I recently made the trek from New York City to Entebbe, Uganda, which entailed nearly 24 hours of travel both ways — in economy class.

Prior to this, the most time I’d ever spent on an aeroplane for a single trip was only nine hours, so I wasn’t entirely thrilled at the idea of being stuck in coach for so long. That is, until I discovered that I’d be flying Emirates.

Emirates was recently named the best airline in the world for 2016 by the leading consumer aviation website Skytrax. It’s the fourth year in the row that the airline received the honour. So of course, I assumed I’d be flying to Uganda in style.

But I realised that flying coach on Emirates is basically the same as flying on any other airline. I was cramped and uncomfortable, and couldn’t wait to land.

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