Almost funnier than the Dubai Airshow 2021 experience was getting there.

Once I discovered I’d do the coverage of the event for Aviacionline (by the way: we were the only Latin American website to be there, and I highly encourage you to look at our fabulous work there), I started to do the maths to see which aircraft I’d take to move from Italy, where I live, to Dubai.

It turns out that from early November, Emirates had returned deploying the A380 in the Dubai-Milan route, so that was the easiest math ever.

I arrived at Malpensa some three hours before my flight and there was already some crowding around the Emirates check-in counters. I had already done my check-in online, though, so I just needed to drop my bag. There was no one ahead of me in the bag drop line, so I was called.

The guy that dispatched my bag was the greatest ever, and soon my luggage was on its way to the UAE.

One terrible problem of Milan Malpensa airport is the passport screening area. It took me 45 minutes in line, with several passengers cutting the line because they’d lose their flights, which let the atmosphere very very miserable.

There were plenty of extra-Schengen flights leaving that night, so it explains, more or less, the long line; still, it shows some lack of planning from the airport management.

Anyway, I got to the gate with more than enough time to spare – crew was still waiting at the gate to enter the aircraft. It was amazing to see how many crewmembers there were – 24 flight attendants and two pilots -, and this is because this was a «short» flight, with only one set of crewmembers on duty.

The inbound flight was a little bit late, which would definitely affect the clearance for our boarding, as Emirates’ evening flight to Milan does a short turnaround back to Dubai.

Once boarding started, there was a lot of crowding; the check-in agent told me 350 passengers would be onboard this evening, but since my boarding zone was one of the last ones, I could settle down a little bit.

But very rapidly it was my turn to enter the aircraft. I was unbelievably happy I would finally board an A380 after so many years of admiring that bird.

And lucky me that the plane deployed in that Dubai-Milan-Dubai run sported a special livery, one that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates.

According to Planespotters.net, A6-EOE holds serial number 169 and was delivered brand new to Emirates on December 2014. In December 2018, it was painted in orange Expo 2020 colors, and it was stored on Dubai Al Maktoum airport in February 2020.

In August 2021 it was transfered to Dubai’s main airport, where it was painted in the «Year of the Fiftieth» colors, leaving storage on the 3th of November – that is, nine days before my flight.

Boy, this plane is insanely huge. I couldn’t believe I was boarding an A380. The upper deck boarding bridge has direct access to Emirates’ lounge, since that deck only has Business and First seats.

So naturally the aircraft had to feel brand new. And it did. This is how we found my seat.

I usually don’t like the amount of rubbish airlines throw at you in Economy class on long-haul flights – mainly because there’s nowhere to throw it if you don’t use it and if the other seats are occupied -, but in the A380’s case, the seat pocket was so large you could easily throw it all there.

Emirates provided a pillow and blanket, both of which had a standard Economy class size. Anyway, I don’t use them unless I use an empty row to sleep, which was the case in the return flight but not in this one, as both seats by my side were occupied. So these went straight to the pocket.

What really called my attention, though, was the headset, really miles ahead of anything I’d seen in long-haul Economy class travel.

Boarding slowly progressed, with the Captain, which was Brazilian by the way, apologizing for the delay, blaming it on the inbound flight to Milan. He also said that taxi to the runway would be quite slow because of the fog.

I loved how the cabin felt, despite the flight being a red-eye; the mood lighting always helps in this regard.

Legroom was good and the seat was comfortable.

The two following photos were taken just before landing, hence the different light conditions.

And the seat was thought for the convenience of the Economy class passenger, since power plugs and USB ports are not hidden under the seats – they are located just by the screen, so you don’t need to put on a contortionism show to charge your phone.

The screen, by the way, was enormous.

At 22h03, 28 minutes after scheduled time of departure, the crew was finally ordered to close the doors.

Emirates’ safety instructions video, that seemed to last longer than Titanic, was then played both in Arabic and in English.

At least the video was clear and well-thought. After it was finally over, I turned into the famous tail camera to watch the rest of the taxi and take-off.

At 22h30 A6-EOE finally lined up in one of Malpensa’s runways. The four Engine Alliance GP7000 went into take-off position in what felt like a surprisingly smooth acceleration.

Oscar Echo slowly rotated and gained height in what – again – was a surprisingly smooth flying. I don’t know if it’s just my impression, but the A380 felt super slow and smooth in its motions. And that is not a complaint, obviously. It was just so comfortable.

