As far as luxurious travel experiences go, it would be hard to top Emirates First Class.

As I recently found when travelling with Emirates from Singapore to Melbourne, the incredibly spacious suite, attention to detail in the service and the top-notch catering make for a truly wonderful flight.

Join me as I review the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER First Class service on a daytime flight from Singapore to Melbourne.

Flight Details

Flight number	EK404
Route	Singapore (SIN) to Melbourne (MEL)
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-300ER
Class of travel	First
Seat number	1A
On-time performance	We arrived on time
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I recently needed to get from Southeast Asia to Melbourne, and stumbled across a Classic Flight Reward in First Class on Emirates’ new Singapore-Melbourne service.

This route only recently returned to Emirates’ schedule after a three-year hiatus. Over recent weeks, there has been reasonably good reward seat availability for Qantas Frequent Flyer members.

Although I could’ve flown Jetstar on an overnight Economy flight, I thought it would be worth the extra points to fly Emirates in First Class – and I certainly don’t regret this decision!

In total, I spent 107,700 Qantas points + SGD84 (~AU$95) in taxes on my ticket. For full disclosure, I used my own Qantas points and covered the taxes myself.

Curiously, the taxes & charges on an Emirates reward booking from Singapore to Melbourne are much lower than the co-payment on the reverse flight from Melbourne to Singapore. I’m not too sure why this is, but why question a good thing? 😉

Airport Experience

Checking in at Singapore’s Changi Airport was totally painless. I was able to use the First Class check-in counter and was on my way through immigration with a boarding pass in hand within a few minutes.

As this flight departed Singapore in the morning, the Qantas First Lounge was not yet open. Instead, I headed to the Emirates Singapore Lounge which is perfectly nice and serviceable, with all the amenities you’d expect of an outstation Emirates Lounge.

There was a hot breakfast buffet available, as well as plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options. I didn’t eat anything as I was saving my appetite for the on-board dining experience. Instead, I just enjoyed the great airport view by the window and used the free wifi.

The lounge was moderately busy when I arrived as there were two Emirates flights leaving around the same time. But once the Dubai-bound departure was called for boarding, only a small handful of people remained in the lounge.

Security screening was completed at the entry to the boarding gate. There was a priority lane for Business/First passengers and eligible frequent flyers, but this wasn’t being enforced and that line was just as long as the general queue.

The Hard Product

First Class on airlines such as Lufthansa or Qantas is often described as “understated luxury”. By contrast, Emirates First Class doesn’t even pretend to be understated – it’s in-your-face bling – but it sure is luxurious!

Admittedly, the faux-gold you’ll find all over the Emirates First cabin doesn’t do it for everyone. I don’t really mind it. For me, it’s more important that the seat is comfortable and the service is good – both of which were certainly the case on my flight!

One of the first things I noticed upon entering the Emirates First Class cabin on the Boeing 777-300ER was that there were no overhead lockers. This makes the cabin feel more spacious overall. It also means Emirates can simulate the night sky on the ceiling of the dark cabin while passengers are sleeping, lighting it up with fake stars – without overhead lockers ruining the view.

The lack of overhead lockers doesn’t really matter because your suite is so spacious that you can simply store your bags within your suite – and they don’t really get in the way. That said, the crew did also offer to let me store my belongings in the suite across the aisle since it was empty.

There’s also a wardrobe at the front of the suite where the crew offered to hang my clothes after I got changed into the very comfortable Emirates pyjamas.

This seat just about had it all. It’s extremely comfortable and you could adjust it in many different ways, including as a lie-flat bed. (If you want to have a sleep, the crew can also make up your bed with a thick mattress, blanket and pillow.)

There are various storage compartments around the seat, a charging outlet, individual air nozzles, multiple reading lights, flowers for decoration, a mirror and even a minibar beside your seat, which is stocked with water and soft drinks (though the drinks aren’t chilled).

There’s a huge TV screen that you can use to watch a very wide selection of international movies, TV shows and even live TV. I also love the great selection of music on Emirates’ ICE system.

Wifi was available on this flight for a fee, or free for Emirates Skywards members.

To top it off, the private suite has a sliding door that you can close for maximum privacy. As I was flying on an older Boeing 777, the suite is not fully-enclosed – the crew can still peak in if they happen to walk past – but it does feel very private. There’s also a “do not disturb” button.

As it happens, on this particular flight I was the only passenger in First Class anyway. From the moment I boarded in Singapore, I didn’t see a single other passenger until disembarking in Melbourne!

