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Fuel Surcharges on EK Reward Tickets

Fuel Surcharges on EK Reward Tickets

Old Mar 25, 2013, 11:03 am
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by father_ted
You really don't like the taxi service do you?

way.
I think I've used it twice in the past 5 years. I get a corporate car when I travel and my organization has offices in over 150 countries so...

And I've yet to use EK on leisure ( my wife has, using my miles to upgrade)

I just find it mystifying that ppl who buy revenue First and business tickets value the free taxi so much......
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 11:08 am
  #17  
 
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Emirates Partner Redemption Fuel Surcharges??

It will be interesting to see if redemption partner Alaska Airlines or Japan Airlines will begin charging fuel surcharges as well. Until now, there have been no no fuel surcharges on Emirates redemption via Alaska or Japan Airlines. I'm contacting both carriers and doing some more analysis to see if there will be any alternatives to this fuel surcharge and find any alternatives (if any)...stay tuned.

Last edited by ThriftyTourist; Mar 25, 2013 at 11:28 am
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 12:51 pm
  #18  
 
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I remember they introduced a fuel surcharge (on paid fares?) a couple of years ago, but at the time were clear that it was temporary and it was removed again soon after.

The disappointing bit here for me is that this time it seems permanent.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 1:02 pm
  #19  
 
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Originally Posted by rathin100
I just find it mystifying that ppl who buy revenue First and business tickets value the free taxi so much......
The chauffeur drive, imo and ime, is a fairly good value add for the following:

1. Peace of Mind: When you are travelling to a new destination where you've never been before and don't speak the local language, you dont want to think about what kind of taxi you are going to get, how reliable is it going to be, whether the driver will fleece you or not or take you to the wrong destination. As an aside, we flew to Bangkok last month and used the local taxi service at the airport. They forced us to take a Toyota Qualis stating that our luggage would not fit into a Camry and made us pay 800 Baht for our hotel on Sukhumvit road. Normal fare is around 350-400 Baht. The extra 400 Baht didn't make as much difference to my wallet as much as the feeling of being fleeced did to my temper.

2. Consistent: Not sure what kind of car or taxi and in what condition (old, beaten up, or full of cigarette smoke) I might get hold up in. With EK, I know it will be a Merc C class (or something similar) in a fairly good condition at most places.

3. Hassle free: I don't want to call my driver at middle of the night (EK500 lands at 3:00 am and by the time you get out its close to 4) and then not have him show up for the rest of the day or drive erratically as he hadn't slept properly the whole night.

4. Where does your journey start? After you check in, or the moment you leave your home. With EK, your EK experience kicks in right from the moment you leave your home with the chauffeur drive service.

You probably find it mystifying why people like the chauffeur drive as much as I find it mystifying how so many of my B-School friends who run NGOs (they are now the in thing after dot-coms in India) or work for development organisations, choose to fly premium cabins on donations they've got in the name of alleviating poverty.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 1:28 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by rathin100
I think I've used it twice in the past 5 years. I get a corporate car when I travel and my organization has offices in over 150 countries so...

I just find it mystifying that ppl who buy revenue First and business tickets value the free taxi so much......
not everyone has a chauffeur provided by their company

I find the chauffeur a nice feature and one that has value to me and that value can be considered when comparing fares

On a Europe to NZ roundtrip I typically use around 12 cars.

1 in Europe
2 in Dubai
2 in Australia
2 in New Zealand
2 in Australia
2 in either Asia or Dubai
1 in Europe

The 4 in Australia are worth about $120 each to me ; even allowing $50 per car on the others that gives an actual value to me of $880

The Dubai stops tend to be discretionary stops, so even discounting those that is $680

$680 is not an insignificant amount and since I do not have a personal chauffeur is definitely something I value and will take into account when comparing fares between airlines

Also, in most locations ( NZ being an exception ), the cars are nicer than taxis , plus the car is waiting for me at the airport ( no need to queue for a taxi ) and , for pick ups, the services are ime v reliable and no concerns on whether the car is there on time

If I had a chauffeur provided anyway, then I wouldn't value it.

