Watch TPG UK Fly All 3 Emirates Cabins on the Same Flight
Hot on the wings of TPG UK's Battle of The Big Three Middle East A380s, the next comparison review is here: The Emirates All-Cabin Review. The Middle Eastern giant is renowned for its first-class cabin, which is often deemed one of the best in the world. And, since the Dubai-baed carrier began flying its newest first-class product to London's Stansted airport, we figured it'd be a great time to both give that product a thorough reviewand combine that with an all-cabin review.
Following the success of our first all-class review with British Airways, we knew that we wanted to give Emirates a similar treatment, but finding availability through Emirates Skywards in all three cabins on the same flight was proving difficult. However, on one Saturday afternoon, availability opened up, and we couldn't miss the chance. Three of the team members (director of content Nicky Kelvin, head of video Jean Arnas and senior writer Ben Smithson) scrapped their Sunday plans and packed a bag for Dubai.
In total, each of the cabins cost:
- Economy — £271
- Business — 62,500 Emirates Skywards miles + £373
- First — 85,000 Emirates Skywards miles + £373
As you might imagine, the team had very different experiences. Of course, things are expected to be better as you pay more money (or points) to move up classes of service, but what we're really trying to do is show whether each of the classes are a good value for money. Nicky was jammy enough to secure the very front of the plane in First Class; Jean was close behind in business class and Ben definitely drew the short straw and was "very happy when the flight landed."
Without further ado, here's what it was like to fly with Emirates in all three classes of service on a flight from Dubai (DXB) to London (STN).
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