It's not fun to leave a country as beautiful as Greece. Except you are flying Emirates first class. This is the best and most enjoyable way to cross the Atlantic.Book Emirates first class in Skywards MilesEmirates offers a great fifth-freedom flight between Athens, Newark and New York. This is a fun and easy way to travel between Greece and the United States. Our trip to Greece was very early in the season. As a result, return flights to the United States were not yet open.It was easy to find two Emirates first-class award seats from Athens, Newark and on a date that was convenient for us. Skywards is the best way to redeem Emirates first-class miles. Emirates has made first class awards unavailable to many of its partner programs. My mom and her partner had returned in Emirates first-class just a few days before Ford and I flew from Athens to Newark in Emirates second class.Tickets cost 85,000 Skywards points per person. Taxes and fees were about $100 per ticket. This is a very reasonable price for such an amazing product. Because Emirates Skywards is a partner with most major transferable points programs, it makes it easy to get Emirates Skywards mileage. These include Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou and Capital One.Review of Emirates first classI'll be brief in my review of Emirates first class because I have reviewed it many times, including the A380, new 777, and old777. I will concentrate on the transatlantic flight and how Emirates first-class service has performed in the current coronavirus era.Athens International Airport was open at 3:30 PM for our 5:35PM flight from Newark. The Emirates check-in counter was empty and we received our boarding passes for Newark within minutes. We were able to find the Goldair Lounge in Athens, which is Emirates' contract lounge, after a quick check-in. Priority Pass members can also access it.Goldair Lounge Athens International AirportAlthough the lounge is acceptable, it's not up to the level of Emirates lounges. The lounge was quiet although I have been there before and had never seen a single seat.Goldair Lounge Athens International AirportOur flight was to depart at 4:50PM (45 mins before departure). It was located just a few steps from the lounge. Gate A12 was where we were supposed to board. Both Ford and I were both issued SSSS boarding passes. We were therefore subject to extra security screening at the gate. It was quite amusing to see six security guards at the gate considering there were only 18 passengers (this was my longest long-haul flight).Emirates departure gate Athens International AirportWe boarded on time and had a great view of the plane as we boarded. Although I love Emirates livery and the beautiful colors it offers, we were unfortunately on A6 ECE, a plane that is almost 14 years old. Emirates seems to be fond of operating older 777s on this route, for whatever reason.Emirates Boeing 777-300ER Athens International AirportEmirates EK209Athens (ATH) Newark (EWR)Thursday, June 3Leave at 5:35PMArrive at 9:20PMTime: 10hr45minAircraft: Boeing 777-300ERSeat: 2F (First class)We boarded the plane through the second set doors. A crew member greeted us and escorted us to our seats. It has been far too long, Emirates first class! Emirates 777 first-class cabin only eight suites. They are spread over two rows in a 1-2-1 arrangement.Emirates first class cabin 777-3300ERThe window seats are great for solo travel, but Emirates is more enjoyable with a friend. We chose the middle seats in the second row.Emirates first class seat 777-3300EREmirates first class seatsEmirates first class cabinAlthough I prefer Emirates A380 first-class to Emirates old 777 777 first, I still enjoy the intimacy of the first cabin on the 777.Emirates first class cabinI adore the interiors of Emirates. Do you think I would ever want my house decorated in this manner? No. However, there is something that makes bling so much fun when used in moderation.Emirates first class seatsThere are many gadgets available in these cabins. These include a tablet to control the seat and entertainment functions, a minibar, snack baskets, and a stationery set.Emirates tablet in first classMinibar in Emirates First ClassEmirates first class snack basketKit for stationary in first class EmiratesEmirates felt as if it was business as usual. The only sign of the pandemic were a hand sanitizer and a face mask.Emirates first class coronavirus amenitiesAfter we had settled in, the crew introduced themselves. The purser was an Irish-American and the woman working Fords aisle was a Korean first-class flight attendant. The cabin crew was amazing. The purser was funny, and the first-class flight attendant was professional.After you were settled in, you received the usual Emirates first-class goodies.Emirates first class pajamas & amenity kitIt also included a BVLGARI amenity setKit of Emirates First Class AmenitiesPajamas that are supposedly moisturizingEmirates first class pajamasSlippers.Slippers in Emirates First ClassPre-departure drinks were also available. You can guess what we ordered. There were plenty of refills.Emirates first-class pre-departure champagneDom Perignon in Emirates first classJust before departure, Arabic coffee was served and dates were also served.Emirates first-class Arabic coffee & DateGiven that only 18 people were aboard, boarding went very quickly. We didn't leave right away as the plane needed to be refueled and cargo was still being loaded. The captain announced that our departure time was 10hr17min, approximately 10 minutes prior to our scheduled departure time.We took a quick taxi to get to the runway and were able to take off ahead of schedule. The window seats on the other side of us were still open. So, we opted to remain in the middle seats and enjoy the view from the nose camera.Athens: