Emirates Johannesburg |
Get an Emirates flight quotation from Johannesburg to your destination of choice. Emirates Airlines operates daily flights between Johannesburg and Dubai (UAE), and onwards to the rest of the world.
Address |
4th Floor, Sandton City Office Tower |
Telephone |
+27 86 136 4728 ('0861 emirates' - Call Centre) or +27 11 303 1951 (from outside South Africa) / +27 11 390 3877 (Lost Property) / +27 11 390 1215/6 (Baggage Claims) |
Fax |
+27 11 883 8448 |
Working hours |
Mon - Fri, 08:30 to 16:00 |
* AIRPORT - OR Tambo International * |
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Note that all Baggage Claim issues are done by the airport office |
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Telephone |
(011) 390 1215 / 6 |
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Fax |
(011) 390 1217 |
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Alternative numbers for Lost and Damaged Baggage |
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Telephone |
Bidair call centre (011) 390 3877 |
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Number for On time Arrivals and Departures |
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Telephone |
ACSA (Aiports Company SA) 086 727 7888 |
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Review of an Emirates Flight from Johannesburg to Dubai
By Alice Kühne
A long-haul flight in economy class is cramped and uncomfortable, no matter which airline you fly, which is why little details make all the difference. Our Emirates flight to Dubai was uneventful, but pleasant enough.
The tickets
I booked our tickets on the Emirates website—a quick and easy process. I do recommend that you print out your confirmation/itinerary email as soon as you receive it, because mine somehow got lost in the great dark hole of the internet. Luckily I had forwarded it to my husband before I lost it.
Baggage
Emirates allows 30 kg of baggage in Economy Class, 40 kg in Business Class, and 50 kg in First Class; quite a lot more generous than most airlines. They also allow one set of golf clubs and one pair of golf shoes at no additional charge (after all, Dubai has some world class golf courses). For other sports equipment, see their website for details.
Pets
“Pets are not permitted in the cabin, with the exception of falcons between Dubai and certain destinations in Pakistan.” This was taken from the Emirates website which I thought might be of interest to passengers with an interest in falconry.
Check-in
Check-in closes 90 minutes before the flight is scheduled to take-off. If you suspect that you may get to the airport a bit late, you can check in online, open from 24 hours before your flight. You can then print out your e-boarding pass yourself, or collect it when you check in your bags.
Self-service check-in
Our return flight from Dubai involved a self-service check-in. Being the developing world South Africans that we are, we were quite impressed by the shiny self-check-in machines… but then we still had to queue at an Emirates counter to weigh and check-in our bags. Being the developing world South Africans that we are, we didn’t really understand the point of self-service check-ins.
Flight times
I would recommend flying during the day, other wise you give yourself jetlag as a night of tossing and turning in limited space makes you want to sleep through your first day in Dubai.
My Emirates flight EK764
Our flight was at 7pm, which meant we needed to get to the check-in counter before 5:30pm. We could only leave home at 4pm, which meant Jo’burg traffic on a Friday afternoon was the main deciding factor of whether we would get to go on our weekend in Dubai. I was not optimistic. I went through the Emirates website and discovered online check-in. If you’re checked-in online, you only need to be at the check-in counter 30 minutes before the flight (for your bags). You will need your booking reference number, passport number and of course, your name, to check-in online.
When we got to the airport, there was no queue at the Emirates counters, baggage was weighed and checked-in in two minutes and even the credit card verification took only a swift wave of the hand by the official.
Boarding the airplane was a different story. There was an expected long line of passengers waiting to board at Gate A25. But the gate did not open on time, which meant we had to stand around and wait. Then when the gates did eventually open, they shooed away the Economy Class passengers to A24—the original gate was only for Business and First Class passengers. There was a lot of grumbling, reshuffling and waiting before we were finally on the plane.
Our flight was only eight hours, which is not too bad in terms of long-haul flights. But the seats weren’t particularly comfortable. I feel like the princess and the pea when I describe this, but the seats on the Boeing 777-300ER have thicker foam at the edge of the seat, just under the lower thighs, which leads to a slight numbing of the legs after a few hours. My husband didn’t notice this, however, because he was sprawled out on two seats for eight hours.
The ICE (entertainment system) offered a great variety of programmes and games to choose from, including shows and movies from all over the world. It would’ve been great but I couldn’t work out how to change the subtitle language which meant I had to watch a Japanese movie with Greek subtitles. This was not ideal. I ended up watching Hollywood blockbusters (with French subtitles).
In-flight catering was not bad. I recommend the beef curry and the mushroom tortellini (surprisingly al dente), but the seafood noodle starter was very oily and fishy, and the apple crumble tasted like baby food. Breakfast was a much better meal, with a croissant and a selection of cold meats and cheeses.
Overall the flight was pretty pleasant. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and I was quite distracted by the TV screen. Sparse dotting of lights in the desert below provided extra distraction as my imagination ran wild (Is that a village? A hideout for Aladdin and the thieves? What kind of people live here in the middle of nowhere?). We didn’t experience much turbulence and the landing was smooth.
After my (first) two flights with Emirates, I think I would fly with Emirates again.
Johannesburg A380 flights
April 2012 Emirates suspends the use of the A380 on Johannesburg - Dubai flights, to conduct safety tests, replaying it with a Boeing 777 aircraft: “Emirates is performing the necessary inspections of all of its A380 fleet, which has necessitated a number of aircraft substitutions. Emirates regrets any disappointment this may cause our passengers. Every effort is being made to expedite the process. The aircraft remain fully airworthy and pose no risk to flight safety as affirmed by EASA and Airbus.” |
11 May 2011 Emirates announced that as an enhancement of its 3-times daily flights between Johannesburg and Dubai from 1 Oct 2011 it would start flying an A380 aircraft on the route (the flight is currently in a Boeing 777-300ER). The announcement comes in the light of a 12% increase over the last year in the number of Emirates passengers flying from South Africa. Emirates has its A380 configured with 399 economy class seats, 14 first class suites and 76 business class seats. On the upper deck premium passengers can socialise in the lounge. Emirates Airline's President, Tim Clark, said: “We have enjoyed a successful partnership with South Africa since launching services in 1995, and now connect our Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban gateways to our vast global network through 42 non-stop flights each week to Dubai. The very positive trends we have witnessed over the last 12 months will only be boosted by the arrival of our flagship A380 aircraft, which has set a new benchmark for air travel. Our A380 demonstrates the future of aviation - both in terms of passenger experience and environmental sensitivity," he added. "By launching the aircraft to Johannesburg, we are further underlining our commitment to serving South Africa and we anticipate very strong demand from leisure and business travelers keen to experience its unique features and unparalleled levels of comfort in the air.” Emirates flight EK762 leave Johannesburg daily at 14h10 (SA time) and arrives in Dubai at 00h10 (local), and flight EK 761 leaves Dubai daily at at 04h40s (local time) and arrives in Johannesburg at 1050hrs (local). From Dubai, passengers can connect to Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia. Passengers wishing to stop off in Dubai can visit the world's tallest building (the Burj Khalifa), enjoy indoor skiiing, desert safaris and the famous Wild Wadi waterworld. |
Emirates also flies double-daily flights from Cape Town to Dubai, and daily flights from Durban to Dubai.