We are home after the scheduled 16 hour 15 minute flight from Dubai to LAX. It took off 45 minutes late but arrived only 5 minutes late. It was the closest to polar flight I have been on, passing midway between the northern tip of Greenland and the North Pole. It flew directly north from Dubai over Iran, up to what's left of the Aral Sea, then over Russia into the Arctic. Liz circumnavigated the North Pole on a 2008 eclipse flight.
Emirates runs a massive amount of flights out of Dubai, and it sure seemed that most of them left in the morning. We got in line at 6:30 for our 8:30 flight, only to find out 35 minutes later that there was a separate queue for flights to the U.S. At 7:15 we were allowed to the front of the US line due to our schedule. With emigration and security we did not get to the gate until 8:05.
The good news is that Emirates deserves its reputation as far as the actual flight is concerned, a lot of small factors that add up. This was the first time I've been on an Airbus A380, where were in row 82 out of 87 on the lower level. There was a separate ramp from the gate leading to the presumably first class upper level and I saw no connection between the two levels on the plane. There were maybe 15 rows of Business Class in the front of the lower level in 2-4-2 configuration while the rest in economy were 3-4-3. From what I read the upper level is also 2-4-2 business class.
The economy seats were conspicuously wider than in other widebody jets with 3-4-3 configuration. Anybody else been on an Airbus A380? The recline angle seemed normal but the seat moved forward slightly to improve thigh support and made the recline more comfortable. Liz slept more than I've seen any flight, though the prior two days' schedule had something to do with that. After the ski day 2/27 there was a transfer to Tashkent, go to bed 10:30PM, get up 1AM for the flight to Dubai, arrive 8AM and we are up to midnight with tourist activities, then up again 5:15AM for the flight home. I slept about four hours from morning 2/27 to midnight 2/28 and Liz more like two.
Those wider seats also meant a wider screen, and so we both watched 3 movies, also assisted by Emirates' headsets that covered most of the ear and blocked out background noise much better than the ones used by nearly all airlines. It may have been luck but I used the restroom 3x and never had to wait in line for it. Food was above average for an airline. And there was no attempt to surcharge the ski bags, which also made it to LAX, something that does not always happen in my experience.
