Back in January 2018, I flew from SFO to KHI in economy on Emirates. This is a very personal review of that flight, with particular emphasis on the “muslim friendliness” of the experience.
There was a long line at check-in, which is to be expected for a full flight. I didn’t see any airport staff at SFO wearing a hijab (muslim head covering). There were many hijabis at DXB, though — but none among the cabin crew on the entire to-and-from journey.
Food
All food is halal. They do serve alcohol, but also have a decent selection of non-alcoholic beverages.
Qibla direction and prayer times
Their in-flight entertainment system does not show prayer times, but it does show the qibla direction. However, the direction was wrong for a while after leaving SFO: while we were still over California, heading slightly west of north (see picture), their nav showed the direction as southeast, whereas the correct direction is around 20 degrees east of north.
[photo: qibla direction on the nav screen]
This flight also had front, below and tail (front-facing) camera views in the entertainment system. That made it easier to determine sunset and dawn for prayer times.
Praying on board
When it came time to pray, the cabin crew were very accommodating when I talked to them about making salat (Muslims pray five times a day, though some of us, including me, combine some prayers while traveling). They knew what I was talking about and let me pray wherever convenient.
Emirates is one of the rare airlines with economy at the front of the plane on the lower deck. In this configuration, the best place to pray is the horizontal aisle between the front doors: next to either door you’re out of the way, and you’re not blocking any restroom, since the restrooms open toward the longitudinal aisles.
Also, the forward-left restroom (just behind the cockpit door) is quite roomy, and its shape makes wudu (ablution — washing the face, hands, etc. before prayer) reasonably comfortable. Helping further: the tap is auto-sensing, so washing both hands is easier.
Overall
I was quite happy with the experience.
{note: this review was originally written way back in 2018. Since then Emirates has added Premium Economy which now occupies the economy section I recommended}
Originally posted on the old ReviewSity, August 2018.