I had the pleasure of flying on Emirates A380 in September of 2018 from New York’s JFK to Uganda via Dubai in business class. I have been wanting to fly this product for a very long time. I have probably watched every YouTube video there was to watch on the configuration of the plane, the seats, food, lounge, everything. When I tell you I was ready, I was ready lol.

My day started with a complimentary chauffeur ride from my home to the airport. Emirates provides this service for free for Business Class and First Class passengers. No Uber here. My ride arrived promptly to take me from my home in NJ to New York John F. Kennedy airport. Just as a side note, Emirates does fly out of Newark, NJ however their is not yet a dedicated lounge and the A380 doesn’t fly out of Newark (at least not at the time of my trip). 

Upon arriving, I headed straight to the Premium Class check-in counter as I was checking a bag. I was too hype to not be in the Economy line for once 😂. Check In was a breeze. I prefer to have my boarding pass on my phone if the airline has mobile boarding pass available. It’s one less piece of paper I have to carry and plus, all your information is in the little bar code (in case you didn’t know) and I like to save trees. 

One of the perks of traveling Premium Class is having access to the lounge to relax and grab a bite to eat before the flight. My flight was mid morning around 11am so breakfast was served in the lounge. There were not a lot of choices but I made do. Of course my bougie ass that never has champagne for breakfast just had to have some Cliquot with my eggs because I’m fancy lol.  

The lounge is equipped with high speed WiFi, dedicated prayer rooms, bathrooms and separate showers for those travelers who like to freshen up before, after or in-between flights. I took advantage of the lounge showers in the Dubai airport lounge before boarding my flight to Uganda because after 12 hours on a plane you feel funky and I still had another 9 hours of travel to go.  

Business and First-Class passengers board the plane directly from the lounge so no mingling with common folk eh I mean economy class passengers. The boarding process was smooth and I boarded early in order to film my famous cat walk down the Jetway (not really). As a matter of respect, I try not to purposely record the staff or other travelers in my videos because I know what its like to have strangers take photos of me. On this particular flight, I held my camera mid-level but because I had so many bags in my hand as I was entering the plane, the camera did shift a bit and a crew member did told me to ask permission before filming the crew. It wasn’t until rewatching the footage that I saw that part of her face was captured (this was not intentional).

The flight itself was comfortable, the food was excellent and the cabin crew was nice and attentive. Emirates cabin crew member Kahlil saw me with my camera and invited me to the bar for a tour and mini photoshoot. This was very nice of him to offer and even snapped a photo with me.

The bed in full lay-flat mode was quite comfortable, but I did find that it was a little tight for the window seats. As a plus size traveler, I was expecting more from the seat. The tray table did not adjust which to me made it very awkward if I needed to get up out of the seat. The entry to the window seat area was also a tight squeeze even for the average sized person. I find that the single aisle seats offer more room to get in and out of the seat. I was also a bit disappointed that no slippers or pajamas were given in business. I was spoiled with this on my flight from India to NY via Abu Dhabi on Etihad’s A320 back in 2016. I am aware that due to cost cutting measures, the pajamas are no longer provided. I was prepared for this flight however and brought my own change of clothes for the plane. I had 12 hours to Dubai and then an additional 9 hours to Uganda so having a change of clothes to get comfortable for the fight was essential.

I slept for about 4 hours since I wanted to get my body adjusted to the local time. Emirates has the best in-flight entertainment system in the sky with new release movies, documentaries, tv shows and music; there was no shortage of things to watch to keep me entertained. Honestly, the flight was so comfortable and I watched so many movies and shows that the 12 hours felt like 6.

Overall, if I had to fly for 12 hours, I would much rather do so in business class and Emirates does this well dispite the few “complaints” I have. I use that term loosely because I know everyone does not have the privilege of flying premium class.  

Check out my vlog on my business class experience below 👇🏾. Be sure you give the video a thumbs up 👍🏽if you liked it and be sure to subscribe for more travel content!