This was not even Emirates’ best First Class product. The newer Boeing 777 “game changer” First Class is even fancier. And on the Emirates A380, although the First Class seats themselves are similar, there are additionally two showers for First Class passengers to use. The A380 also has an on-board bar shared with Business Class. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this product and had a very comfortable flight!

The Soft Product

As soon as I reached the aircraft door, the purser warmly welcomed me on board by name – before I’d even shown him my boarding pass – and took me to my seat. Within a few minutes, both of the dedicated First Class flight attendants who would be looking after me came over to introduce themselves as well.

There was already a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, as well as an amenity kit, various cosmetics, an eye mask, notebook, pen, Australian arrival immigration card and a snack basket at my seat.

The Bulgari amenity kit was very well stocked with high quality items. The contents included tissues, deodorant, a razor, shaving cream, aftershave balm, dental kit, lip balm, hydrating body emulsion (to be honest, I’m not even sure what that is!), cologne and a hairbrush.

One of the flight attendants also promptly offered me a pre-departure drink, slippers, a hot towel, a selection of magazines and a leather-bound dining menu. This was shortly followed by traditional Arabic coffee and dates.

After takeoff, the crew offered another drink and I couldn’t resist a glass of Dom Pérignon 2013 champagne, which Emirates has bought the exclusive rights to. This came with a plate of warm nuts.

Emirates First Class is expensive, and the fuel surcharges applicable on most redemption bookings are high. But this goes both ways. From the unlimited caviar to the high-quality champagne and spirits, Emirates must spend a fortune on providing a luxurious First Class experience to its passengers. So if you’re after a bit of luxury, Emirates is probably worth paying for.

There were no pre-set meal times. The crew were happy to bring me anything from the extensive menu, any time I wanted.

This was the First Class menu for the Singapore-Melbourne leg of EK404:

There was also an extensive range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to choose from, including some very high quality spirits.

There was of course also a selection of teas, coffee, juice, soft drinks, water and mocktails available. I won’t bore you with the full Emirates First Class menu in this review. But you can see the full menu for any Emirates flight on the airline’s website.

I started the meal service with caviar, which was absolutely delicious.

When I finished this, the flight attendant asked if I would like another plate. Emirates really is serious about offering “unlimited” caviar! (Presumably, they can only actually offer as much caviar as has been physically loaded onto the flight – but I didn’t test to see how far you could take the “unlimited” promise. 😉 )

As I savoured this delicacy, I enjoyed the view of the Central Java coastline as we flew over the last of the Indonesian islands before continuing over the Indian Ocean towards Australia.

The great view along the way was just one of the advantages of taking a rare (for me, anyway) daytime flight from Singapore to Melbourne. The other benefit, of course, was that I could really enjoy the full First Class dining experience rather than just going to sleep straight away. That said, if I was taking this flight overnight, I’m sure I would very much enjoy the comfortable bed!

After my second round of caviar, I had the chicken laksa from the appetiser menu. This is one of my favourite foods, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it in Emirates First! I’m pleased to say that, since the catering for this flight was provided in Singapore, the flavours were authentic.

This was followed by some delicious prawns for the main course.

For dessert, I tried the orange and almond cake. This was served warm with a selection of fine luxury chocolates.

After the meal, I ordered some salted popcorn from the dedicated “movie menu” (something which is rarely served on other airlines) and settled in to watch a movie.

By this point, we had just reached the west Australian coastline and were flying over Port Hedland. Thankfully, I still had around four hours to enjoy the rest of the Emirates experience before we got to Melbourne. (If I’d booked that Jetstar Economy ticket, I’d no doubt be lamenting at this point that we weren’t even half-way yet as my knees pressed against the seat in front!)

Before landing in Melbourne, I ordered some dinner from the “light bites” menu. Like all of the food I had the privilege to try on this flight, it was delicious.

I happened to be flying during Ramadan. As we approached Melbourne, the sun was setting and the crew made an announcement advising that it was Iftar time in our current time zone for those passengers who were observing this. This wasn’t relevant to me but I thought it was a nice touch.

Being the only passenger in First, and with two dedicated flight attendants looking after me, the service was truly spectacular. That said, I’m sure the service still would have been great even if the cabin was full. I was addressed by name throughout the entire flight and nothing was too much trouble.

Jean, in particular, was a true professional and his attention to detail was simply astonishing. For example, I asked for sparkling water before takeoff and he asked if I wanted ice and lemon in it. Towards the end of the flight, I requested sparkling water again and he remembered that my preference was to have it with ice and lemon. He was also very personable and enjoyed having a bit of a chat.

At the end of the flight, both of the First attendants as well as the purser came around to personally thank me for flying Emirates. I was also thankful for choosing Emirates. This was a memorable flight for all the right reasons.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.