After spending the summer in Australia it was time to leave, I booked a great fare from Singapore to Europe with China Airlines but still needed to get to Singapore for my connecting flight.
Airfares between Melbourne and Singapore are competitive as low-cost airlines Scoot and Jetstar offer cheap fares. Emirates had some excellent one-way tickets at around USD$240, and I was sold. They are one of the most popular airlines searched for on this website, and it was about time I experienced it for myself.
ON THE GROUND
EK 405 departed Melbourne at 1855 with only 80 passengers booked in economy, which meant plenty of room to stretch out and relax. I was one of the first to board and managed to get a photo of the cabin.
The crew noticed that I was taking pictures, and I was ready to be told to put my phone away. However, they asked if I wanted a selfie, I was pleasantly surprised at their open and hospitable customer service, and this continued throughout the flight to Singapore.
On the ground, the cabin crew distributed the inflight menu, as well as landing cards and kids packs. Here’s a look at the inflight menu choices for this flight.
INFLIGHT
Forty minutes after takeoff, the crew delivered special meals as well as the pre-order champagne service that Emirates offer as a paid perk in economy class. More about that here.
About fifty minutes after takeoff, the carts were in the cabin, and service began. I received my meal about 10 minutes later, and I decided to sample the chicken instead of the beef.
I was impressed with the large meal tray, proper cutlery and the portion of the main meal as most economy class meals these days seem to be getting smaller and smaller. The honey soy chicken with jasmine rice and steamed vegetables was delicious. The grain salad with smoked salmon was a nice healthy touch, and the date and coconut slice with raspberry sauce was moreish.
With only eighty passengers on board, the crew were back out in the cabin about 20 mins later collecting all the meal trays, tea and coffee then followed.
What impressed me most about this flight was the attention to detail displayed by the crew. I observed many crew members kneeling to the passengers level when attending to passenger call button requests. Furthermore, water and juice were offered to passengers at least every 40 to 45 minutes by hand.
I’m unsure of the airlines’ standard operating procedures, but it was great to see the crew patrolling the cabin consistently throughout the flight. I’ve flown with other airlines on much longer sectors and you might be lucky to see the crew patrolling the cabin sporadically, so kudos to the Emirates crew for maintaining cabin presence.
About 1hr and 45 mins before landing in Singapore, the second meal service commenced with special meals delivered to those who requested them. About 15 mins later, I received my meal, a chicken sandwich, a muffin and some water. The crew offered a range of drinks from the cart also.
Having eaten quite a decent sized meal a few hours prior, I was happy with the second meal snack offering. The service was easy for the crew to deliver with the contents all sitting in a small plastic tray that I assume the airline reuses.
I found the Emirates economy class experience to be enjoyable I loved the large main meal portions and the range of drinks offered, it was a delightfully comfortable experience.