It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas with Emirates - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

For more than a million customers expected to travel in December, Emirates’ heartfelt hospitality celebrates the most wonderful time of the year.

Traditional treats at the Emirates Lounges

Emirates’ First and Business Class lounges in Dubai will be serving customer favourites like traditional roasted turkey with jus and cranberry sauce, glazed chestnuts, root vegetables, brussels sprouts and new potatoes, amongst a wide array of dishes. The festive feast is complemented by Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2013 and 2015, the Tranquil Tundra cocktail and Cozy Hearth mocktail by Dilmah, Jingle Mule cocktail from Evian, and Holiday Spiced Sour from Perrier. In First Class lounges, quintessential winter desserts await, from traditional stollen to scrumptious mince pies dashed with vanilla sauce and red currant cheesecake, to melt-in-the-mouth cinnamon profiteroles and spicy gingerbread chocolate cake.

In Business Class lounges, Christmas dinner will also be served alongside tempting desserts like cherry pistachio festive tart, Christmas fruit cake, chocolate yule log, and lime macarons with peppermint ganache. For an extra sparkle, guests can sample Moët Ice Impérial Brut and Moët Ice Impérial Rosé. Visitors can also get cosy with gingerbread lattes or mint hot chocolate from Costa Coffee.

Across the globe, Emirates Lounges will be decked out with festive fare - from lobster bisque and roasted rib-eye beef in San Francisco and LA, to grilled Norwegian salmon with creamy citrus velouté in Cape Town, roasted duck with red cabbage and caramelized apple wedges in Hamburg, to ballotine of guinea fowl stuffed with date and forest sauce in Paris.

Festive Fine Wines in the sky

This December, an exclusive vintage - Château Mouton Rothschild 2003 from the Emirates Vintage Collection will be available to First Class customers travelling on routes from Dubai to the UK and USA. With an 1855 Bordeaux classification, this wine is sought after for its bold expression of Pauillac terroir and status as a ‘First Growth’. A fusion of art and wine, the 2003 label was designed by the renowned artist Pablo Picasso, marking the 150th anniversary of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild’s acquisition of Mouton.

Onboard routes to the US and UK in First Class in December, Emirates will be serving another exclusive and extremely rare vintage of champagne  - Dom Pérignon Plenitude 2, 2004. This majestic and intense champagne is referred to as the plenitude of energy, benefitting from close to 15 years in the cellar.

Across other classes, Emirates customers will also enjoy premium wines with new additions such as the M. Chapoutier Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne, Rhone, 2019 in Business Class on European routes, and the Château de Sales, Pomerol 2014 in Premium Economy on routes to Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland.

Christmas cuisine in the clouds

From 14-26 December, customers in all classes will be offered festive hot chocolate, with different tempting toppings across classes from meringues to marshmallows to melt-in-the-mouth Valrhona chocolate pellets. From 24-26 December, special giveaways will also be offered; dark chocolate truffles in Economy Class, gingerbread cookies in Premium Economy and Business Class, and a raspberry Paris-Brest pastry in First Class.

In First, Business, and Premium Economy Class, the holiday classics continue with a huge variety of festive dishes across different routes. Curated dishes like salmon gravadlax with beetroot and orange-marinated salmon, pickled herring with potato and quail egg salad, or smoked salmon with crab mayonnaise and salmon roe will be featured. Main courses include classic turkey with jus, chestnut and turkey bacon stuffing, truffle potato gratin, caramelized chestnuts, and roasted brussels sprouts, as well as new dishes on select routes like herb-crusted lamb shank with jus, butternut squash and braised cabbage, to duck confit drizzled in cranberry jus lié, with truffle potato gratin and caramelised chestnuts, to seared venison soaked in sage butter and blackberry sauce with potato gratin and braised red cabbage with apple. An array of festive desserts awaits featuring all the flavours of the season, and First Class customers will also enjoy their very own Santa Claus, made from fresh strawberries and cream.

Economy Class customers can also unwrap their festive main course of roasted turkey, chestnut and turkey bacon roulade, and maple-roasted parsnips. Desserts include fruit cake doused in orange sauce and a mousse cake featuring one of Santa’s reindeers especially for children.

In the A380 Onboard Lounge, customers departing Dubai can munch on some mince pies, stollen, panettone, festive macarons, ginger profiteroles, dark chocolate ganache and cranberry financier as well as hazelnut and cranberry jars, biscotti and candy canes. Customers visiting the onboard lounge can also grab a Christmas sandwich stuffed with turkey, roast beef, cheddar cheese, cranberry sauce and chilli tomato relish.

Sky high spirits for Orthodox Christmas

From 24 December - 8 January, Emirates will also celebrate Orthodox Christmas on flights between Russia, Cyprus, Ethiopia and Dubai. Customers in First and Business Class will enjoy appetisers like Olivier salad or lobster tail with celeriac purée and Sevruga caviar, pickled herring, or smoked salmon with crab mayonnaise, and main courses of duck confit with cranberry jus lié, truffle potato gratin, and caramelised chestnuts, or herb-crusted lamb shank drizzled with jus and served with roasted potatoes, butternut squash and braised cabbage. Decadent desserts offered will include white chocolate and peppermint mousse cake with cranberry compote, pistachio sponge and a candy cane or chocolate gingerbread cake served with cranberry jelly.

Economy Class customers will enjoy starters like Russian potato salad and Waldorf salad, followed by a main course of barbecued chicken with festive favourites like chestnut and turkey bacon roulade, and maple-roasted parsnip, or a cream beef stroganoff, finished off with desserts of peppermint mousse with popping candy and a candy cane, or traditional fruit cake doused in orange sauce.

Get in a merry mood with festive entertainment on ice

This Christmas, Emirates customers have a choice of 42 holiday season movies onboard the award-winning inflight entertainment ice, with new movies such as Candy Cane Lane starring Eddie Murphy, EXmas starring Leighton Meester and A Christmas Frequency starring Denise Richards alongside all-time favourites Last Christmas, The Holiday, Elf, The Polar Express and even Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer from 1964. There is an array of 14 Christmas TV shows and holiday specials, including Lighting Up Christmas, Royal Carols: Together at Christmas 2023 and Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land. For those who wish to get into the holly jolly rhythm, there are 15 albums of Christmas music from artists like Sam Smith, the Vince Guaraldi Trio, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald and more.

Spreading joy in the season of giving

Customers can grab some last-minute gifts as EmiratesRED launches an exclusive sale available on most flights until December 14 with deals of up to 50% off. New luxury products launched on EmiratesRED include fragrances from Frederic Malle, Diptyque, Ex Nihilo and Hugo Boss, Montblanc sunglasses and Bally wallets, and trending skincare and wellness items from Drunk Elephant, Sol de Janeiro and other leading brands. The EmiratesRED pre-order service is  available on most flights, allowing customers to shop from 21 days up to 40 hours before their flight, provide flight details during checkout, and then receive the order delivered by cabin crew directly to their seat while in the air.

Emirates customers can also celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and spread joy with Emirates Airline Foundation, dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged children. Emirates customers can donate in any currency on any flight by using the envelope in the seat pocket, or via credit card, cheque, Skywards miles, or bank transfer, on their flight or from home.

Image Credit: © Emirates Airlines