While a very mature and well-crafted product overall, there is still room for improvement in Emirates’ main premium product. One is wifi access. Emirates is one of the few top airlines not providing any free internet time to Business Class passengers without strings attached.

To use at least messenger services for free during the entire flight, one needs to register with their frequent flier program, in all classes. If passengers are not Skywards Gold or Silver members, however, even in Business Class, they have to pay for full internet access, $9.99 to $19.99, depending on flight length. That’s not very premium-like, as not even a limited amount of time is offered free. Especially in the context of others like Qatar Airways which now offers boasting complimentary, high-speed Starlink wifi on board, Emirates needs to reconsider its policy.

The seats to go for are the A and K ones, twelve in total, directly at the windows, as they offer much greater privacy as the rest are open to the aisles with no sliding doors or walls. Best are the single bulkhead rows 3 and 6 window seats, which also have more shelf space to deploy a laptop or carry-on during flight. As lack of personal storage space is another issue with this seat – no drawers or closets found here, as Emirates’ signature personal mini bar takes away possible storage room.

Having said that, the soft leather cream seat itself is elegant and very comfortable. Even for a tall person, its dimensions of 52.5cm (20.7 inches) width and 112cm (44 inches) pitch are generous, which is also true for the flat bed that measures up to two meters (78.6 inches) in length when fully extended. To go to sleep, beds are padded up with soft mattress covers, enabling a good rest without any seat cushion edges noticeable.

One of the few new things in this upgraded Safran seat are additions of two USB-C ports, one of them integrated with the other power outlets, now installed at the edge of the mini bar shelf. Another novelty is what Emirates calls a “small bar” behind each last seat row in both Business cabins. In fact, it’s just a shelf with snacks laid out, nothing where you could stretch your legs and stand upright for longer.

Emirates' Business Class is known for its excellent customer service, offering personalized attention, comfort, and a premium experience from check-in to landing. My experience on this flight was exactly that.

Delicious, plentiful and beautifully presented. One can not fault the catering service and beverage selection in Emirates Business Class.

A big improvement for many passengers however would be dine-on-demand in Business Class, especially as Gulf peers Etihad and Qatar Airways already have this option. On the nine-hour day flight to Tokyo, for example, breakfast was served fairly soon after take-off, which made sense. Dinner then was only brought out very late in the flight, less than 90 minutes before landing, here an option to dine earlier would have been very welcome.

Emirates aims to standardize its Business Class across the fleet, avoiding the inconsistency seen in other airlines, which often leads to customer disappointment when newer cabins are swapped for older ones. While Emirates promotes the upgrades as "best in class," they're more accurately a significant improvement over the outdated 2-3-2 layout. Emirates President Sir Tim Clark hinted that the upcoming Boeing 777-9s will feature a refined version of the current Business Class so watch this space!

Overall flying Emirates Business Class is always an enjoyable and comfortable experience. The airline has touted the refreshed cabin as a “new product” and that was what this review was about - the new product. Contrary to expectations, Emirates chose the conservative approach, basically installing an updated version of the A380 Business Class seat on its 777s so whilst it’s a wonderful experience it is not a new experience.