- Introduction: First Trip to Dubai with My Son!
- Review: Emirates Airlines 777-200LR (Economy Class) – Dallas to Dubai
- Review: Sheraton Hotel – Mall of Emirates
- Review: Marriott Hotel – Al Jaddaf
- Review: Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo
- Review: Burj Khalifa 124
- Review: Dubai Speedboat Tour
- Review: Marhaba Lounge – Dubai International Airport
- Review: Emirates Airlines 777-200LR (Business Class) – Dubai to Dallas
Nicholas and I were in the Marhaba Lounge for a good time, not a long time, so we headed to the gate after boarding started.
The time was 0205, exactly 30 minutes prior to departure. The wait at the gate was short. Nicholas literally ran down the jet bridge. It was on at this point.
EK221
DXB-DFW
Takeoff: 0235
Landing: 0855
Business Class
December 24, 2022
I booked us in seats 4E/F but those seats had technical issues that the technicians were not able to repair. These seats in the middle of the cabin. The foot traffic between rows 5 and 6 was a bit annoying. Anyway, we moved to 5E/F because Nicholas wanted it instead of 7E/F, at the back of the cabin, as I wanted.
The seat was beautiful and spacious. I experienced this level of space on the Singapore Airlines A380 but it was in first class. The seat was really comfortable as well.
Waiting at the seat were a nice pillow, blanket, and headset. Nicholas thoroughly enjoyed the headset. He could play on his iPad with complimentary WiFi while listening to Kung Fu Panda. It was match made in heaven because I could not get the things off his head when he fell asleep. See below…
There was a remote to control the ICE, as well as a tablet which only could be removed for use after takeoff.
I found the tablet hard to use throughout the flight but my son had no issues with that or the remote. The seat had a ton of functions but I mostly used the recline, not fully flat function.
The seat came equipped with a cooler. It was not needed but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
The full tray came out of the center armrest, the thing was massive!
There was a partition, which extended from between the seats. Nicholas could have used it if he was tired of me. Gladly, he did not.
The seat also came with extra storage under the inflight entertainment screen. This was neat but too far away for anything but shoes.
Lastly, we both received amenity kits. I received the adult one while Nicholas received the kid’s kit. It was the same one as the flight from Dallas. I did use any of the products but the kit was a nice touc
At this point, we had not been on the airplane for no more than 10 minutes. Talk about sensory overload. Now that all of those pics are out of the way, I could get back to enjoying the views.
During this time we were offered pre-departure drinks. Nicholas ordered orange juice and I ordered champagne. I guess it could be considered a deconstructed mimosa, if you will.
Warm towels were distributed shortly thereafter.
Boarding finished three minutes after scheduled departure. At this point, one of the flight attendants came by to tell me about the kid’s meal breakfast options. I will not bother listing everything here, you have to see the tray to believe it.
The captain’s welcome announcement was next and he gave us a flight time of 16hrs 45mins to Dallas. Let’s go! He also reminded us that this was a non-smoking flight. Another flight attendant warned me not to put my phone next to me in the seat because it would be hard to retrieve once it fell between the seat and partition.
Dinner and wine menus were distributed before pushback. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture. I was briefed again by one of the flight attendants about the kid food options then the safety video was played.
We pushed back from the gate 35 minutes behind schedule. At this point, my blanket pile was taken and put in the cabinet next to me.
We had a rolling takeoff five minutes later. It was super smooth though. The flight attendant came by for drink and light bite orders. Nicholas did not have anything, I ordered the vegetable tortellini and champagne.
The champagne and warm nuts arrived. Per usual, Nicholas stole my dish after he said he did not want anything. I even had to go into my beverage locker to get him a 7UP. smh.
The champagne was refilled almost as soon as the glass was empty. This was surprising because we were going through a bit of bad air. The turbulence had been ongoing, since just after takeoff.
The tortellini was delivered about 10 minutes later. Nicholas, forever my taste tester, wanted the first bite. He approved of the dish and that was the last I heard of it. Until he decided to give me a bite after the flight attendant said she was warming a pizza for him.
The pizza was served with chips. Nicholas absolutely loved it. He washed it down with a Coke.
At this point we were moving north, working against the winds.
We finished snacking and were doing our own thing. I could not help but stare at my little buddy enjoying the flight. This really made everything worth it.
As we were just over two hours from Dubai I decided to order an Old Fashioned. It was on par with just about any bar.
