My Emirates Business Class 777-300er Review
This is the second part of a recent trip review to Cyprus in which I was not only able to benefit from the wonders of the long-haul Emirates Business-Class services but also the delights of First Class. What’s more exciting is that both flights cost no more than an economy ticket! During this Emirates 777 Business Class review I’ll walk you through my various experiences of Emirates Business Class (both the good and the ugly) as well as providing a list of step-by-step instructions as to how you, too, could also fly either on Emirates Boeing 777-300er Business Class or even First Class for less than economy!
Let's break this post down...
Booking – Emirates Business Class Flights
We all know that flying Business Class can be an expensive affair and with the Emirates Business Class flight price for a return journey between London and Dubai somewhere in the region of £2,400 it’s only available to a select few. That said – and as I mentioned earlier – it’s possible to use air miles earned through credit cards to significantly reduce the price of Emirates Business Class flights.
I was lucky enough to find myself in Cyprus through work and was aware that Emirates provided a daily flight from Dubai to Cyprus which then flew on to Malta. The opportunity to experience the Emirates Boeing 777-300er Business Class product and be able to provide this Emirates Business Class review was too good to miss! This review is for the return journey from Malta to Cyprus following my First-Class Flight (reviewed here) the day before.
Emirates Business Class Cost
Let’s start by looking at what this flight should have cost and what I was able to redeem it at.
The cheapest Emirates Business Class price I can find between Malta and Cyprus is in the region of £750 (825 euros). Now with the wonders of being able to earn miles through credits cards, you can reduce the cost significantly as seen below.
For those who are new to the world of air miles, if you sign up to the free American Express Gold Card (reviewed here) and spend £3,000 in the first 3 months you’ll receive a total of 10,000 air miles (12,000 if you use this link). You’ll also earn 1 point for every £1 spent on the card. Therefore with a little spending on the credit card coupled with the sign up bonus you could easily reduce the cost of this Emirates 777 Business Class flight from £750 to just £150.
Now I would highlight at this point that the flight between Malta and Larnaca is one of the best redemptions for Emirates. Emirates Business Class flights between say London and Dubai would require significantly more miles however this shouldn’t put you off! As you can see below an Emirates Airlines Business Class flight between London and Dubai would set you back a total of 45,000 air miles.
Whilst this may sound like quite a lot it’s possible for most people if you put your mind to it. Perhaps the easiest way to earn this number of points would by signing up to the American Express Gold Card initially for 12,000 point using this link and then the American Express Platinum Card (reviewed here). The card comes with a whopping £575 pa fee however, as you’ll read in my review, for most people this is offset by the benefits of the card. You’ll also receive an enhanced sign-up bonus of 30,000 points (35,000 if you use this link and scrolling down to the correct card). This is one of the cards I currently hold.
Emirates Business Class Seating Plan
So now we’ve seen that it’s possible to book and receive an Emirates Business Class Upgrade free of charge (actually it’s even better than an upgrade!) let’s get back to that Emirates Business Class Review 777-300er.
The Emirates Business Class seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 format as seen below.
I was in seat 8G which is a window seat and a reasonable option. I’d note that the seat next to me 8F as well as 8B had fold-out TV screens which need to be stowed for take-off. This could be a bit of a pain if you want to watch films for the entire flight. I would also have had to climb over the person next to me if they’d had their seat all the way down, which is never great. Also try to avoid the seat in the middle if you’re travelling by yourself. The privacy is poor and you’ll always have to climb across someone if you need to get to the aisle.
I’d always recommend heading over to Seat Guru when booking a flight; there are various handy tips and possible issues you should look out for. An example of this would be the seats highlighted in red which do not have a window.
Emirates Business Class Chauffeur
One excellent benefit of flying with Emirates is that you’ll receive a completely free Emirates Business Class chauffeur who will both pick you up before your flight (within 50 miles) and drop you off at the other end (again within 50 miles). You need to book this at least 48 hours before your flight – although I had forgotten, and the customer services team at Emirates did an amazing job sorting out a car at 24 hours’ notice.
As I was just in Malta for the evening and travelling by myself, I’d booked myself into a local tourist hostel. I suspect I was one of the first to be picked up from that hostel in a chauffeur-driven car. What a great way to start the return flight back to Cyprus!
Check-In – Emirates Business Class 777-300er
One thing you’ll notice about booking an Emirates Business Class chauffeur is that the minimum amount of time you can book a car is 3 hours 30 minutes before your flight. As I was staying just 15 minutes from Malta airport, I turned up in plenty of time! So much time in fact that the check-in desks hadn’t even opened. When they finally did, Emirates Business Class passengers benefit from a separate check-in lane, although not particularly useful when all check-in desks are empty!
In most airports you’ll also benefit from premium security with Emirates Business Class flights. This can save anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes, which meant I had even more time airside!
Emirates Business Class Lounge
Arriving early did have one benefit and that was the ability to experience the Emirates Business Class Lounge. Due to the size of Malta Airport and the limited number of Emirates flights, Emirates use a local, third-party provider La Valette Club Lounge. I usually find third-party lounges relatively unpleasant – overcrowded, very limited food and drink – however this was a real exception!
It benefited from the best outdoor area I’ve been to in some time, plenty of seating and even a reasonable food selection! Whilst this doesn’t compare to the likes of the flagship Emirates Business Class lounges in Dubai, the experience is a step up on most third-party lounges you’ll have access to when flying Business Class with Emirates.
