Review: Emirates 777 First Class Dubai-Mahe (Seychelles)
- Konrad Tillman
- Apr 7
- 12 min read
Intro
3 Words: What a flight!
The next portion of this around-the-world adventure would see me heading off to country number 117: The Seychelles. Reading and seeing pictures of the Seychelles online, my mum and I decided that this was the next item on our bucket list that we wanted to tick off. With the beautiful landscapes and beaches of the country, we settled on a trip to The Seychelles for 5 days, followed by Madagascar for 4. And if there wasn't a better way to get there than Emirates First Class...
So how was Emirates First Class? Unlike the lounge situation, the onboard product is nothing short of flawless. While the seats have now been around for quite a while, they are still very competitive, the cabin crew is exceptional, and the flight was overall just fun.
Route-Dubai-Mahe
Flight Number- EK707
Seat- 2K
Aircraft- Boeing 777-300ER
Date- March 21st, 2025
Flight Time- 3 Hours and 1 Minutes
Price Paid- 86,000 Miles+ 404$
How I Booked
Emirates First Class is typically quite expensive when using cash (out of Jakarta comes the cheapest fares). However, on low-yield routes such as The Seychelles, Emirates makes plenty of award seats available, albeit at a costly price. For a total of 86,000 miles and 404 USD in fees, I booked a first-class ticket from Dubai to Mahe.
Business Class was around 70,000 miles, so I see this as a fair cost of an upgrade to try out this product.
Boarding
Feeling rested after a night at the First Class Lounge in Concourse B, and breakfast in the large lounge in Concourse A, I headed off to the gate to meet my mum who had been rebooked onto the same flight as me!
Heading through the gate area, I was about to make my way downstairs to board the bus, when the agent working informed me to wait for the First Class bus. I would have liked to board first, but whatever.
All of that went away when I saw my mum and gave her a great big hug. She certainly looked worse for wear, and I offered her my First Class seat seeing as she hadn't slept, but she declined, wanting me to enjoy.
Approximately 10 minutes later, the 10 remaining passengers boarded the first-class bus that was taking us to the 777-300ER. If you happen to end up boarding from a remote gate with Emirates, don't worry, as these buses are GORGEOUS!
As you may well know, a lot of the flights I have been taking recently aren't typical "summer holiday" destinations, so being back in a chill vibe where everyone was laughing, and chatting was pleasantly surprising.
It was quite a trek to our remote stand this morning, but 10 minutes later we arrived the beautiful-looking 777-300ER, which had just come in a couple of hours ago from Phuket.
Climbing up the steps, I was met by a lovely Korean flight attendant who showed me to my seat: 2K.
The Seat/Cabin
Emirates operates four variations of First Class cabins across its 777-300ER fleet. Nine of these aircraft feature the renowned game-changing product, while the rest are equipped with a 1-2-1 configuration. However, there are notable differences between them: some 777s have been recently refurbished, while others remain quite dated. This particular one falls in between, offering an updated ICE system but retaining the same hard product as the older 777s.
Each seat is truly extravagant, featuring everything you could possibly need.
Those traveling together can opt for a pair of middle seats, and if you get sick of your travel companion you can raise the partition for the utmost privacy! 😉
The product is truly nothing short of breathtaking, as you gaze out of the three windows. Feeling thirsty during takeoff? Don't worry, there is a whole minibar (not cold) installed in your seat. Huh???
Feeling too lazy to get up and choose a movie on the screen? Fear no more, as there is a tablet next to your seat to control the IFE system.
For those planning a longer flight than 4 hours, each seat features a USB charging port and a full charging port for items such as a laptop or tablet.
If you find yourself in your influencer era (just please no bikinis on planes), there are two different mirrors to snap a few selfies. First, a vanity mirror that pops up...
And secondly, a large mirror behind your seat to get a much better quality selfie. These pictures were fully taken for research purposes. Terms and conditions may apply*.
The one thing I will note is that the cabin feels very spacious as Emirates opted against installing overhead bins. Due to all of my luggage, my seat wouldn't go fully flat, so the cabin crew offered to move my bags into seat 1L which was empty.
