Emirates Economy Class: DXB-SFO A380

After grabbing some rest in the sleep ‘n fly pods after my redeye flight from the Maldives, I was ready for the 16 hour flight from Dubai (DXB) to San Francisco (SFO) on their A380. Given this would be the longest flight I’ve flown in Economy, my seat assignment was key to a comfortable flight. I was able to book a window seat within the first 5 rows of the lower deck for only GBP 30. Well worth it! The aisle seat was already booked which left the middle seat open. I watched the seat map as well as set ExpertFlyer alerts if the aisle seat became available. Boarding went smoothly, but given the additional screening for US-bound passengers and SSSS on my boarding pass due to the one-way ticket I arrived to the gate early. After the boarding was completed my aisle seat mate was ecstatic that nobody sat in the middle. I knew nobody would sit there unless there was a last minute change.

We pushed back on time and taxied towards the long runway @ DXB. It was a clear day in Dubai so I had great views of the desert and we were off for San Francisco! Breakfast was served shortly after takeoff which I didn’t eat much as I had breakfast in the lounge prior to the flight. Dinner was served about 6 hours later and was tasty. Not bad for Economy!

There was WiFi on this flight so I paid USD 15.99 for the 500MB plan which was plenty of data for my iPhone throughout the flight. The speeds weren’t great as it was powered by OnAir, but it was sufficient for iMessage, email and light web browsing. Coverage was solid except for the ~3-4 hours we were flying over the North Pole.

I was able to get some sleep despite the large gap on A380’s between the seat and the window by using my neck pillow. The seats were comfortable and inflight entertainment featured tons of content to keep me busy. If this flight was full it would have been almost unbearable for such a long flight. The service was very prompt and I had no issues.

We landed in San Francisco on time and had excellent views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the City.

Conclusion: I’d recommend this flight if you are flying it in Business or First Class, but for Economy I’d prefer to make a stop in Europe as long as I’m not flying United. Emirates is a top tier member in the Star Alliance group.