Emirates Business/First experience & Gold/Platinum member thread
Jul 3, 2015, 6:37 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UAE
Programs: EK Platinum
Posts: 47
Emirates Business/First experience & Gold/Platinum member thread
Dear all,
I made this new thread as I did not find any other thread to put this into.
As the service of Emirates is in parts really not what is was before, I thought it would be useful to make a new thread to exchange our views and experiences.
In the same time we could post our experience as Gold/Platinum members to see the difference is service.
Lets get started:
I am just returning from a returning flight DXB-IAD-DXB. The first leg I was traveling in First class (upgrade with 54,000 Miles at check-in) and the return flight I was traveling in Business class.
Of course to compare Business and First is very difficult as it is really different.
The cabin in First class was just awesome. I didnt feel the 13 hrs flight to IAD and had a very good sleep. The service is incredibly good, food excellent and atmosphere is awesome. Also the a la carte menu is great. I never was traveling so relaxed to anywhere. I looked up the cost for the return ticket if I would have booked it regularly and of course when you spend ca. 12,000 USD you would expect something special.
IAD- DXB
My return flight was in Business Class. And here the nightmare starts :-). I was surprised how bad the service really was compare to around 1 year ago. In the beginning of the flight the attendant came and introduced herself. She was friendly, no doubt. But you felt that whatever she did was "artificial". The smile, the talk etc. Nothing natural. When you spend 6K for a return ticket you might expect some level of service.
Its the little things which makes the difference. There was a small kid (2 years) in C class and all the attendants have been more busy looking after the kid then after the rest of us pax. Given the fact that the C class was half empty (ca. 20 pax) you would expect something else.
After boarding I was standing at my seat with my jacket, hoping that someone would come to take it for hanging it. After 10 min. I was going myself to the galley, first to be ignored and then after a while I asked to please hang my jacket.
Before the first meal service (lunch) the attendant asked me if she should wake me up for the breakfast at 06:00 am (2 hours before landing). I said no, thanks please let me sleep. Hardly, because of the small kid in the row in front of me, I started sleeping around 04:00 am, to be of course waken up at 06:00 pm with a tap on my shoulder... sir sir, do you want to have breakfast? I was really upset.
Due to my flights with EK I know that they are offering mattresses in C class. 4 hours into the flight I was wondering why nobody offered it (compared to my previous flights) and I asked for it. She said ok, and brought one. I realized that the mattress was not offered to anyone else. Why I don't know. One lady saw that I was handed one and she asked as well for one. The mattress itself was about 5 cm thick on the corners, but less than 2 mm in the middle throughout the whole mattress. You realized that they were just old and very much used. its not made out of memory foam, but just simply normal foam. After putting it myself on my seat I realized that there is no benefit having it, as the 2 mm not brining any effect. So I started to collect pillows around the empty seats and made my own mattress :-)
One hour before landing (before any seatbelt sign was switched on), the attendant came and told me to give the mattress and put my seat upright. I gave her the mattress but told her that we still have time as not even the seatbelt sign in switched on. She left.
When I was going to the washroom I saw in the galley that the crew prepared the hot towels. A few min later, when I was returning to my seat the attendant saw me when she was collecting back the towels. Honestly I was waiting for a towel, but without success. I am used for this kind of treatment in Y class, but for C class, I was surprised.
After landing, still at the gate I saw one of those electric cars carrying three passengers away and was wondering who is that. At the luggage belt I saw them again, accompanied by 2 porters and 3 emirates staff incl one of them with a radio.
When the belt started I saw the priority tag of the luggage and it was dark blue with a beautiful red line. Only his luggage came and the belt stopped again. I didnt see this before. A quick research in the web showed me that this must be the tags of IO members, so they even have their own tags. :-)
When the person left with the entourage there was another EK staff member and I started talking to him.
I asked him, IO, and he he said yes IO. We started talking about the Emirates Service and also he admitted that the customer service is not what it was one year before. Emirates is growing fast and has a high turnover of staff. He was himself unhappy with the situation. We agreed that being Silver, Gold or Platinum member doesnt mean much anymore. Only IO would be taken care off. And to become IO he said you should be CEO or COO of a large company who is dedicating their business to Emirates and buying all flight tickets from EK. So to keep those people happy, they would become an IO member.
I will certainly write to Emirates with a complete feedback.
How is your experience as Gold/Platinum member?
I made this new thread as I did not find any other thread to put this into.
As the service of Emirates is in parts really not what is was before, I thought it would be useful to make a new thread to exchange our views and experiences.
In the same time we could post our experience as Gold/Platinum members to see the difference is service.
Lets get started:
I am just returning from a returning flight DXB-IAD-DXB. The first leg I was traveling in First class (upgrade with 54,000 Miles at check-in) and the return flight I was traveling in Business class.
Of course to compare Business and First is very difficult as it is really different.
The cabin in First class was just awesome. I didnt feel the 13 hrs flight to IAD and had a very good sleep. The service is incredibly good, food excellent and atmosphere is awesome. Also the a la carte menu is great. I never was traveling so relaxed to anywhere. I looked up the cost for the return ticket if I would have booked it regularly and of course when you spend ca. 12,000 USD you would expect something special.