Departure
As the cabin crew helped me get settled in, I was offered a pre-departure beverage. Any guesses about what I chose? 😉
No more than a few minutes later, the lovely flight attendant came back with a beautiful bottle of Dom Perignon 2013 and poured a healthy glass to kick things off for this flight. AHH delightful.
Despite the delayed boarding, the captain came on to welcome us onboard at 9:05 am and informed us of our flight time of 4 hours and 10 minutes to Mahe. He mentioned that we were just loading the last of the cargo and that we should be on our way shortly (not again, heard that story the day before).
As we waited a few minutes, the cabin crew came around to offer passengers hot towels, Arabic coffee, and dates. A true resemblance of Qatar Airways First Class as well...
By 9:15 am local time, we were rolling from our remote stand and made our way out to Runway 30R, where we were wheels up departing to the West at 9:32.
They pad this flight due to the onward flight to Antananarivo (which I will be reviewing next after the Seychelles).
A gorgeous day to fly out of Dubai, and a good atmosphere across the cabin all-around.
Amenities
Now that we're airborne, let's take a look at the amenities on offer for First Class customers. Unlike certain First Class products, Emirates offers the same amenities on a 4-hour flight as a 16-hour flight, which is very impressive.
Starting with the in-seat amenities, each passenger is given a small notebook, a pen, and a revitalizing kit.
In addition, waiting at my seat upon boarding were some of the nicest headphones in the sky: Bowers and Wilkins. These are exceptional quality.
Lastly, passengers were also offered a pair of slippers which were unbelievably comfortable. However, if you are interested in pajamas or an amenity kit, these are on-demand only. I did take some home but forgot to take a picture (will review them in the next segment).
IFE
Emirates' infamous ICE entertainment system has to be one of the best, if not the best entertainment system in the world. No matter what you feel like watching, Emirates has hundreds, if not thousands of options available to choose from, and with the size of the screen, it felt like I was in an IMAX theatre.
Hey, remember the review of Mogadishu?? When I was looking at ways of getting from Istanbul to Mahe, one of the options in business class (booking through United Miles) was Turkish Airlines from IST-MGQ, ET MGQ-ADD, and ET ADD-SEZ. Imagine showing up to Somali immigration and being like "Yeah mate, I really wanted to transit here, felt like doing a quick fishing trip" 😅.
Feeling lazy? You can browse the multitude of IFE options through the remote next to your seat. It took me a while to figure out, but you can show the map on the small screen, and watch the movie on the big screen.
WIFI
For those looking to get work done, or post on Instagram about every small detail of Emirates First Class (definitely not me, I would never 😉), you'll be pleased to know that the airline offers free wifi for first-class customers. Simply head online, type in your information, and boom, you are all set.
Lavatories
As if the experience hadn't been enough already, I decided to check out the lavatories after takeoff, courtesy of the champagne and found Emirates had decorated them beautifully. Additionally, having two lavatories for a maximum of 8 passengers is fantastic.
Dining
With the heavy lifting out of the way, let's get into the atmospheric and fun parts of the flight. Upon boarding, I was given two menus for today, and told by the cabin crew to let me know when I wanted to eat since Emirates offers dine-on-demand for First Class.
The Food Menu is as follows:
The decadent wine list is as follows:
Overall, for a flight time of four hours, this is unbelievable!
Once we had reached about 20,000 feet, the lovely flight attendant came around to pour a glass of Dom P at my seat and set my table.
About 20 minutes after that, she came right back and laid my table for my very adventurous meal: Caviar. 😅
While the French Toast looked appetizing, it was made with hazelnut so I opted against this due to my allergy (ugh). Instead, I decided to snack on caviar the whole flight which was delicious, and I ended up eating about 5 courses of it. Perks of flying Emirates First Class: Unlimited Caviar!
Champagne was topped off without me even asking: this is how you know you have a great cabin crew onboard.
The whole dining experience was an adventure on its own. Very occasionally do I buy caviar on the ground, so when I get to fly First Class I usually indulge as much as possible. Throughout the whole flight, my caviar and champagne were kept topped off.
