A large airline considering the fact that it is still fairly new to the scene, Emirates boasts a huge fleet and even a secondary hub in Auckland (its primary hub being in the UAE). Although opinion about Emirates tends to be fairly divided, it has developed a fairly decent reputation over the years – albeit one that is disputed fairly often. One thing is for certain though – Emirates is definitely up there with the other top airlines, and the only question is: How good is it really? As you would expect, service standards differ between Economy, Business, and First Class, so let’s go over each one to see what you can expect.

Economy Class

For a full-service long-haul carrier, one of the best things about flying Economy with Emirates is the price – which is generally a lot cheaper than other airlines. That being said, although it offers great prices on last-minute tickets, there are very few discounts offered for booking well in advance. All in all, though, it still works out cheaper than most other airlines.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that the Economy is hardly a pleasurable experience. Expect that the seats will be cramped, and the service while polite and readily at hand will still do little to help you forget that you’re crammed into a cabin with a couple hundred other people. In short – nothing fantastic, but then again that can be said for pretty much all Economy Class tickets out there.

Business and First Class

Needless to say, Business and First Class with Emirates are exquisite, and you’ll find yourself literally in the lap of luxury. On most long-haul flights, First Class passengers will even have their own suite all to themselves. On the latest aircraft, both Business and First Class passengers can even recline their seats into a fully flat bed that has its own mini-bar! With excellent in-flight entertainment and a fully stocked bar that you can go to and hang out at if you’re bored – there isn’t much more that you could ask for from a flight.

By the Way – The Food is Amazing Too

Of course, all of this is really to be expected, and most of the top full-service airlines with the latest aircraft tend to offer the same – what makes Emirates different however is that its Business Class tends to be a bit better (in terms of seats, flat beds, and a personal mini-bar), and actually more resembles First Class in some ways. As you can see, Emirates is a great airline and while it does have its downsides they are really not so bad. One problem that is slightly more serious however is that for some flights you may find that if you’re traveling by Emirates the entire journey you’ll end up having to make three or four stops.