IAD- DXB
My return flight was in Business Class. And here the nightmare starts :-). I was surprised how bad the service really was compare to around 1 year ago. In the beginning of the flight the attendant came and introduced herself. She was friendly, no doubt. But you felt that whatever she did was "artificial". The smile, the talk etc. Nothing natural. When you spend 6K for a return ticket you might expect some level of service.
Its the little things which makes the difference. There was a small kid (2 years) in C class and all the attendants have been more busy looking after the kid then after the rest of us pax. Given the fact that the C class was half empty (ca. 20 pax) you would expect something else.
After boarding I was standing at my seat with my jacket, hoping that someone would come to take it for hanging it. After 10 min. I was going myself to the galley, first to be ignored and then after a while I asked to please hang my jacket.
Before the first meal service (lunch) the attendant asked me if she should wake me up for the breakfast at 06:00 am (2 hours before landing). I said no, thanks please let me sleep. Hardly, because of the small kid in the row in front of me, I started sleeping around 04:00 am, to be of course waken up at 06:00 pm with a tap on my shoulder... sir sir, do you want to have breakfast? I was really upset.
Due to my flights with EK I know that they are offering mattresses in C class. 4 hours into the flight I was wondering why nobody offered it (compared to my previous flights) and I asked for it. She said ok, and brought one. I realized that the mattress was not offered to anyone else. Why I don't know. One lady saw that I was handed one and she asked as well for one. The mattress itself was about 5 cm thick on the corners, but less than 2 mm in the middle throughout the whole mattress. You realized that they were just old and very much used. its not made out of memory foam, but just simply normal foam. After putting it myself on my seat I realized that there is no benefit having it, as the 2 mm not brining any effect. So I started to collect pillows around the empty seats and made my own mattress :-)
One hour before landing (before any seatbelt sign was switched on), the attendant came and told me to give the mattress and put my seat upright. I gave her the mattress but told her that we still have time as not even the seatbelt sign in switched on. She left.
When I was going to the washroom I saw in the galley that the crew prepared the hot towels. A few min later, when I was returning to my seat the attendant saw me when she was collecting back the towels. Honestly I was waiting for a towel, but without success. I am used for this kind of treatment in Y class, but for C class, I was surprised.
After landing, still at the gate I saw one of those electric cars carrying three passengers away and was wondering who is that. At the luggage belt I saw them again, accompanied by 2 porters and 3 emirates staff incl one of them with a radio.
When the belt started I saw the priority tag of the luggage and it was dark blue with a beautiful red line. Only his luggage came and the belt stopped again. I didnt see this before. A quick research in the web showed me that this must be the tags of IO members, so they even have their own tags. :-)
When the person left with the entourage there was another EK staff member and I started talking to him.
I asked him, IO, and he he said yes IO. We started talking about the Emirates Service and also he admitted that the customer service is not what it was one year before. Emirates is growing fast and has a high turnover of staff. He was himself unhappy with the situation. We agreed that being Silver, Gold or Platinum member doesnt mean much anymore. Only IO would be taken care off. And to become IO he said you should be CEO or COO of a large company who is dedicating their business to Emirates and buying all flight tickets from EK. So to keep those people happy, they would become an IO member.
I will certainly write to Emirates with a complete feedback.
How is your experience as Gold/Platinum member?
Jul 4, 2015, 4:21 am
#2
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,826
My experience is that good means very little these days - I'll be plat soon so will see. Given we've flown 90% first and 10% j status means very little.
My wife and I are very happy with the ek service obviously first is better but j has been good too.
I still don't like remote gates or old first class but generally consistent. Our alternative is ba so one world and EK have not annoyed me enough yet. Prices are obscene ex dxb but aside from that we are happy with ek - there will become a price point where we look elsewhere especially to Asia with cx.
My wife and I are very happy with the ek service obviously first is better but j has been good too.
I still don't like remote gates or old first class but generally consistent. Our alternative is ba so one world and EK have not annoyed me enough yet. Prices are obscene ex dxb but aside from that we are happy with ek - there will become a price point where we look elsewhere especially to Asia with cx.
Jul 4, 2015, 5:44 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 152
So you don't like NOT being asked to take your coat or for a hot towel but you don't like being asked if you want breakfast? You went to the washroom so you could have just washed your hands and face... Sorry, think your standards are too high...
Jul 4, 2015, 6:39 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UAE
Programs: EK Platinum
Posts: 47
This was one year ago as a comparison very, very different. The EK experience is not anymore what is was. See also many other comments in similar posts who seem to confirm this. But as I am reading EK is on the way changing that again through training etc. Lets see...
Jul 4, 2015, 9:29 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Aberdeenshire
Programs: BA Exec Silver, Aeroplan, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 1,125
My flights this year were all very good or the usual excellent. All in F. As usual I find the F lounge in the B concourse to be excellent (my favourite part of the trip; the main reason I book F, to be honest). One thing I noticed this year is that apart from one sector (BKK-DXB), F was never more than half full (and one sector, DXB-AMS) I was alone.