Last edited by Dave Noble; Mar 25, 2013 at 1:36 pm
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 3:19 pm
  #21  
 
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Another unsurprising enhancement to our beloved Skywards. I could just picture an EK-QF integration meeting with a lot of arm waving. Someone in QF said a short while ago that the most generous features of the two programmes will be retained. Contrary to that statement, all we see is EK doing a lot of alignment of their benefits with QFF:
- Introduction of Platinum tier (destined to happen regardless but had been rumoured for half a decade!)
- Earn and burn rates for itineraries starting in Australia, very similar to what QFF has in store.
- Restricting F reward availability to a point where it's ridiculous. Something that I find reminiscent of QF's protective practice.
- Introduction of QF-style hefty fuel fines on reward tickets.

Australia is mega lucrative for EK. Getting in bed with QF makes it even more so. But what does it mean to the end customer?
I contended a while back that it will translate into higher fares, but didn't foresee less FF benefits (discounting the Plat tier which had been in the pipeworks).

Last week a friend asked me to book her a round trip to CAI ex-MEL. The natural choice had been EK, followed by EY, SQ and QR. Would you like to guess which one was the dearest? EK, pricing at almost 3k for a round trip in economy (that's 4 months out by the way) with QF offering the same flights for almost 500 dollars less. The cheapest was SQ but at $2200 without mileage accrual and 3 frequencies a week that translates into very poor value. EY and QR were all in between.

Whoever is working out the Supply/Demand curve at EK must be doing a terrific job. Must not forgot though that the gentlemen's agreement among the airlines is also doing wonders.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 3:26 pm
  #22  
 
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Going back to the main point of this thread. Will these surcharges apply to ticketed bookings? What about making changes to existing redemptions both partly used an unflown post April fools' day?

Maybe this whole thing is a gaff?
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 3:31 pm
  #23  
 
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redacted

Last edited by edy4eva; Mar 25, 2013 at 3:33 pm Reason: Please delete
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 3:53 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by rathin100
I think I've used it twice in the past 5 years. I get a corporate car when I travel and my organization has offices in over 150 countries so...

And I've yet to use EK on leisure ( my wife has, using my miles to upgrade)

I just find it mystifying that ppl who buy revenue First and business tickets value the free taxi so much......
I get a bus and seem to manage to arrange that all by myself, pretty simple you get on pay the bloke and get off when its your stop.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 6:55 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by jackiedada
The chauffeur drive, imo and ime, is a fairly good value add for the following:

1. Peace of Mind: When you are travelling to a new destination where you've never been before and don't speak the local language, you dont want to think about what kind of taxi you are going to get, how reliable is it going to be, whether the driver will fleece you or not or take you to the wrong destination. As an aside, we flew to Bangkok last month and used the local taxi service at the airport. They forced us to take a Toyota Qualis stating that our luggage would not fit into a Camry and made us pay 800 Baht for our hotel on Sukhumvit road. Normal fare is around 350-400 Baht. The extra 400 Baht didn't make as much difference to my wallet as much as the feeling of being fleeced did to my temper.

2. Consistent: Not sure what kind of car or taxi and in what condition (old,
beaten up, or full of cigarette smoke) I might get hold up in. With EK, I know it will be a Merc C class (or something similar) in a fairly good condition at most places.

3. Hassle free: I don't want to call my driver at middle of the night (EK500 lands at 3:00 am and by the time you get out its close to 4) and then not have him show up for the rest of the day or drive erratically as he hadn't slept properly the whole night.




4. Where does your journey start? After you check in, or the moment you leave your home. With EK, your EK experience kicks in right from the moment you leave your home with the chauffeur drive service.


