeted, business class check-in lines.

Because I was traveling alone and light, I opted for the self-check-in kiosk, which had a user-friendly interface and easy to use. Additionally, since Emirates began using an electronic boarding pass on flights out of DXB, I instantly received the boarding pass on the Emirates mobile app.

An added advantage is that after checking in, passengers can view the seat map and, if available, switch to their preferred seat, which will automatically be updated on the electronic boarding pass. For ease of access, iPhone users can add their boarding pass to their Apple Wallet.

From there, I proceeded to the emigration smart gates and security, which I cleared in less than two minutes and was already airside. From arriving at the airport to reaching the airside, it took less than 10 minutes, which indicates the efficiency of DXB airport despite being one of the busiest in the world.

Once airside, I had to take the inter-terminal rail to Concourse A, where I spent a couple of hours at the Ahlan lounge before proceeding to my gate A15 for boarding.

Boarding

The boarding process was incredibly efficient. While two lanes were used for boarding economy passengers split into zones, a smaller lane was available for First and business class passengers along with Skywards members who held Platinum, Gold, or Silver status.

After passing through the gates, all passengers were made to wait for a few minutes in a seating area, but within a few minutes, first and business passengers, along with Platinum, Gold, and Silver Skywards members, were invited to board the aircraft.

The aero bridge split halfway down the tunnel offering a separate pathway for first and business class passengers. At the aircraft, I was greeted by the cabin crew and explained the way to my window seat, 25K.

The seat

The seat I voluntarily chose was 25K, as it offers more privacy than window seats on even-numbered rows due to the staggered 1-2-1 configuration in business class. Additionally, it is also located on the second last row of the cabin, behind which is the A380 onboard lounge.

Waiting at the seat was a comfortable pillow, blanket, noise-cancelling headphones, and a mattress in the storage bin by the window.

The minibar on the side console came fully stocked with a glass cup, two Evian water bottles, a bottle of Perrier, and two cans of soft drinks.

The seat has plenty of storage space and offers ample privacy due to the staggered layout of the cabin. The seat can be converted into a lie-flat bed for sleeping or positioned in any way required using the seat controls located in the console, or it can be controlled via the tablet located beside the seat or even the main IFE screen itself.

Every seat has two air conditioning outlets and two overhead reading lights. On the side console, there is an additional light convenient for reading.

When it comes to power outputs, each seat comes with a universal power port and two USB connections, which can be used for charging personal devices or stream contents of the devices onto the IFE system.

IFE

It is an irrefutable fact that Emirates' awarding winning ICE system is one of the best in the skies. Each seat comes with a huge touch-screen entertainment system, with a user-friendly interface. But even more impressive is the extensive range of content available for passengers, be it movies, music, tv-shows and more.

Emirates also offers award-winning content from select streaming services such as HBO max, BBC, and Shahid. The information section of the IFE, the airshow section, provides passengers with details about the flight progress and, as a special touch, a live animated cockpit view. Furthermore, the view is always spectacular with three external cameras (forward, downward, and tail).

The onboard WiFi is easy to connect to and conveniently fast for communications, accessing social media, and work-related content. Additionally, all Emirates Skywards members get complimentary access to the 'unlimited chat' package.

The, passengers can view information about Emirates, its fleet and route network, and about its home, Dubai (which is more helpful for passengers flying into Dubai). Passengers flying into DXB, can view the flight connection information in flight before even arriving, which is incredibly helpful information for those with onward connections.

Emirates has done an incredible job in making this information easy to access and multitask with the help of three screens. While all the information can be viewed on the main screen, much of it can also be viewed on the seat-side tablet, and some essential information can even be viewed on the seat-side remote, which has an integrated touch screen.

Amenity kits

Emirates has partnered with luxury brand BVLGARI for the amenity kits provided to premium passengers.

While the kit was not provided for my daytime flight to Mauritius, it was provided on my overnight flight, EK-704, back to Dubai.

