The Travelling Dassie: Emirates Economy class Airbus A380-800 EK049

Route

EK049 from Dubai to Munich 16 May 2013

Scheduled Duration

6 hours 30 min

On time departure and arrival

Departed 13 minutes late but arrived 15 minutes early in Munich

Ground Crew and check-in

Check in was handled by Emirates staff. This was a connection flight and we check in online 24 hours before the first leg of the journey. Our luggage were booked through to Munich. All A380's depart from Terminal A. There is a train service between Terminal C, where we arrived and Terminal A
Ground crew were friendly and helpful.

Boarding procedure

Priority boarding for First and Business Class passengers, as well as skywards gold/silver members, families with small children and assisted passengers.
Economy class boarding was by zone, with passengers sitting at the back of the aircraft boarding first.

Luggage allowance

Hand luggage - One piece of carry-on luggage.
Checked luggage - 30 kg. Extra allowance depending on Frequent traveler status.
See more on baggage allowances and rules.

Before take-off

Moist hot towels were provided to freshen up.

Seating

This flight had 3 classes, First, Business and Economy.
Fisrt and Business class is on the upper deck.

Seat pitch - 86.36 cm (34")
Seat width - 45.72 cm (18")
Seatmap can be viewed on Seatguru or on Emirates Airbus A380-800
We sat in row 51 F and G. It is bulkhead seats and had normal recline. It had standard overhead storage space. I enjoy sitting against the bulkhead as there is nobody sitting behind you, on this configuration, there was a passage behind us and the flight attendants bumped into our seats with the trolleys.
Manual air vent and remote controlled reading light. Button to call the flight attendant.

In flight Amenities

Pillow and blanket
Stereo headset

Entertainment

Emirates won numerous awards for their ICE in-flight system.
See more on Emirates ICE
On demand entertainment system with a wide selection of movies, TV programs and music. You can also stay in touch with latest headlines from the BBC, follow the progress of your flight or view the aircraft's external cameras.
The ICE touch screen system is easy to use and movies can be started as soon as you are seated. A remote control is also provided.
Flight progress were displayed on screens against the bulkhead

In-flight communications

Satellite phone.
Mobile phones could be used.
Wifi available to purchase.

Charging points for electronic devices

USB charging point. Regular 110V AC power port at every other seat ( shared port)

Meals and refreshments

Breakfast
A light breakfast were served.
On the tray - Fruit salad, Cold breakfast, croissant, Nutella, mini flat breads, orange juice and cup for coffee. Cutlery, wet wipe, one sugar sachet, salt and pepper, serviette.
I had the Arabic mezze and it was very tasty. The other option was a cheese platter

Lunch
A hot lunch were served before landing.
On the tray - Starter, Hot lunch, bun, dessert, Box with salty biscuits, chilly dip and cheese, still water and cup for coffee. Cutlery, wet wipe, one sugar sachet, salt and pepper, serviette and small chocolate.
I had the chicken, it was ok, the veggies was a bit rubbery.

Specify any dietary requirements at time of booking e.g. vegetarian.

Refreshments
Coffee/tea was served after meals. Drinks and wine were served before the meal as well as a small packet of pretzels

Toilets

The toilets were kept clean.
Soap, body lotion and fragrance were provided.
Paper towels and tissues.
Basin to wash hands and brush teeth.
Baby changing facilities

In-flight shopping

In-flight shopping was available

Travelling with Children

Baby bassinets must be pre booked. Meal request for children must be made at time of reservation.
Milk and baby food can be warmed up by the cabin crew
Read more on Emirates - Travelling with infants

Crew

The crew was friendly and helpful.

Disembarking

First class disembarked first, then business class. Economy class disembarked from the front of the plane.

Overall opinion

What I liked

Tasty and well presented meals.

Entertainment system
Very generous seats

Not so good

Flight attendants bumping into our seats with service trolleys. Service was at times a bit slow.
The A380 can take over 500 passengers, luggage can take a long time to arrive at the carousel due to the sheer volume of luggage that must be handled.