Opulence defined

More than five years after the world&rsquos largest passenger aircraft took to the skies, an OT staffer finally managed to clamber onboard. Trip report she was dazzled. Of course it helped that she was flying Business Class. That the humongous Airbus 380&ndash800 is an aircraft like no other is evident even to a traveller whose primary occupation when flying long-haul is to hope that sleep arrives and that the migraine doesn&rsquot. All prayers are granted on the Emirates A380 flight from Dubai to New York, because to begin with, take a look at those seats. I&rsquove had the privilege of laying me down on flatbeds before, but this is in another league &mdash first, because it&rsquos big, it beats even the fabulously clever Swiss Business Class seating. The layout ensures that window seat travellers travel in solitude, but even the &lsquounlucky&rsquo ones in the centre have aisle access.

Because it&rsquos big, classes are divided over two levels. Economy classes occupy the lower level and the &lsquoupper classes&rsquo, you know where they are. This means that there are a staggering 76 Business Class seats, all beautifully large and private. The vast cabin was packed to capacity, which felt comfortingly if erroneously democratic. (But not everyone likes that one frequent flyer said, &ldquoThere&rsquos so many people here you don&rsquot really feel special, do you I like it that all those cattle class chaps walk past me enviously. Here, nobody&rsquos walking past to anything worse&rdquo)

Indeed they aren&rsquot. When you walk past a fellow traveller on the upper level, you&rsquore going to end up at the onboard Lounge. Here be drinks, fine snacks and sofas, just in case your five-course meal and award-winning &lsquoice&rsquo entertainment system aren&rsquot cutting it. Travel First Class on Emirates&rsquo A380s and you get private suites and &lsquoshower spas&rsquo. Fly Economy Class and you&rsquore likely to be more comfortable the seats recline more than you&rsquore used to. Emirates is the largest buyer of A380s, so it&rsquos appropriate that they take their fleet seriously enough to offer innovations that others don&rsquot. Since they can&rsquot fly their A380s out of India, you&rsquoll have to haul yourself to Dubai first. To sweeten that bitter pill for &lsquoupper class&rsquo flyers, remember you&rsquoll get picked up from home in a Merc.