At the end of 2024, I visited Mauritius for my sister’s wedding and booked my return flight to Canada in Emirates Business Class. I’ve always seen raving reviews about Emirates and having only flown them once 20 years ago in Economy, I had high hopes and was buzzing with excitement.
Emirates offers a chauffeur service for Business Class passengers that includes pick you up at your accommodation and a drive to the airport. Unfortunately, this perk is not offered when departing from Mauritius.
Check-in
The Emirates check-in counters are located near Hall A located on the left side of the terminal at Mauritius SSR Airport. The counters are separated into 2 lines with one for economy passengers and a shorter line for Priority/Premium/First/Business passengers. Check-in was quick and smooth. Business class passengers are allowed 2 suitcases weighing up to 32 kgs each. I always travel with my mini luggage scale to make sure I’m always under the weight limit. In my experience, the weight limit for carryons is not enforced.
Emirates check-in counters are located in Hall A
The security line at SSR Airport is located to the right of Hall A. There is a separate entrance for premium passengers located to the right of the main security line clearly marked by a vertical red sign. Enter via the automatic gates by simply scanning your boarding pass. You will then pass through immigration on your way towards the security check. Just after security, make your way straight through the Duty Free shops then turn right and walk to the end of the terminal to the Air Mauritius Amédée Mainguard Lounge.
Lounge
The lobby of the Air Mauritius Amédée Mainguard Lounge
Access to the Amédée Mainguard Lounge is complimentary including all meals and alcohol/non-alcoholic drinks. I've already written a full review of this lounge which you can read here. To summarize, this is one of the nicest lounges I've been to and includes a shower, full service cocktail bar, and several varied dining options. The decor is fresh and tasteful, the lounge is not usually too crowded and the small size of the Airport means that it is close to all Gates.
New for 2024, they've added a Nespresso machines which I very much appreciated! As is common in airport lounges, they do not make announcements so keep an eye on the screen to find out when your flight starts boarding. In my experience, Gate changes are rare at the Mauritius Airport and you will often spot the plane already parked at the gate after security. Once the screens in the lounge indicated that boarding had started, we made our way to the Gate.
Boarding
Stairs? on a Plane?
There were far fewer passengers waiting at the Gate than I expected. Even the Gate for a typical Boeing 777 flight gets more crowded than this. I figured it's maybe because I was flying on Christmas Eve. Boarding was a breeze and Emirates opted to board the A380 with not only 2 jetways but 2 separate Gates as well. The Gate to the left was for premium passengers only and led us to the front of the aircraft where the flight attendants welcomed us and directed us straight upstairs. Immediately upon entering the Emirates A380, it felt like it was a class above the twin engine widebodies with it expansive open areas and high ceilings. The plane was huge and the grand stairway in the front had me feeling like I was walking into a swanky lounge instead of on a plane. On the lobby walls were carefully placed bouquets of fresh roses that added a subtle touch of luxury and invoked a sense that Emirates pays attention to the little details, a feeling that would continue throughout this flight.
We walked past the first class cabin (which had full privacy doors) to the business class cabin in the back. The business class cabin on the Emirates A380 is expansive and runs the entire length of the aircraft all the way to the bar at the tail. The massive cabin made it feel a bit less exclusive and had me seriously wondering how Emirates could fill all those seats on every single flight.
Upstairs on Emirates’ A380. It’s unbelievable that there’s another floor with hundreds of passengers seated under us.
Seats
The seats adjacent to the aisles offer less privacy
The seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 layout with every seat providing direct aisle access. Couples will enjoy the middle seats while solo travellers would be better off at the window seats. Not all the window seats are the same as they alternate between being directly next to the window or open to the aisle. The seats directly next to the window offer more privacy and a better view. As for the middle seats, the rows alternate between being located in the center together then further apart and more exposed to the aisle. In the photo above, you can see the aisle seats are open and less private.
Upstairs on the Airbus A380.
The seats were very spacious and had a huge TVs as part of Emirates’ renowned ICE system. Although the TV quality and cabin were starting to show their age, the accented wood theme with blue lighting separated it from the usual dull shades of grey you find on basic airlines like Air Canada. The TVs offered a live camera view from the tail of the aircraft in front, but the video quality was very pixelated and blurry so I ended up just leaving the TV back to the welcome screen.
The center seats are great for couples travelling together and features a privacy separator that can be lowered
The footwells are deep but offset to one side so you may have to sleep slightly diagonally.
Waiting for me at my seat was a small mini bar with two bottles of Evian water, some snacks, noise cancelling headphones, a kit containing an eye mask and slippers but oddly no amenity kit (more on that below).
The seats and in-flight entertainment system could be controlled by both the detachable console to the left or the tablet on the right of the mini-bar.
The personal mini bar was stocked with Evian water, Perrier (sparkling water), chocolate covered dates, nuts and jelly beans.
I rarely use the included noise cancelling headphones but decided to test them out in-flight for this review and they were honestly very disappointing. I always travel with my own Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones as they do an excellent job at turning the engine rumble and cabin noise into a quiet whisper so I used them throughout the flight instead.
As boarding had just begun, I walked around and visited the bar at this time and it hadn’t opened yet. The flight attendants were utilizing the space to set up the welcome drinks and amenity kits. The bar/lounge opened later on after take-off.
As I settled back in my seat, the flight attendant came back to offer me a welcome drink with the choice of apple juice, orange juice or champagne. Emirates serves Moët & Chandon Champagne on-board flights throughout Africa, something which sets them a level above other Airlines in my opinion. For flights to North America, you’ll be served Veuve Clicquot. The flight attendant them came right back with some hot towels. Another flight attendant followed up right away with amenity kits but oddly enough, she walked right past me. I started to wonder if she was ignoring me when she came back again with different amenity kits. Turns out Emirates provides different amenity kits customised for male and female passengers and here I thought that they were ignoring me. Silly me.
