Emirates Airbus A380 First Class Trip Report from NYC to Milan: Traveling like millionaires

During our epic adventure from Baltimore to the Maldives, Bertaut and I flew Emirates First Class on their Airbus A380 from NYC to Milan. If I could use only one word to sum up the flight, it would be “mind-blowing”. We have had a first class flight experience before on a different airline, but nothing compares to flying on an Emirates Airbus A380. I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials with Jennifer Anniston where she is looking for the bar and the shower. Yeah, there really is a bar and shower, but the shower is only for First Class customers. The bar is available to business class and first class customers and is amazing. More on that later, but let me first start at the beginning.

When you fly First Class with Emirates, there is a separate check in area. We had no line and then received fast track passes to get through security much more quickly without having to wait in long lines. We were already feeling like VIP’s before we even set foot on the airplane, but had no idea what was in store for us.

We entered the flight feeling relaxed after our Emirates Lounge experience with some champagne and delicious bites to eat. We were each escorted to our seats, which are actually suites, by lovely flight attendants wearing the classy uniforms with their signature red hats and white scarves.

We were offered a beverage as soon as we arrived so naturally we went with more champagne. Each suite has its own mini bar with soda, juice, and water that opens with the push of a button and closes when you don’t need it. We were like giddy school children in our suites as we discovered all its bells and whistles. We especially enjoyed the partition that went up and down between our suites and the door that closed our suites off from the aisle in case we wanted some privacy. There’s even a sign on the outside of each suite that lights up with Do Not Disturb when you wish to sleep.

Every few minutes a flight attendant came by our suites offering us a different treat, beverage, or amenity before take-off, so we were like kids in a candy shop. Bertaut opted for some Arabic coffee and we both enjoyed more of the addictively delicious dates.

They brought us warm lemon scented wash clothes to refresh ourselves before taking off.

There is also a basket of snacks in each suite in case you get the munchies before take-off.

Each suite’s desk has a vanity mirror with lights that pops open and has little tubes of face and body cream and aromatherapy beads to help you sleep or focus. 

The desk has a drawer that holds a writing kit with a quality pen and stationery should you feel the urge to write a letter.

Suites are adorned with a fresh rose in a vase attached to the wall and multiple lamps to set the relaxed vibe or offer more light if you need to get some work done.

Flight attendants bring you a set of comfortable beige pajamas with matching slippers, eye shades, and a cosmetic case containing very nice Bulgari products. They provide everything you need for a relaxing flight so you don’t even need to access your carry-on. Now that’s how millionaires travel, so I hear. 😉

In my cosmetic case, I was very excited to find a miniature bottle of Bulgari perfume, nourishing face emulsion, and perfumed body lotion. In addition to the Bulgari products they included toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, a refreshing towel, and tissues. Bertaut’s cosmetic case included Bulgari cologne, body lotion and after shave balm as well as deodorant, shave foam, razor, hairbrush, toothpaste, toothbrush, and tissues.

Just before take off, flight attendants come around to take your drinks and snacks, which they return later with some delicious canapé once it’s safe to serve food in air. I was tempted to down my glass of champagne but our flight attendant told me “Don’t worry, after take off we serve even better champagne- Dom Perignon.” With that I happily handed over my unfinished glass of champagne (I don’t even remember what kind it was) and started giggling about being able to taste Dom Perignon for the first time in my life.

In between sips of champagne and bites of delicious canapé, I started to get more familiar with my suite. There is a control panel that operates the chair’s many impressive functions, including massage and fully reclining into a bed. It also controls the lights and TV, which I didn’t even use during the flight because I was too excited checking out everything the Airbus had to offer. It was nice though to look up occasionally on the large screen and see our location as we crossed the Atlantic.

Each suite is also equipped with a charging station which came in very handy for our cell phones during the long flight.

For the Wi-Fi, the first 10MB of data are free, then $1 for up to 500MB. The speed was decent though I wouldn’t say blazing fast; hey we were browsing the Internet at 40,000 feet without issues so no complaints there. The Wi-Fi service with Emirates was much cheaper when compared to that of Etihad (We flew from Abu Dhabi to Washington Dulles in the Business Studio class).

We were eager to explore the plane and find the lounge for business and first class customers as seen in the commercials. Our flight attendant brought our bottle of Dom Perignon to the bar for us, since business class customers were served Veuve Cliqout champagne. We were really feeling like VIP’s at that point. The lounge was even better than we had expected. There were beautiful appetizers, sandwiches, and finger foods everywhere you looked.

We enjoyed chatting with some other passengers about the amazing flight and our travel plans while sipping our champagne. We didn’t even taste any of the snacks they had out since we had eaten in the lounge before our flight and were full. The next time we fly Emirates first class (and yes, I am claiming that now, not simply hoping for it), I will board the flight hungry and ready to taste as many gourmet food offerings as possible. Looking at these photos is making me wish I had tried so much more (and I’m getting hungry as I’m writing this).

In addition to the lounge for business and first class customers, there is also a bar strictly for first class customers at the front of the cabin with more snacks and alcohol. I really am kicking myself that we didn’t try at least one cocktail while we were on that flight.

