For the return portion of our journey to Zimbabwe, we flew Emirates’ A380 firstclass from Johannesburg to Dubai to Houston. Emirates has a fairly constant firstclass product, so I’ll solely be reviewing the second section, which was operated by an A380 with new interiors.
On this publish, I needed to concentrate on Emirates’ Premium Connections Service in Dubai, accessible to firstclass passengers. Lengthy story quick, in case you’re flying Emirates firstclass and are connecting in Dubai, a consultant of the airline will meet you and show you how to along with your transit.
Although I’ve flown Emirates firstclass dozens of instances, I had by no means skilled this earlier than, consider it or not. That’s as a result of I virtually at all times plan a stopover in Dubai when flying with Emirates, and that doesn’t qualify for this service. So for many who are curious, let me share how this works.
Fundamentals of Emirates’ firstclass escort service
With Emirates’ Premium Connections Service, you’re alleged to be met on the airplane by an Emirates consultant in Dubai when arriving in firstclass:
- That is solely supplied in Dubai, and never at outstations
- That is solely supplied in case you’re connecting on Emirates on a single ticket, and never in case you’re terminating your travels in Dubai or have an prolonged stopover (in these conditions you possibly can usually reap the benefits of Emirates’ chauffeur service, and even Emirates’ stopover lodge program)
- It doesn’t matter the way you booked your firstclass ticket, and whether or not you paid money, redeemed miles, or upgraded; the one exception could be workers tickets
- When you’re connecting inside 60 minutes, you’ll usually be introduced on to your connecting flight, whereas in case your layover is longer than that, you’ll be escorted to the lounge that’s closest to your scheduled departure gate
- Be aware that there’s no escort from the lounge to the departure gate, so this service is just out of your arrival gate to the lounge (although within the Emirates First Lounge Dubai Concourse A, you truly board straight from the lounge)
- The Emirates escort will accompany you to the lounge or your departure gate (with a brief connection), and may also help you chop the transit safety line
- The mode of transport with this service will range primarily based on quite a lot of elements; it’s possible you’ll simply be walked, it’s possible you’ll be pushed in a golf cart, or it’s possible you’ll be pushed in a bus, relying on the kind of connection
Our expertise with Emirates’ Premium Connections Service
We had a roughly 4 hour connection in Dubai — our arriving flight parked at Concourse B, whereas our connecting flight departed from Concourse A. Upon exiting the jet bridge, there was a beautiful Emirates consultant who had a pill with our names on them.
In our case, there was no golf cart or bus, however fairly we have been walked all the best way from Concourse B to Concourse A. I believe that’s the usual on this state of affairs, on condition that there’s not likely a sensible approach to take a golf cart between these areas — not solely do you need to take a prepare between the terminals, however you additionally should take a number of elevators or escalators.
Was there worth to this service?
- For somebody not acquainted with Dubai Airport, getting round might be type of difficult, so I’m certain others would respect not having to concentrate on navigating the terminal
- Whereas I at first discovered the service type of pointless, I actually appreciated it when the Emirates consultant minimize the safety line for us; individuals within the transit space can usually be fairly pushy, and he or she was very agency with the best way during which she made room for us within the line
- She then walked us all the best way to the doorway of the Emirates First Lounge in Concourse A, and bid farewell to us
I can’t consider it took me so lengthy to lastly expertise this. Is that this one of the best firstclass floor expertise on the earth? No, it’s not as seamless as what you’d count on on Air France or (in some instances) Lufthansa, however it’s nonetheless higher than what a number of different airways supply.
I’ll say, I do discover it attention-grabbing how that is solely supplied for connecting itineraries, and just for attending to the lounge:
- You’d suppose there could be worth in getting individuals shortly to the immigration checkpoint by way of golf carts, gate task allowing
- For these not departing from Concourse A (the place boarding is from the lounge) arguably it might be most helpful to have somebody escort you from the lounge to the gate, to keep away from that entire mess
Nevertheless, I believe these limitations are in place due to the scale of Emirates’ firstclass footprint. Emirates has the biggest worldwide firstclass footprint on the earth, and there might be properly over 1,000 Emirates firstclass passengers within the air at any level. I can respect the difficult logistics of scaling that.
Backside line
Emirates’ Premium Connections Service Dubai makes the transit expertise a bit extra seamless for firstclass passengers. Emirates firstclass passengers connecting in Dubai will likely be met upon deplaning, and escorted to the lounge closest to their departure gate. Whereas this isn’t essentially the most complete floor service you’ll discover on the earth, it’s a pleasant characteristic that I’m comfortable to have skilled for the primary time.
When you’ve been supplied Emirates Premium Connections Service in Dubai, what was your expertise like?