The amenity kit included a razor and shaving cream, aftershave, earplugs, tissues, a dental kit, deodorant, lotion, lip balm and perfume. As this flight was around 7 hours long, it was not considered long haul and no pajamas were handed out (I did receive them on my other 14 hour Emirates flight from Dubai to Montreal though)
Soon afterwards, the flight attendants handed out the menus and we started taxiing towards the runway with a view of the distant mountains out the window. As the plane started moving, we were able to keep drinking out of the glassware, but once we were close to takeoff, the flight attendants came by to pick up all of our drinks. We were chatting quietly and perusing the menus when we realized that we didn’t even feel the A380 pick up speed and take off. I could barely hear the engines and it’s without a doubt the quietest and most comfortable plane I’ve ever been on. I wish Airbus and Emirates could’ve struck a deal for Airbus to keep producing them.
Dining
The menu was extensive and included several wines, a long list of cocktails and mocktails, beers, whisky and other spirits. There were 3 choices for the appetizer, main and dessert course.
The flight attendants took our orders and dinner service began soon after. For the round of aperitifs, I chose an Aperol Spritz which was sweet and premixed. It was served with a decadent side of warm nuts.
The flight attendants set up the tray table with white linens and silverware, followed by the appetizers.
I opted to start with the lobster medallions which tasted fresh and bright.
For the main, I opted for the seared beef fillet with roast potatoes. It was also excellent but I was already so full by this time that it was hard to finish the plate.
I decided to skip the dessert but did opt for the luxury chocolate which were smooth and delicious. These were bite size pieces of chocolate that hit the spot.
After a heavy dinner, I reclined my seat and immersed myself in a movie. The in-flight entertainment system had an extensive list of TV shows and movies to choose from. The screens were large and clear. However, the plane was starting to show its age as the audio quality was truly awful. It felt like listening to a radio station with lots of highs and no bass. I watched Alien Romulus and the soundstage was lacking. By comparison, the audio was significantly better on my next flight on Emirates’ Boeing 777. The ICE system also allows you to view the live feed of the cameras mounted at the nose and tail but the video feed was blurry and filled with static lines, similar to the old TVs from the 90s.
Emirates’ ICE system
It was easy to control both the seat and the TV using the console on the right. You can also use the tablet (pictured left) to watch TV or just as a remote.
After dinner, the flight attendants came by with some hot chocolate and marshmallows. It was served with a plate of white chocolates, strawberries and additional boxes of chocolates. At this time, the cabin lights had dimmed and the ceiling transitioned into a blue hue with sparkling lights that looks like shining stars. Marshmallows and hot chocolate under the stars? YES PLEASE! I felt like a little kid again and thank you so much Emirates for this wonderful experience!
Hot chocolate and marshmallows under the stars? Yes please!
The ceiling lighting mimicked the night sky full of stars.
Feeling giddy like a little child with my hot chocolate and marshmallows under the stars.
The Bar
The cocktail menu at the bar
After indulging in my second dessert, we headed towards the tail end to visit the lounge. The lounge was mostly empty with just a passenger or couple occasionally dropping by. The lounge had its own menu of snacks and drinks (see above for the food menu).
After savouring our drinks, we headed back to our seats. I grabbed a snack from the bar that consisted of macadamia nuts and dried cranberries. Later on during the flight, the flight attendants stopped by again to wish us Merry Christmas and offered us baked gingerbread cookies in the shape of a Christmas tree. At this point, Emirates had already exceeded my expectations of what a flight should be. The cookie was delicious and I ate all of it before landing. No regrets.
After a few minutes, another flight attendant walked by with ice cream to see if we wanted any. I couldn’t possibly eat anymore at that point and unfortunately had to turn it down.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi on this flight was not free unless you had a Emirates Skyward Member account along with your password in order to login. However, since we were not notified before take-off, I didn’t have my password on hand to log in. The packages were not visible for non-skyward members and the flight attendants mentioned that we had to pay for the plan which started at $3.99 USD. They recommended that we don’t purchase the plan because they couldn’t guarantee that the Wi-Fi would actually work and the Wi-Fi seems to be spotty when we fly over the ocean.
It wasn’t until my next flight on Emirates that I found out you can register for the Skyward member account in flight. Even though I tried to log in with my password on that flight, the Wi-Fi still wouldn’t work. I ended up creating a new account in flight (check out the screenshot to see how) and that allowed me to connect right away. Now I have 2 Emirates Skyward Member accounts.
As we approached Dubai, the flight attendants stopped by with Polaroid cameras to snap our photos. What a cool idea! They inserted the polaroid in a holiday card and gave to us to keep as souvenirs.
Our polaroid photo taken by the crew as a souvenir
Arrival
This 7 hour flight included a single meal (Dinner) but due to the myriad snacks served throughout the flight, I didn’t feel hungry at all. We were offered hot towels again before landing to freshen up as we began our descent towards Dubai. The amazing food, fancy drinks, great service and attention to detail made this flight the best business class I have every experienced and I can’t wait to fly on Emirates again (which I didn’t have to wait too long for as I had a 3 hour layover before boarding my next flight to Montreal). Having just flown on Air Canada’s A330 on the way to Mauritius, my experience on the two Airlines couldn’t have been more different with Air Canada being overall “meh” and Emirates going above and beyond at every turn (I did smell those roses on the cabin walls to check if they were real).