We weren’t hungry when we first boarded the flight but after several hours of exploring and soaking in all the excitement, we worked up our appetites. The menu was very impressive, and you can order food at any time, which is a huge perk not available on most airlines even in first class.

Over the course of the flight we sampled many of the offerings between the two of us, but left feeling like we wished we had tasted even more since the food was exceptional. We tried the caviar paired with a shot of Russian Vodka per our flight attendant’s excellent recommendation. At first bite I wasn’t crazy about the caviar, but when I took a dab of the accompaniments for each bite, it was a delightful combination of caviar, onion, egg, sour cream, and blinis. Now I understand why people rave about caviar.

We sampled the Traditional Arabic Mezze platter, which was delicious but way more food than we could handle. It included hummus, moutabel, muhammara, shanklish salad, tabouleh, seafood salad, stuffed vine leaves, lamb kibbeh, spinach fatayer and cheese sambousek. I don’t even know what some of that is, but I tasted a few bites of each item and everything was mouthwatering.

I had planned on getting the Roast Sea Bass Fillet but was too full after the mezze platter so sadly didn’t end up getting a main course.

Before our flight landed we enjoyed breakfast to give us some fuel for the full day in Milan ahead. We ordered the egg white omelette with cheese which was served with rosti, butter beans in tomato sauce, sautéed spinach, croissants, yogurt, and fresh fruit. It was a healthy and tasty meal that gave us energy to explore Milan’s sights during our 9 hour layover (that we opted for since Bertaut had never been to Italy).

They also have an extensive bar menu, and looking back I wish we had tried more than just the champagne and a shot of vodka.

After our excitement settled down and our stomachs were full, we decided to get some sleep. While we were getting ready for bed, the flight attendants prepared our beds for us complete with mattresses, comforters, and Godiva chocolates on our pillows. That’s what I call excellent service.

After a whopping 2 hours of sleep (we were too excited to sleep any sooner), it was time for our showers. We scheduled our showers the latest possible, which was one hour before landing. Our flight attendants woke us up for the Emirates A380 Shower Spa Experience at 40,000 feet. They created a personal guide to using the shower, which we shared below.

The bathrooms on the Airbus are incredible, and it will be hard to go back to a normal bathroom on a flight after this experience. We actually did on our next Emirates First Class flight from Milan to Dubai on the Beoing 777, and it was a huge let down when I entered the bathroom. On the Airbus A380, the bathrooms are huge, extremely luxurious and well-equipped. The fact that they have a shower still blows my mind, and there’s enough space in the shower for a bench to sit down and shave your legs. There is also a LCD screen in the bathroom to keep you updated on flight information. I know some of you may be thinking these bathrooms would be the perfect place to join the mile-high club, but don’t even think about it. Emirates is a conservative airline of the United Arab Emirates, and that would surely get someone kicked off the plane. They don’t even allow someone to be tempted and have flight attendants stationed outside the bathrooms while people are inside. We weren’t going to try it, 😉 😉 but we had a friend ask us about it when they saw the photos of the enormous bathrooms so we thought we’d share with enquiring minds.

The floors in the bathroom are heated and you can adjust the temperature to your liking, which felt divine after my shower.

The bathroom is supplied with spa products by Timeless Spa that smelled heavenly including hand cream, soap, perfume and cologne. There are soap and small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and body peel available for the shower. They also provide shaving kits, loofas, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, cotton pads, cotton swabs, shower caps, and feminine hygiene products in the bathrooms. There’s a hairdryer so that you can arrive to your destination looking like a million bucks instead of someone who only got 2 hours of sleep. Despite my insufficient sleep, I must admit that I looked pretty good after my shower spa experience. 😉

In conclusion, we were highly impressed by the stellar amenities and outstanding customer service on the Emirates A380 flight from NYC to Milan. Compared to flying Emirates first class on Emirates’ Boeing 777, which we did on the next leg of our journey, it was much more exciting and luxurious due to the bar, lounge and phenomenal bathrooms. Our flight attendants were extremely attentive, sweet, and caring and treated us like royalty. The food and drinks were exceptional, the service was top-notch, and the atmosphere was inviting and relaxing. I cannot even think of a critique since everything was perfect. I just wish I could have stayed on the flight longer to enjoy more of the food, drinks and service. That’s the first time I’ve ever said that after an 8 hour flight. If you’ve never flown first class on an Emirates Airbus A380, add it to your bucket list now, because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Better yet, start saving your credit card points now (like Bertaut has been doing for years), and book your flight entirely on points like we did. You don’t have to be a millionaire to travel like one. Bertaut will be writing posts sharing his tips for booking the majority of our vacations on points and saving us a ton of money. If you’ve flown on an Airbus A380, what did you think? Are there any other airlines that offer a better experience than Emirates First Class? If so, please tell us about it so we can add it to our bucket list and then share it with our followers. Bon voyage! If you liked this post and want to get our tips to travel like a millionaire, please sign up for our email newsletter and RSS feed.