What more could you really want?
The First Class Party
To me, there is one aspect to a flight that makes a flight great: the vibe.
After the first couple of caviar courses where I decided to take a break, I asked the lovely Korean flight attendant if she wouldn't mind taking some pictures on the Polaroid camera. A few moments later she returned and it it suddenly turned into a photo party. The two couples in the center (traveling together) and the Sheikh in 1A were all standing up, laughing, chatting, and it felt like the golden era of aviation 😅 (not that I was alive for it).
It was pictures galore as we ended up taking pictures with the purser, the lovely Korean flight attendant, and with some fellow passengers.
The lovely Korean flight attendant, whose name I regretfully forget, loved my Panda hat (which I bought at the Great Wall of China) so much that I gave her my other one 🙂.
Heck, even the co-pilot came out from the cockpit and I ended up talking to him about life and the approach to Mahe (which is an RNP approach). While Emirates only has a bar on their A380, this is a small party that I won't forget.
The Suite
Heading back to my seat, I decided to check out what the bed looks like in Emirates First. Ordinarily, you can have a flight attendant make up my bed, but seeing as I wasn't going to sleep I didn't mind too much.
Passengers receive a plush pillow, a comfortable blanket, and a fantastic mattress topper. It's truly exceptional bedding, but not up there with Singapore Suites, sorry.
The bed is plenty long, plenty wide, and plenty comfortable. I would be more than comfortable on any flight, no matter the distance. Combine that with the closing doors, this has to be one of the top 10 First Class products in the sky.
Business Class
Just before arrival, I visited my mum in Business Class and had a chat with her for a bit about life. All I am going to say is that business class on these birds is extremely dated, and I hope that the whole fleet gets an upgrade sooner rather than later.
Thankfully the cabin was relatively empty so I was able to sit with my mum for as long as I wanted.
Service
In case you haven’t noticed, the service on this flight was probably the very best I have ever experienced. To me what makes a hospitality experience great is when the staff (onboard or a hotel) wants you there as much as you want to be there.
Through every interaction, the flight attendants, purser, and co-pilot were all extremely fun. In some ways, it honestly felt like I was flying private with a bunch of friends (people in the cabin) instead of actually being on a commercial flight.
Usually, I touch on individual aspects that impressed me, but Emirates was so good on this flight that the individual aspect that impressed me was the flight itself…
Arrival
"Oh Boll*cks", at least that I thought when the captain came on at 1:00 pm local time to announce our initial descent into Mahe.
The lovely cabin crew came around one last time to thank us for flying with Emirates, gave us a box of chocolates, and potentially a little sippy cup of Dom P for the road. Hehe.
By 1:25 pm local time, we were on on short final into Mahe, overlooking some of the most beautiful waters I have ever witnessed.
Right on the dot at 1:30 pm, we touched down on Runway 31 and had a short taxi to our remote stand for the day.
As the stairs were pulling up to the gate, I headed to the toilet and in the meantime, the cabin crew grabbed my mum in business without me even asking. Talk about service, wow!
Just like that, we bid farewell to the cabin crew and were on the way down the stairs when my bag broke... You can't be serious, on the stairs????
Carrying my bag like a baby through immigration, we were in a taxi off to the hotel within 10 minutes. 40 Euros for an 8-minute drive, wow!
Final Thoughts
Where do I even begin for this? Flying Emirates First Class from Dubai to Mahe was one of the best flights of my life. While the soft product doesn’t quite take the edge over Etihad Apartments or Singapore Suites, it is still a very competitive hard product. Combine that with the free wifi, an amazing IFE system, and all of the amenities one can want: this is the perfect flight.
But what took Emirates from good to great was the service. Over the years I have had some excellent cabin crew, but the cabin crew on this flight was the very best I have ever had. Like I said, it’s as if they want to have you onboard as much as you want to be on board, and it truly showed. For that, I would like to say thank you to all of the crew, and it would be a great pleasure to fly with you all again!
Best yet: Emirates First Class is pretty easy to book on points!
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