Emirates airlines.

Greetings from Dubai

14 hours – give or take an hour or so if the winds are with you – is all it takes to fly from Seattle to Dubai on the new Emirates route that started on March 1, 2012.

First-Class passengers have private suites, Business Class passengers like me (thank-you Emirates) get seats that turn into lie-flat beds and everyone gets to use ice – the in-flight entertainment system that has information channels (including an external camera), phone, text and email service (at a cost) that also allows you to call other passengers on the flight (free), and more than 600 channels of movies and other entertainment.

I haven’t yet had a good tour of the Dubai International Airport but here are a few quick takes from arrival:

For families getting off the flight, Emirates thoughtfully provides strollers right there at the gate.

There are palm trees in baggage claim.

And the location of the prayer rooms are clearly marked.

Stay tuned for more..