Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 5 : EK414

Dubai (DXB) - Sydney (SYD)

As I turned into the rear Business Class cabin to take up position in 8A, I think the first thing I noted was a quick confirmation that the seating was of the type that converted into beds; however a close second was the presence of a baby in 8D! Yikes - was there going to be screaming and yelling for the next 13 hours, I wondered. I took the opportunity to ask a cabin crew member how the service was going to work on this sector. She guessed where I was coming from and asked if I wanted to skip the first meal and go straight to sleep. Perhaps I looked as tired as I felt!

I had the opportunity to take stock of my surroundings while the other passengers came aboard. All the seats were forward-facing but were quite narrow in design, similar to British Airways' Club World product. The TV screens were simply enormous (17", I believe!) and a small, detachable device with its own screen could be used for controlling everything. The seats were in hard shells and, for the most part, the IFE screen for any given seat was located in the back of the shell belonging to the seat in front. In bulkhead rows such as mine, however, screen storage was provided by what in effect was an extended divider between the seats, making for even better privacy than was the norm in the cabin.

At 0205, it was announced that we were awaiting a further two passengers and would then be good to go. We would be taking off towards the west and then turning to head in the direction of Oman and then the Maldives. By this stage it was apparent that 8C was going to remain empty - what a result! There was a round of hot towels, and eye shades and socks were distributed prior to departure, which eventually came at 0220. Recalling my earlier experience at Milan, I noted that there was no hand baggage check in Dubai. We taxied out to Runway 30R, where the absolutely enormous engines did their job and sent us skywards into the night.

As soon as the seat belt signs were switched off, I removed my shoes, retrieved my pillow and blanket and started to recline the seat into the bed position. As I did so, I was surprised and delighted to find that a cabin crew member had appeared with a thin mattress that was designed to slip over the top of the seat and be strapped to the lower half. Mattresses in Business Class - top marks, Emirates!   Once I had the seat fully reclined, my impression was that it wasn't quite horizontal, but it certainly wasn't far from it, and a slight change of angle around the middle of the seat prevented any risk of sliding towards the floor. I fell quickly asleep, totally oblivious to the meal service going on around me, and clocked up a good five hours or more. For the record, this is what I missed out on:

BREAKFAST

JUICE

Fresh fruit juice

FRUIT

Fresh seasonal fruit

MAIN COURSE

Scrambled eggs garnished with chives, served with grilled chicken and pepper cubes, turkey bacon, golden fried roesti potatoes and roasted plum tomato with black pepper seasoning

Plain omelette topped with an asparagus ragout, accompanied by a cream corn filled tomato cup, steamed new potato wedges with herbs and sautéed mixed peppers

Ricotta French toast: French toast filled with ricotta cheese and lightly fried, served with a honey and apple topping

Cheese selection including cheddar, brie, bel paese and cream cheese, served with an array of garnishes

BREAD

Bread basket: a variety of freshly baked breads, croissants and breakfast pastries, served with butter and preserves

BEVERAGES

Tea: Ceylon, China, Earl Grey, Camomile

Coffee: freshly brewed, decaffeinated, espresso and cappuccino

After waking a few times to make a quick time check, I eventually reached the point where I knew that I wasn't going to sleep any more. I converted back into seat mode, leaving the comfortable mattress in place, and tracked down a crew member to get some juice and to ask when the next service would be. It was still around an hour away, but that seemed fine. I passed the time listening to some music. When the snack service - curiously dubbed 'As You Like It' - came along, I had some sandwiches with a cup of tea. Realising that I was still hungry, I then asked for the seafood biryani and some more apple juice.

