MY FIRST EVER BUSINESS CLASS FLIGHT:
Here's how it went
Well, who hasn't dreamed of flying long-haul, in a flatbed to your dream destination? l have, at least- but I'm pretty sure you all have too! My dream was this- to fly to the US, in business class, and travel to many places within the ginormous country- and it came true!
It was all of a sudden- my seventh grade terminal examinations were going on, and that's when my dad surprised me. This is exactly what he said:
"My son, I have booked flight tickets... To USA... in BUSINESS CLASS.... in EMIRATES!"
I didn't know what to say... you know that feeling when you've dreamed of something your whole life, and finally it just comes true? Well, that's exactly how l felt.
The days went by until it was the nineteenth of October (the day of our flight).
Now, the main story starts:
We were flying with Emirates, a five star airline out of Mumbai, to Dallas, USA with a stopover in Dubai. Emirates offered a chauffeur drive service for Business and first class passengers. Basically it is just a taxi service, that comes complementary with your flight. Plus the car, is usually a luxurious one. Hence, we went in a BMW!
As we were flying in Business Class, we got to go to the GVK lounge at Mumbai.
The lounge was simple, yet stylish- with a peacock statue at the entrance. The GVK lounge offered a lot of lip-smacking delicacies from all over the world.
As l'm an av-geek (aviation geek) and love planes, I was planning to do a little plane-spotting. But unfortunately, there's not many places to do plane-spotting at the terminal. Unlike Cochin International Airport in Kerala, India, There wasn't any observation deck at Bombay. The worst part is that in Cochin lnternational, you can hardly see any planes and this place has a viewing gallery. But in Bombay, where you see tons of planes everyday, there is nothing.
You know what I feel? I feel that Cochin could have done without a viewing gallery
OK sorry, I digress.😅😅
Coming back to the topic, The experience in Mumbai was legit- after all, as it was my first Business Class flight, it was my first lounge experience. So, no need to explain.
And did I forget to mention that Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) is one of the most beautiful airports in the world?
So after this, we went towards our gate to board our flight, Emirates flight EK 509, a Boeing 777-300/er. We were supposed to fly to Dubai and then change planes there.
As soon as I stepped in the plane, I noticed that the flight crew was very welcoming. We got a welcome drink and a hot towel.
Emirates B777s have a 2-3-2 Business Class layout- But the problem is that the person sitting in the middle row in the middle seat would have to jump over his neighbors!
One of the things I liked about Emirates was that their IFE (i.e In flight Entertainment) was mind-blowing. Be ready for this- they have more than 4,500 movies, TV shows and others!
We reached Dubai International Airport after three hours of flying from Mumbai.
There, we had to undergo intense, extreme security checking. One thing you should know, is that in Dubai, security check is very important.
After all this, we boarded our next flight, EK 221 to Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport (DFW), again on a
Boeing 777-300/er (shown below). This time, almost every Business Class passenger had a personal butler- they would come and make the bed for us.
I found the crew to be very friendly to the passengers. These are the types of flight attendants that l like the best. There are some who don't really care about the passengers, and there are some who are way too formal. But the ones who stay natural with you are always the best, according to me.
Well, this flight lasted for another 13 hours before landing in DFW. The sleeping situation in the aircraft was extremely comfortable- as the seat could turn into a fully flatbed. I slept for 5 hours straight😴😴
Once we got down in DFW, I realized that I didn't get any jet lag (thank goodness)
as l had a proper rest. But then here came the tiring part- the immigration at DFW.
I never realized that we would have to spend a long time in a queue... Well, then it hit me: as a result of the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan, New York, things had never been the same.
Emirates also provided a chauffeur service here, to drop us to our final destination. That was kinda cool, because they definitely care about us- they don't want us to be stranded in the airport, trying our best to get a taxi.
Well, that's it for this blog and this Business Class adventure. But stay tuned. Because there's gonna be posting more blogs coming your way from me!
By
Nandakishor Bejoy
Here's how it went
Well, who hasn't dreamed of flying long-haul, in a flatbed to your dream destination? l have, at least- but I'm pretty sure you all have too! My dream was this- to fly to the US, in business class, and travel to many places within the ginormous country- and it came true!
It was all of a sudden- my seventh grade terminal examinations were going on, and that's when my dad surprised me. This is exactly what he said:
"My son, I have booked flight tickets... To USA... in BUSINESS CLASS.... in EMIRATES!"
I didn't know what to say... you know that feeling when you've dreamed of something your whole life, and finally it just comes true? Well, that's exactly how l felt.
The days went by until it was the nineteenth of October (the day of our flight).
Now, the main story starts:
We were flying with Emirates, a five star airline out of Mumbai, to Dallas, USA with a stopover in Dubai. Emirates offered a chauffeur drive service for Business and first class passengers. Basically it is just a taxi service, that comes complementary with your flight. Plus the car, is usually a luxurious one. Hence, we went in a BMW!
As we were flying in Business Class, we got to go to the GVK lounge at Mumbai.
The lounge was simple, yet stylish- with a peacock statue at the entrance. The GVK lounge offered a lot of lip-smacking delicacies from all over the world.
As l'm an av-geek (aviation geek) and love planes, I was planning to do a little plane-spotting. But unfortunately, there's not many places to do plane-spotting at the terminal. Unlike Cochin International Airport in Kerala, India, There wasn't any observation deck at Bombay. The worst part is that in Cochin lnternational, you can hardly see any planes and this place has a viewing gallery. But in Bombay, where you see tons of planes everyday, there is nothing.
You know what I feel? I feel that Cochin could have done without a viewing gallery
OK sorry, I digress.😅😅
Coming back to the topic, The experience in Mumbai was legit- after all, as it was my first Business Class flight, it was my first lounge experience. So, no need to explain.And did I forget to mention that Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) is one of the most beautiful airports in the world?
So after this, we went towards our gate to board our flight, Emirates flight EK 509, a Boeing 777-300/er. We were supposed to fly to Dubai and then change planes there.
As soon as I stepped in the plane, I noticed that the flight crew was very welcoming. We got a welcome drink and a hot towel.Emirates B777s have a 2-3-2 Business Class layout- But the problem is that the person sitting in the middle row in the middle seat would have to jump over his neighbors!
One of the things I liked about Emirates was that their IFE (i.e In flight Entertainment) was mind-blowing. Be ready for this- they have more than 4,500 movies, TV shows and others! We reached Dubai International Airport after three hours of flying from Mumbai.
There, we had to undergo intense, extreme security checking. One thing you should know, is that in Dubai, security check is very important.
After all this, we boarded our next flight, EK 221 to Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport (DFW), again on a Boeing 777-300/er (shown below). This time, almost every Business Class passenger had a personal butler- they would come and make the bed for us.
Well, this flight lasted for another 13 hours before landing in DFW. The sleeping situation in the aircraft was extremely comfortable- as the seat could turn into a fully flatbed. I slept for 5 hours straight😴😴
Once we got down in DFW, I realized that I didn't get any jet lag (thank goodness)
as l had a proper rest. But then here came the tiring part- the immigration at DFW.
I never realized that we would have to spend a long time in a queue... Well, then it hit me: as a result of the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan, New York, things had never been the same.
Emirates also provided a chauffeur service here, to drop us to our final destination. That was kinda cool, because they definitely care about us- they don't want us to be stranded in the airport, trying our best to get a taxi.
Well, that's it for this blog and this Business Class adventure. But stay tuned. Because there's gonna be posting more blogs coming your way from me!
By
Nandakishor Bejoy
