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Emirates new business class takes flight
I have often wondered why many people are such Emirates devotees when they have such a variable business class product with one of the worst seats in a cramped 2-3-2 configuration on some older aircraft. While their A380 seats are very good, many of the B777s have been lagging behind. Now, finally, the first refurbed B777 with the new seats is in service with its first flight to Geneva today. The aircraft will be entering service four days ahead of its officially announced deployment schedule.
The new Emirates 777 Business Class has better privacy and a lighter-feeling colour scheme with less bling. There are 38 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration with direct aisle access, unlike before. Each e20.7-inch-wide seat converts to a flat bed, which reclines up to 78.6 inches. Like the A380 seats, there is a personal mini-bar, table for dining or working, multiple charging outlets for personal devices and more. The seat’s touch screen seat controller for in-flight entertainment and seat operation and a personal 23-inch HD screen.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “Emirates continues to carry out our commitment to deliver an unmatchable onboard experience with the introduction of our latest Boeing 777 with new signature interiors, raising the industry benchmark when it comes to premium travel. Our latest Business Class cabin offers customers a sense of exclusivity and privacy, complemented by our best-in-class suite of onboard products. The addition of our popular Premium Economy cabin, rated one of the best in the industry, injects modern sophistication to the flying experience and is carefully designed for more comfort. With more Boeing 777s and A380s refreshed to sport our latest generation onboard products, customers can consistently have the very best experiences in the sky across both aircraft types.”
The aircraft also features the new Premium Economy cabin consisting of 24 seats set in three rows in a 2-4-2 abreast layout. The cream leather seats, accentuated by wood panel finishings across the cabin, offer enhanced comfort with a 38-inch pitch, 19.5-inch-wide seats that recline 8 inches in addition to 6-way adjustable headrests.
The Emirates Boeing 777 Business Class cabin will also include a small bar for customers to quickly grab mid-flight snacks and refreshments. As yet, there are no pictures of this, but I envisage it to be like the Qatar Airways one on the B787.
Emirates will be refurbishing another 80 Boeing 777 aircraft. In addition to Geneva, the airline will deploy its upgraded Boeing 777s with new cabins to Tokyo Haneda and Brussels in the next few weeks, and more destinations to be served with this aircraft type will be announced soon.
The airline has earmarked 191 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft for a full facelift as part of the largest known retrofit programme the industry has seen in scale and size. Once the project is complete, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refreshed First-Class suites, 11,182 upgraded Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats.
Once the refurbishment is completed, I think Emirates will definitely be able to compete on a more level field with Qatar, although, of course, they still won’t have anything like Qsuites in business class.
Emirates currently operates its refurbished aircraft to New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, London Heathrow, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore, Sao Paulo, Tokyo Narita, Osaka, Geneva and Dubai.
1000 bonus Virgin Points on Virgin Trains Ticketing
If you want to boost your Virgin Points, there is an easy offer available. You can now get 1,000 bonus Virgin Points. They are referring to it as “Your ticket to £5 off,” but you can actually spend the 1000 points on anything; you don’t need to use them on a train ticket purchase.
You will also earn double points on all booked train travel; it’s now 6 points / £1 instead of 3. Of course, this could be a very easy way to get some points cheaply if you need a top-up, as the minimum spend is only £5 to get the 1000 points.
I have just done this to test it out. If you have a Virgin Atlantic Credit Card you may have a cashback offer on Virgin trains – mine was 6%, so make sure you use that too.
First, you need to have a Virgin Red account. Then, use that to sign into the Virgin Trains Ticketing app. Book your ticket, and then when you go to check out, you should see two promo banners like this:
Once you have completed the payment, you will need to click on the “£5 off” promo, which will give you a code you can copy. In your Virgin Red app, go to “Account”, click on Promo code, and enter it. The 1000 points should credit instantly.
The offers end 1 September.
New lounge at Gatwick airport
If you are looking for a new, cheaper lounge to try at Gatwick, Plaza Premium has just opened a new concept lounge at the North Terminal called Plaza Express. Normally I would view Plaza Premium as having some of the more luxurious airport lounges, but this one is definitely more at the budget end. However, it is considerably cheaper than the average lounge which costs £30-45 per person.
The lounge is next to the main Plaza Premium lounge in the space that was occupied by Virgin. The new lounge is aimed at leisure travellers and families so don’t expect anything too fancy. The press release describes it as “offering leisure travelers the ‘Plaza Premium Lounge’ hospitality but with more affordable entry rates, high-speed Wi-Fi, cozy zoned seating and delicious food and drink.”
The space offers runway views and breakfast from the buffet in the mornings until 11am. Throughout the day, there are the “build-your-own-dish” stations where guests and children alike can make their own burger, hot dog and salad at the ‘help yourself buffet’ stations, while fresh pizzas are also available. All food, beer and soft drinks are unlimited. However, there are no spirits, just wine and beer and you have to pay more for unlimited wine.
For those travelling with family there is a dedicated play area for smaller children and a pool table for the big kids.
The lounge is open daily from 5am to 4pm. A ‘Quick and Easy’ package allows you to one-time access into Plaza Express and stay up to 1.5 hours, this includes unlimited food and beverages (£18 for adults) or you can upgrade to include wines at £25 per adult for 2 hours of access. Children under 11 go free with each accompanying adult.
You can book in advance through the Plaza Premium Lounge website here.
1 comment
If this was April the 1st, I’d think the Emirates article was a wind up and you were showing a picture from 10 years ago. Seriously dated before its rolled out. No doors, seats by the isle no privacy from getting bumped whatsoever. Just don’t get Emirates at their price point
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