You probably find it mystifying why people like the chauffeur drive as much as I find it mystifying how so many of my B-School friends who run NGOs (they are now the in thing after dot-coms in India) or work for development organisations, choose to fly premium cabins on donations they've got in the
name of alleviating poverty.
Now that's a good example... In bangkok limos cost1200 baht Why would someone buying a J revenue ticket rate chauffeur drive high? I can understand an upgrade but not the rev ticket.


I see your point about night pickup but likewise in India, flying J I would go for the airline of choice and book a car on the sme company EK chooses. If I Can afford a revenue J ticket, the extra would make little difference to me.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 6:59 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Dave Noble
not everyone has a chauffeur provided by their company

I find the chauffeur a nice feature and one that has value to me and that value can be considered when comparing fares

On a Europe to NZ roundtrip I typically use around 12 cars.

1 in Europe
2 in Dubai
2 in Australia
2 in New Zealand
2 in Australia
2 in either Asia or Dubai
1 in Europe


The 4 in Australia are worth about $120 each to me ; even allowing $50 per car on the others that gives an actual value to me of $880



The Dubai stops tend to be discretionary stops, so even discounting those that is $680

$680 is not an insignificant amount and since I do not have a personal
chauffeur is definitely something I value and will take into account when comparing fares between airlines

Also, in most locations ( NZ being an exception ), the cars are nicer than taxis , plus the car is waiting for me at the airport ( no need to queue for a taxi )
and , for pick ups, the services are ime v reliable and no concerns on whether the car is there on time

If I had a chauffeur provided anyway, then I wouldn't value it.

Fair enough and thanks. You and jackiedada have been very helpful in helping me see the logic. I guess when you work for a corporate someone takes care of these things for you like they do your ticket. Not so for the non corporate mkt segment.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 7:22 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by rathin100
Fair enough and thanks. You and jackiedada have been very helpful in helping me see the logic. I guess when you work for a corporate someone takes care of these things for you like they do your ticket. Not so for the non corporate mkt segment.
Even a corporate , unless the chauffeurs are on staff anyway, it is still something that would be of value for the company from what I can see

if fare with airline a was , say, $300 cheaper than airline b , but taking airline b would save $400 in ground transportation fees, then airline b would be a logical choice to select

someone with a dedicated chauffeur would obviously not care, in the same way that I couldnt care less what champagne the airline serves on board or wines etc
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 8:09 pm
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by Dave Noble
Even a corporate , unless the chauffeurs are on staff anyway, it is still something that would be of value for the company from what I can see

if fare with airline a was , say, $300 cheaper than airline b , but taking airline b would save $400 in ground transportation fees, then airline b would be a logical choice to select

someone with a dedicated chauffeur would obviously not care, in the same way that I couldnt care less what champagne the airline serves on board or wines etc
Not if you have an annual contract with the hotel which includes pickup/ drop as we do in most locations where there are no staff cars. It makes no difference to company. Also, work materials/ colleagues can be sent/ join to brief in the car.

car. This happens often.
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 8:51 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by rathin100
Not if you have an annual contract with the hotel which includes pickup/ drop as we do in most locations where there are no staff cars. It makes no difference to company. Also, work materials/ colleagues can be sent/ join to brief in the car.
In this sort of case, then indeed there would be no value to the car service, but I suspect that it is generally a minority of passengers for whom this is the case

This is pretty much the same as a dedicated chauffeur situation
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Old Mar 25, 2013, 9:18 pm
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by Dave Noble
not everyone has a chauffeur provided by their company

I find the chauffeur a nice feature and one that has value to me and that value can be considered when comparing fares

On a Europe to NZ roundtrip I typically use around 12 cars.
Works well if the stopovers are free. But I found, looking at CMB-SIN-MEL-SIN-MEL with stopovers in SIN in both directions, I would be effectively paying for the transfer anyway. Contrast to SQ ATH-SIN-MEL-SIN-ATH with stopovers in SIN, where the stopovers at SIN only cost the $28SGD Changi charge each time. Of course different markets, different fares, different rules.
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