SNACK

SANDWICHES

Smoked turkey breast and cheddar cheese, chicken tikka with cucumber and yoghurt dressing, smoked salmon and halibut with fish roe, roast beef with onion jam

HOT SNACKS

Beef pie: golden puff pastry filled with tender pieces of beef, served with a warm onion marmalade

Seafood biryani: Gulf-style seafood biryani with prawns, hammour and scented rice

Stir-fried egg noodles topped with marinated chicken skewers, with sweet chilli sauce and steamed broccoli florets

Selection of petit fours

Tea: Ceylon, China, Earl Grey, Camomile

Coffee: freshly brewed, decaffeinated, espresso and cappuccino

I then settled into a long session of in-flight entertainment involving music, TV shows and documentaries. It was also going to include my second viewing of Up in the Air, but the early realisation that it had been heavily censored annoyed me and I gave up on it. Even the word 'Asians' (which in the original is followed by the rebuke "But isn't that racist?") had been replaced by 'businessmen'! Every now and then, I switched to the map view to check on our progress and I made a point of capturing the moment when we crossed the coastline of Western Australia. It tended to underline what a long way Australia is from the rest of the world and, with several hours' flying time still to come, what a vast, empty place it is. I also noted the apparent speed with which the next nightfall was approaching.

Maybe about two hours out from Sydney, it was time for the main meal of the flight:

LUNCH		WINES
CANAPES		CHAMPAGNE
Selection of cold canapés		Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial NV
APPETISER		WHITE WINE
Arabic mezze: a traditional Arabic mezze which includes lubieh bil zeit, baba ghannouj, artichoke and mushroom salad, fresh hommous and meat kibbeh, with an assortment of Arabic pickles and garnishes		Craggy Range Yacht Club Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
Marinated prawns, poached and served with hard boiled quail eggs, fresh green asparagus tips, lemon and a pine seed vinaigrette		Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay 2007, Margaret River, Western Australia
SALAD		RED WINE
Seasonal salad served with a choice of dressings		Chateau St Georges 2002, St Georges, St Emilion
		Wither Hills Pinot Noir 2007, Marlborough, New Zealand
MAIN COURSE
Roast chicken with a rich chicken jus, herb and Pommery mustard mashed potatoes and assorted sautéed vegetables		PORT
		Graham's Late Bottled Vintage, 2003
Wok-seared beef marinated in soy sauce and sesame seeds, served with egg-fried rice and stir-fried Asian vegetables
Sun-dried tomato ravioli: twin coloured ravioli tossed in a basil pesto, with mushroom and peas cream sauce and melted cheese topping
Poached sea bream topped with a light tarragon sauce, a chunky sweet potato mash and sautéed summer vegetables
DESSERT
Wattle seed pavlova served with a mixed fruit cocktail and fresh berries
Pecan pie served warm, with a white chocolate cream sauce and fresh peach slices
BREAD
Bread basket: a variety of freshly baked rolls and garlic bread
CHEESE
International cheese selection
FRUIT
Fresh seasonal fruit
BEVERAGES
Tea: Ceylon, China, Earl Grey, Camomile
Coffee: freshly brewed, decaffeinated, espresso and cappuccino
Chocolates

I started with a glass of Champagne and some canapés, then had the prawns starter. The usual selection of bread types was offered and, as is normal practice in Business Class, the salad was already present on the tray. I then had the chicken main course and took the opportunity to sample the Australian Chardonnay - it only seemed right, after all! Feeling unexpectedly full at this point - in retrospect perhaps not so surprising after sitting around for hours on end - I declined further offerings and finished off with a cup of coffee.

After all that, the crew had their work cut out preparing the cabin for arrival, but they did an excellent job. And that baby in 8D? No problem at all. I formed the impression early on that Mum was the intelligent, attentive and capable type and so it proved to be. There were inevitably a few outbursts from the little mite during the course of such a long journey, but she was quickly pacified on each occasion. The largely female cabin crew were keen to help as well.

We finally touched down in Sydney at 2139 local time, reverse thrust from the massive engines assisting the braking. A remarkably short taxi delivered us to our allocated gate within a mere two minutes. As I prepared to leave, it's just as well that I made a careful inspection of 8C, otherwise I would have missed the thoroughly impressive amenity kit that must have been placed there at some point during my earlier slumbers!

Date: Wed 19 May 2010
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR
Scheduled dep: 0215
Actual departure: 0220
Scheduled arrival: 2210
Actual arrival: 2141
Cabin: Business Class
Seat: 8A



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