As we were only a few hours from Dubai, I decided to take a quick nap. We were zooming towards open water. As you can see from the picture, we took a north easterly polar route.
Nicholas woke me up to walk to the restroom with him. There were two at the front of business class. Of note, both of the lavatories were on the front left of the cabin, while the galley was in the front right. This was a cool concept, as it kept the passengers out of the flight attendants way for the duration of the flight.
The restroom smelled nice. The complimentary hygiene items were always stocked. The flower by the mirror was a nice toichto top it off.
We returned to the seat and I tried to sleep again but these lights kept blinking on/off throughout flight. I tried to turn them off but could not find the button. I was definitely overlooking it.
I tried to sleep once again but could not so I ordered an espresso martini. OMGOODNESS, it was so good!
I finally got the lights to go out, only for them to come back on. At this point, there was a ton of foot traffic in the cabin. This included babies running around, pregnant woman doing laps, and other people stretching. I do not remember seeing this much activity on an overnight flight.
I finally dozed off for about a but was awaken due to a lot of commotion in the cabin. This was mostly due to the flight attendants getting ready for breakfast service. I ordered the cheese omelet for myself, while ordering the continental breakfast for my son. Once I found out the cheese omelet came with chicken sausage, I ended up asking for another one. Nicholas loves chicken sausage.
The food was served about 10 minutes later. As I mentioned earlier, there was so much food. The flight attendants did a really good job ensuring Nicholas had something he would like on the plate. The best part of the meal for me was the fruit, it was fresh and delicious.
I tried to get some sleep…again. I then decided to grab a Classic Champagne Cocktail after tossing and turning for a few minutes. One thing I found annoying was the distance from the seat to the drink tray.
One thing that was supposed to give me fits, according to other reviews, was the social area between rows 5 and 7. There was not a lot of traffic in the area nor was the light kept on. It was a non-issue. I appreciated the self serve water and snacks.
After some time of browsing the internet and reading about the Tory Lanez/Megan Thee Stallion, I’d had enough and decided to have a scotch tasting. In order from left to right, Jura Superstition single malt….Chivas 18 year…Aberfeldy 16 year single malt…
Jura – light, spicy, smoky. Has a bit of a strange note on the backend. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Aberfeldy – a hint of smoke, but seems a bit light. There were some floral notes and a hint of spiciness.
Chivas – has the tones I’m accustomed to. Very strong notes initially but we’re lighter on the end.
Depends on what a person likes but I would go with the Chivas during the winter and Aberfeldy during the summer.
The lights were raised and lunch orders were taken about four hours from Dallas. I went with the Arabic mezzo, beef tenderloin, and cheese plate. The drink for my app and main was the champagne while I expect to drink the port with the cheese plate.
The flight attendant working Nicholas’ side of the cabin asked if I wanted to wake him for lunch…no ma’am. My rationale was that he would hope the back on a normal sleep schedule. I did ask if she could hold a beef tenderloin for him.
Champagne was poured 15 minutes after service started. I was offered warm nuts a few minutes prior but didn’t partake.
Another 20 minutes passed before the table was set.
The mezze arrived five minutes later. The dish was perfect. Fresh, slightly salty…the best starter. It was the right portion size.
The mezze was cleared after about 20 minutes then the tenderloin was delivered minutes later. The tenderloin was a bit dry and chewy, but it had amazing flavor. The potatoes were bland and the asparagus was…asparagus. I could not finish the dish.
I was told that if I wanted Nicholas to eat, it had to be at this point …two hours prior to landing. I decided to let him sleep. He looked too comfortable for me to wake up. I even tried to remove the headset but he put them back into place.
The table was cleared five minutes later after I declined dessert.
I tried to relax for the last couple of hours of the flight but two sets of parents allowed their toddlers to run up and down the aisles. Luckily, the first officer came on the PA and announced we would be landing in 45 minutes. I decided to check out the tail camera.
We had a smooth landing only five minutes behind schedule.
Final Word
Emirates business class was spectacular. The broken seat and active passengers aside, we had a great time with even better service. We cannot return to riding in the back of the plane after this experience.
This trip to Dubai was unbelievable. Never in my years would I have imagined such a cool experience with my little guy. He enjoyed the flight home the most but the Burj Khalifa tour was a close second. Overall, I was happy that he enjoyed and I cannot wait to go on my next adventure with him.