The kit is packed with relevant products such as moisturizing cremes, perfumes, and grooming products, some of which are exclusive to Emirates. Additionally, essentials like dental kits, hair combs, perfumes, and cremes, while included in the kits, can be found separately in the lavatory on all flights.

Furthermore, all passengers get an additional kit with extremely comfortable woolen socks and eyeshades.

Meal service

Upon boarding, passengers are offered a variety of welcome drinks from which they can choose one, two, or even all three drink options.

Photo: Abid Habib

While I settled for a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, the other options available were apple juice and, the Emirates exclusive, Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut champagne. Shortly after take-off, the crew served salted nuts along with drink choices they had taken from each passenger before departure. In my case, I enjoyed an excellent glass of virgin mojito.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

About an hour after, lunch was served in three courses, which included Appetizer, Main Course, and Dessert. Each course had three options available, including vegetarian options. I chose, Traditional Arabic mezze, Lemon Chicken, and Chocolate tart with apricot compote along with luxury chocolates. Lunch meals are always served with seasonal salad and freshly baked bread.

The food tasted great, and the portions of the meal courses were just right. It wasn't too little that you didn't get to enjoy the meal, but it wasn't too much that you struggled to finish the meal. Throughout the meal service, the crew was at hand to offer additional bread and drink choices for passengers.

And if you happen to want more food, you can always visit the onboard lounge, where there are a collection of fruits, sandwiches, desserts, and drinks to choose from. Passengers can request to have the snacks brought to their seats, or if you feel like socializing, chill at the lounge and have a conversation with the cabin crew or other passengers.

One new aspect at the lounge was an assortment of new sweets being offered to passengers, which the crew mentioned was previously exclusive to first class passengers but, for the past few months, have also been made available for business passengers at the onboard lounge.

Shortly after the meal service, the crew offered everyone a selection of vanilla and chocolate ice-cream, which I feel is a nice finishing touch to the meals.

Crew and service

The crew members were incredible from the moment of boarding to disembarking. They were always attentive, and more importantly, they were always present. This, I feel, is something Emirates is doing right, when compared to other airlines, because all their flights are fully staffed, and this was true even when I flew with them during the pandemic, while other airlines were scaling back staff in their premium cabins.

Once settled down onto the seat, a crew member appeared and introduced herself, and offered to give a tour of the seat if I was new to the product, which was not necessary in my case. Shortly after that, I was provided with hot towels, along with the menu and wine list.

At various points throughout the flight, I pressed the crew call button, and a crew member always appeared within 10–15 seconds, which is a sign of excellent service. The crew members on my flight came from 12 countries and spoke 14 languages.

Furthermore, the crew were all extremely friendly and easy to talk to and made the flight memorable. They even offered to take Polaroid pictures which were then presented in cute frames for passengers to take home as souvenirs of the flight.

The Polaroid pictures are available for all passengers. You need only ask :)

Shortly before landing, hot towels were provided for the passengers yet again.

Arrival & deplaning

After a flight time of six hours and a descent through the cloudy skies overhead Mauritius, the aircraft landed and had a short taxi to the gate. While the airport does have gates capable of connecting aerobridges to both decks of an A380, on the day, they were both connected to the lower deck, which meant I had to go down the stairs in the front of the aircraft before deplaning.

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

However, the process did not take long because economy passengers were deplaning via a different exit. The crew, as usual with winning smiles, assisted passengers down the stairs and bid the passengers farewell. At the exit, staff were already waiting with wheelchairs for some passengers who must have requested the service beforehand.

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Thoughts

The entire Emirates experience is seamless, both on and off the aircraft. Despite the peak summer rush, the on-ground experience at DXB, Emirates terminal, was stress-free and relaxing. The flight and the seats were extremely comfortable, making the onboard experience definitely one of the best in the world.

The crew was excellent and made the whole journey more comfortable. While professional, they also had an easy-going nature which makes it easier for passengers to approach them. The added advantage of flying an A380 is always a treat.

Have you flown the Emirates A380, business class before? Let us know in the comments below.