About half an hour later, service was started. Before the flight, Emirates offers a digital menu so you know better the options, whereas onboard we were given the options between beef meatballs and chicken.

I chose the chicken and this is how I received the meal. What’s quite impressive, Emirates distributes actual cutlery, which is miles better than plastic cutlery.

The meal looked good for Economy class standards and it was delicious as well.

Drink options were also quite extensive; in fact, my entire row – me included – asked for some Jack Daniel’s, which was served in those small plastic bottles usually sold onboard in a lot of airlines.

Anyway, upon boarding I had asked to talk to the purser if he was available – I wanted to talk about the amazing plane the A380 was from his perspective. After service, we spoke very quickly and he said once he was free, he’d go to my seat.

Meanwhile, I started to explore Emirates’ ICE system, and it didn’t disappoint. I had always read it was the best in the skies, and it was true. It’s got so many options I got lost, but ultimately I settled in a Brazilian movie whose synopsis was interesting, «Loop».

That one was released this year – therefore, quite recent to be in an airline entertainment system. The movie was quite cringey at times, but not particularly bad. The premise was pretty interesting, indeed.

Halfway through the movie the purser called me, so I went to the upper deck into the cocktail bar, which, given the timing of the flight, was empty, and we spent some time talking about Emirates, operating the A380 and the role of the purser in the flight managing such a large crew… until he was called because a passenger in the row behind mine felt dizzy.

Thankfully it was nothing serious and soon everything was solved quite quickly.

Since I was already on foot and not willing to sit down to sleep, I asked for a coffee on the galley.

It impressed me how heavy the workload of the flight attendants throughout the flight was; it almost seemed like they never stopped, always checking on the passengers, passing carts and smiling and so on and so on and so on.

Before I went back to my seat, I checked one of the A380’s toilets; it was kept clean, though it was quite tight.

Almost everyone was sleeping, and passengers that hadn’t the luck of having a window seat could at least see the starry sky… sort of; this is one of the folcloric features of Emirates A380s, and I was happy to see it with my own eyes.

The flight attendant in our aisle, very sweet and lovely, spoke Italian with us through the flight. I don’t remember his name, but remember he said he was from Moldova.

After my movie ended, I went to see if there was any music I like to listen. There was: George Harrison’s 1970 masterpiece, «All Things Must Pass», which just this year had a 50th anniversary remaster launched.

Emirates’ ICE didn’t offer the newest version, but even the older one is a masterpiece, and if you haven’t heard it yet, go do it now (after you finished reading this trip report obviously).

Here’s an overview of the seat back.

And even the control itself has a touchscreen where you can play movies or pretty much anything from the ICE system, though I don’t know why anyone would do it having that massive screen there. But it’s useful, for example, to track the tail camera while watching a movie or selecting some music while watching one of the cameras in the main screen.

As we approached the UAE, another round of drinks for the morning, more coffee but, most importantly, very nice sights from the A380’s monstruous window.

The mood lighting behave accordingly, generating a cool atmosphere to slowly wake up passengers.

By the way, I always thought that the A380 window would be bad with the way it’s built – it’s always got this «framing», so to speak, but I barely noticed it, such was its size.

Despite the much longer delay upon departure, at 07h09 we landed in Dubai, just 19 minutes after the scheduled time, ending an amazing first flight on the A380.

The purser showed me around the First Class (no photos allowed, as it was very messy) before I waved goodbye: I was the last passenger to leave Echo Oscar, which proceeded to Frankfurt ten hours later.

And hell, I was still not over being amazed with the size of that plane.

Final remarks

This was, perhaps, the best Economy class experience I’ve witnessed so far. Besides the delay, almost offset upon arrival, Emirates did everything right.

The flight attendants all did a very professional job despite the long shift in a bad time – though a time they’re used to, since a large number of the Europe-Dubai flights leave around the same time. Food was generous for Economy class standards and even actual metal cutlery was provided.

The ICE system has been talked enough about, its wide variety catering to all tastes, with recent releases and classics too.

And to top it off, flying the A380 was a true delight. Enthusiasm notwithstanding, it is genuinely the best aircraft I’ve every flown, and while it’s a shame it is a species in extinction, I hope I can fly it again – hopefully on Business or, who knows, maybe First – very very soon. It was cool from start to finish.