Boarding – Emirates Boeing 777-300er Business Class
Once I’d made the most of the complimentary food and drink in the lounge, I headed to the gate where boarding was just about to commence. For the first time ever, I was the first onto the plane and shown to my Emirates Business Class Seat.
As I mentioned earlier I had decided to choose seat 8G which was a window seat and felt the most private. Now I’ve flown in Business with several airlines and in comparison to British Airways, the seat product was reasonable. That’s predominantly because the BA seat product is now rather dated. However, in comparison to say the Qatar QSuite, the Emirates Business Class product is miles behind the times.
The Emirates Business Class seats are beginning to feel tired and there was clear signs of wear and tear. What’s even worse for a night flight is that the seats don’t recline to a fully flat position and for anyone over 6 foot there’s a very annoying footrest that ended up driving me completely and utterly mad!
Now upon arrival you’re meant to be offered either a glass of Laurent-Perrier Brut, orange or water. This didn’t happen and in fact it took nearly 35 minutes for me to get my first drink! This was actually after my food had been served. For a Business Class product this is shambolic to say the least. I’ve submitted a complaint to Emirates (more as a test to see how they’ll handle it) and will update this post once I’ve heard back.
So having not been offered a drink upon arrival this Emirates Business Class flight didn’t get off to the best start and was definitely not the Emirates flight experience I’d imagined!
IFE System – Emirates 777 Business Class
Whether you’re travelling in Emirates Airlines Business Class or economy the in-flight entertainment system is exceptional. With over 2,500 channels there is definitely no shortage of good entertainment and with a set of noise-cancelling headphones you’re not going to be distracted.
Situated next to the seat is a tablet to control the TV screen which is mounted on either the seat or wall in front (if you’re seated in the front row).
For some reason the wall-mounted screens are slightly higher and glare can be bad during a day flight making it hard to see. I’d move to the seat behind if I was booking again! You can also gain free access to the Emirates Business Class Wi-Fi, which I didn’t use to surf the internet but did use to make an internet call (quite literally blew my mind!)
Amenities – Emirates Business Class Review
As I was only on a short flight with a flight time of 2 hours 30 minutes I wasn’t offered an amenity kit. If you’re flying on a long-haul night flight, you’ll be provided with a Bulgari-branded amenity kit which is one of the best in the skies and contains the usual necessities (albeit of a very high quality).
Food and Beverage – Does It Live Up to the Emirates Business Class Price?
The lack of an alcoholic drink before my meal was a massive downer. This, I believe, was due to the cabin crew wanting to rush out food. Whilst this was a relatively short flight, there were only a small number of people in Business, so this shouldn’t have caused such an issue.
On the Emirates First-Class menu was the following options:
- Seasonal Fruit to Start
- Main Course:
- Grilled Beef Fillet
- Seared Sea Bass Fillet
- Grilled Chicken
- Dessert Chocolate Walnut Brownie
This is a reduced menu due to the short nature of the flight and in my eyes provided a reasonable offering. The cabin crew took my order, at which point I’d highlighted that I was gasping for a drink and could they make this a priority which they did but it all seemed a little late.
I decided to go for the Beef Fillet as a main which, whilst it looked slightly unappetising, was very tasty. This was washed down with a nice glass of St Emilion. In all I thought the selection of Emirates Business Class meals was fine for a 2 hour 30 minute flight and not dissimilar to what I had received in First Class!
Emirates New Business Class – What Did I Miss?
Besides my welcome drink there were a couple of things which aren’t included in Emirates Boeing 777-300er Business Class in comparison to the Business Class product on the A380 (superjumbo!).
One highlight of the A380 is the signature Emirates Business Class bar, which can be found on the upper deck and provides a space to stretch your legs and also relax away from your seat.
The Emirates Business Class seating plan on the A380 is also arranged differently in a 1-2-1 configuration compared to the 2-3-2 of the Boeing 777. Whilst the overall density is broadly the same seats tend to feel a lot more spacious due to the layout, see below:
Summary – Could I Justify the Full Business Class Emirates Price?
Justifying the Business Class Emirates price is always a tricky one and something that will vary for so many people. This was the first time I’d flown on the Emirates Boeing 777-300er Business Class product and perhaps it was slightly overshadowed by my First-Class Emirates flight (reviewed here) the day before. However, I was expecting just that little bit more.
The Emirates 777 Business Class chauffeur is a fabulous way to kick off any flight and really does have a cost benefit. I’d have likely spent £50 in taxis either side of the flight. There’s an argument to say this would be more if I was prepared to pay for a premium car (which I’m not).
The quality of service is generally outstanding; I think I was just unlucky with this particular flight. The Emirates Business Class lounge in Dubai is meant to be great, I’m hoping to review this shortly, and for a third-party lounge the La Valette Club Lounge hit the spot.
When booking I’d also recommend that you have a look at the Emirates Business Class seating plan using Seat Guru and possibly avoid the front row due to the height of the screen and problems with glare on a day flight!
We’ve seen how you can significantly reduce the Emirates Business Class cost using air miles and this is definitely something I’d recommend for most people. By signing up to the (free for the first year) American Express Gold Card (reviewed here) you can earn a sign-up bonus of 10,000 points (12,000 if you use this link). If you’re able to spend a further £8,000 on the card you’d earn 8,000 points. This significantly reduced the cost of a one-way ticket from £750 to £150! Worth bearing in mind if you’re considering flying Emirates Business class 777-300er.
As always, we hope you’ve enjoyed this Emirates Business Class review 777-300er. Please do share our post with anyone who you think may find it interesting!
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