I flew coach on the 'world's best airline' — and it wasn't that great

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 airplane 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 honor. So of course, I assumed I'd be flying to Uganda in style.

But I realized 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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This is what I had imagined my Emirates experience would be like: showers, bars, and Jennifer Aniston.

But of course, I was flying economy class for my 12-and-a-half hour flight to Dubai.

Coach looks a lot different than the luxe first class cabin from the commercial.