Why Emirates won 2 trophies at this year's TPG Awards

11.11.2023 - 15:03 / thepointsguy.com

This year's TPG Awards has come and gone, and it was a night that attendees and travel companies won't forget any time soon.

That's especially true for Emirates, which took home two awards Monday night — the only airline to win two trophies.

The Dubai-based carrier won awards for having the world's best first-class and premium economy products. If you've ever flown in these cabins, odds are you'll probably agree with these picks.

And if you haven't, here's a look at why Emirates went home with two shiny new pieces of hardware.

When I was ready to start traveling again during the pandemic, I was looking for international destinations that were open to tourists.

Once Dubai announced that all you needed was a negative test to enter the city, I immediately started looking for flights to the Gulf megopolis.

And then, when I saw that Emirates was flying its so-called Game Changer first-class product to the U.S., I knew it was meant to be. (Emirates typically deploys this product on much shorter routes to Europe.)

The Game Changer, found on just nine Emirates Boeing 777-300ERs, is one of the holy grails of premium-cabin products.

Much like a roomette on a train, the Game Changer is a fully enclosed suite — making it the only first-class product in the world to offer complete privacy. Plus, with just six individual suites, the cabin feels stately and intimate.

During my flight in the middle suite, I marveled at the virtual windows — a novelty that Emirates pioneered with this product. Furthermore, I loved the video call "room service" feature that allows you to virtually place a food or drink order with the cabin crew.

Other bells and whistles include customizable mood lighting, personal climate controls, a pair of $250 Steiner binoculars to use during the flight and much more.

Emirates first-class staples, such as personal minibars, free-flowing Champagne, top-shelf liquor and celebrity chef-designed meals, will also be waiting for you when you fly in a Game Changer suite.

What you won't find on the Boeing 777 are showers, which are a feature exclusively found on Emirates' Airbus A380s. While these double-deckers might offer showers for first-class passengers, everything else about the Game Changer is a massive improvement, making this already industry-leading product the world's best first-class experience.

While Emirates is the first of the three Gulf megacarriers to install a premium economy cabin, the airline is very much playing catch-up with the rest of the industry that's been flying this elevated product for years.

But though it might've taken the airline a little longer than its U.S. and European peers to install this product, Emirates clearly spent some time thinking about the details.

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