There's a reason this airline is rated best run in the world...IT IS! Our managing partner insisted I go to London during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, so I reluctantly took Emirates to Heathrow. If you've never been on a giant Airbus with just seven passengers with about the same number of flight attendants, it's an experience not to be missed. Flying for several hours, we all got to know the cabin crew well, plus each other. The pilot, co-pilot and navigator even circulated through the cabin once autopilot kicked in. Emirates won me over as a passenger for life by upgrading my already-cheap business class ticket to first class (they upgraded the whole plane to keep all 7 within easy walking distance LOL). On a normal flight, Emirates has great service, terrific food and very comfortable seats. We took them on a recent vacation to Zanzibar, so I knew they were stellar. If given a choice that includes them I will ALWAYS pick Emirates from here on. They freely pass out expensive champagne and there were two showers on the plane plus a full manned bar. The flight attendant even indulged my curiosity to see the "honeymoon suite" complete with bed and rose petals LOL. The strangeness started at the airport on both ends: maybe 2 dozen people were in the whole place (see pic). Emirates boarding can feel pretty exotic...the uniform includes a nod to their Dubai headquarters with an unusual loose scarf attached to a pillbox hat (sort of 1960s Pan Am meets the Arab world). Both the crew and the passengers are like a United Nations cross-section of the world. With Emirates cabin crews, they don't employ cranky unhelpful grandparents wearing Crocs with modified t-shirts and wrinkled pants. While diverse in ages and nationalities, the cabin crew is remarkably well-dressed: sleek suit and tie for the men, high-style dresses with pumps (impressively worn the whole flight) for the women. None of the cabin or flight crew were Emirati, they hailed from Asia, Europe, Africa and the US. Everyone was unfailingly polite (almost Stepford Wife-like). One nice and unexpected touch was all the free time everyone on board had. This must be what it was like to fly in the 1940s, and felt pretty glamorous chatting casually with all onboard, despite everyone wearing a surgical mask when not eating or drinking. No one even cracked a smile at my face mask plus plastic clear face shield (courtesy of the surgeon hubby, hehe)...people even asked how to get something similar. read more