Take offA few minutes after takeoff, the seatbelt sign was disabled and I decided to take a quick stroll through the plane. One other passenger was in first class, sitting in seat 1A. Three business class passengers were in the front mini-cabin. The larger rear cabin was empty.Emirates 777 Business Class CabinEmirates 777 Business Class CabinEconomy was the area where passengers had the most room to spread out as there were only 12 seats available.Emirates 777 Economy Class CabinEmirates 777 Economy Class CabinEmirates 777 Economy Class CabinThe crew seemed a bit bored, which almost made me feel sorry for them. There were about the same number of passengers as crew. We returned to our seats and prepared for lunch.Emirates offers a menu that can be ordered on-demand. It reads:The drink list was then read as follows:The wine list was completed as follows:We started the meal with some Dom Perignon and warm mixed nuts.Emirates first class lunch champagne & mixed nutsWe were then offered canaps. These were allegedly made in partnership with Dom Perignon. It included confit duck with curried parmesan, truffle arancino and truffle arancino as well as poached prawns and guacamole tartlet.Emirates first class lunch canapsWe had already drunk enough champagne so we decided to make our own cocktails. I have a terrible habit of ordering my favorite cocktail from outside the US. It doesn't always turn out the way I want, but I continue to order it in the hope that it will be good.Particularly, I love dry and dirty martinis. It should be vodka and olive juice. However, I only find it in the US that ordering a very dirty martini gives me the drink I want.It doesn't matter how many times I try to explain my needs abroad in nice restaurants. I tried my luck at Emirates. I asked the purser to make me a dirty martini and told her what I was looking for. To my delight, she created the perfect drink. Well done!Emirates first class lunch dirty martiniNext, it was time to enjoy some more substantial food. The Emirates first-class meal service is more or less back to normal. However, the bread arrived wrapped and I quickly unwrapped it.Emirates first-class lunch table settingEmirates first class lunch bread basketFord and I both started with caviar. This was served with chives and grated egg, sour-cream, lemon, melba bread, and blinis.Emirates first class lunch caviar serviceThe Greek mezze was then my choice. It was huge. It came with fava bean mousse and taramsalata. Also, it had tzatziki, taramsalata. Octopus salad, dolmades. Chicken tiropitaki was also included.Emirates first class lunch mezzeFord ordered the spring pea soup and mint cream.Emirates first class lunch soupHe then had the smoked beef and thyme crème fraiche, as well as vegetable salad with mustard.Emirates first class lunch appetizerWe decided to change it to a red wine around this time. I love the way Emirates serves red wine with a carafe.Red wine for Emirates first class lunchThe cod with lobster sauce was my main course. It was served with basmati rice and roasted fennel.Emirates first-class lunch main courseFord selected the roasted chicken served with grilled citrus demi glace, grilled asparagus and peppers, as well as sauteed potatoes.Emirates first-class lunch main courseWe were so full that we couldn't eat dessert. We enjoyed every course of the meal. The service was impeccable and personalized perfectly. They made sure that we had a relaxing meal and that each course was paced around us.We were almost done with the meal and still had 6hr30min to get to Newark.Airshow on the way to NewarkAirshow on the way to NewarkThe crew made our beds promptly after we asked. The lights were dimmed throughout the cabin, and stars could be seen on the ceiling.Emirates first class bedEmirates first class bedEmirates 777 ceiling with starsI fell asleep quickly and woke up two hours before landing. You can see that we barely got out of darkness during the entire flight.Newark: Airshow on the horizonNewark: Airshow on the horizonAlthough there was a small snack station in the forward galley I was not hungry and couldn't stomach any more (probably due to the amount of food we had eaten during the first meal and the fact that it was middle of the night in Greece so we weren't hungry).Emirates first class snacksI was able to connect to Emirates OnAir Wi-Fi and did some work. First class passengers have access to the internet for free. You can use your Skywards number to access it. Although OnAir isn't very fast, it can be used on the 777. I have found it much more difficult on the A380.Emirates Wi-Fi pricingThe captain announced his pre-landing announcement about 30 minutes prior to landing, and we started our descent a few minutes later. As we approached the sunset, it was beautiful. It finally became dark just after we landed (around 9PM).Newark sunsetOne checked bag was available, but we had to wait around 15 minutes. We walked across the street towards the Marriott Newark Airport where we would be spending the night. Although the timing of the flight was not ideal for those connecting to Newark, it is a small price to make to have such an amazing experience.Bottom lineIt was a delight to find out that Emirates offers a fifth-freedom flight between Athens, Newark, and that it can be booked in first class using Skywards miles. The Emirates first class product, which is easily my favorite in the world, is amazing.The crew was great, the food was excellent, and it was a lot fun. It's obvious that flying has become less enjoyable due to coronavirus. This is despite the fact that airlines have reduced their service. It was a completely different experience to be able once again to enjoy international first-class as it was before the coronavirus.Thank you for following this trip report. Stay tuned as I start my next one.