Jul 4, 2015, 11:56 am
#6
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: DXB
Programs: EK, AA, DL, UA, SPG, HGP, Amex
Posts: 1,208
I would say OP's complaints, while valid, are a bit of a far cry from "nightmare". I was expecting a lot worse than:
1) "She was friendly, no doubt. But you felt that whatever she did was "artificial"."
2) Jacket not picked up appropriately fast enough
3) Woken up when asked not to (fair point)
4) Jealousy towards 2 year old
5) Not getting mattress without asking (mitigating factor: day flight)
6) Mattress too thin
7) Not getting hot towel because in lav (mitigating factor: you were in lav, and towel would be cold by then anyway)
Maybe more nits than one would like or expect, and these are still nits. But nightmare?
1) "She was friendly, no doubt. But you felt that whatever she did was "artificial"."
2) Jacket not picked up appropriately fast enough
3) Woken up when asked not to (fair point)
4) Jealousy towards 2 year old
5) Not getting mattress without asking (mitigating factor: day flight)
6) Mattress too thin
7) Not getting hot towel because in lav (mitigating factor: you were in lav, and towel would be cold by then anyway)
Maybe more nits than one would like or expect, and these are still nits. But nightmare?
Jul 4, 2015, 11:43 pm
#7
Join Date: May 2010
Location: BOM
Programs: EK Plat, HHonors Gold
Posts: 2,882
Most recent experience JFK-DXB on EK202 (3 class A380) in Y and J on EK500 (3 class A380).
Got into the a/c, EK staff had kept seat next to me vacant, put on the "Do not disturb" sticker on my seat, slept for 7 hours at a stretch without any disturbance, woke up and found that FA had put the Fast Track pass next to me, caught up a bit on some emails, FA casually remarked that I haven't eaten anything on the flight after I refused b/f prior to landing, on time landing, went to the F lounge at B, ordered Sushi and Lamb Shanks (they are back!), boarded EK500 and found out that I was had been op-ed up on a relatively empty J cabin, got the welcome walk by both the SFS (French and totally fake...) and the "oh so nice" purser from Lebanon, refused all food on board, Flight landed on time, suitcase was the 3rd one to come out on the belt, and stepped into my home exactly 45 minutes after the flight landed.
Sigh! not sure whether I enjoyed the EK experience but as the flights go, couldn't have asked for more. Have been wondering lately if I should renew Plat...Perhaps I should, or maybe not and wait and see if it gets any worse (or better) as a Gold...We shall see...
Got into the a/c, EK staff had kept seat next to me vacant, put on the "Do not disturb" sticker on my seat, slept for 7 hours at a stretch without any disturbance, woke up and found that FA had put the Fast Track pass next to me, caught up a bit on some emails, FA casually remarked that I haven't eaten anything on the flight after I refused b/f prior to landing, on time landing, went to the F lounge at B, ordered Sushi and Lamb Shanks (they are back!), boarded EK500 and found out that I was had been op-ed up on a relatively empty J cabin, got the welcome walk by both the SFS (French and totally fake...) and the "oh so nice" purser from Lebanon, refused all food on board, Flight landed on time, suitcase was the 3rd one to come out on the belt, and stepped into my home exactly 45 minutes after the flight landed.
Sigh! not sure whether I enjoyed the EK experience but as the flights go, couldn't have asked for more. Have been wondering lately if I should renew Plat...Perhaps I should, or maybe not and wait and see if it gets any worse (or better) as a Gold...We shall see...
Last edited by jackiedada; Jul 4, 2015 at 11:58 pm Reason: typo
Jul 5, 2015, 3:09 am
#8
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oxon, UK
Programs: Mucci des canapes, Skywards Gold, BAEC Gold, IC Plat Amb, Accor Gold
Posts: 1,948
I wonder if the OP would have been as disappointed / upset if the order of flights had been reversed? I always find a J flight after a recent F flight can feel underwheming but if it comes after a flight in Y it feels great!
Some of the concerns seem to be around the lack of personalisation of the service which will never be the same in J as in F. Possibly the small child didn't help (although a number of crew seemed to be trying to keep the little one amused which also got criticised).
I'm not really sure it is relevant to compare the ground experience of an I/O with that of a Gold or Plat card holder somehow.
Some of the concerns seem to be around the lack of personalisation of the service which will never be the same in J as in F. Possibly the small child didn't help (although a number of crew seemed to be trying to keep the little one amused which also got criticised).
I'm not really sure it is relevant to compare the ground experience of an I/O with that of a Gold or Plat card holder somehow.
Jul 5, 2015, 4:46 am
#9
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: EK38 more often than not...
Programs: EK Gold
Posts: 691
Jul 5, 2015, 10:50 am
#11
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Kuwait
Programs: WoH Globalist
Posts: 601
Having read the OP's complaints, I assume that he/she has never experienced business class on Oman Air, Srilankan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Kuwait Airways, etc.
Tip: Don't have unrealistic expectations (expect the Ritz-Carlton pampering) with any airline and you should be happy
Tip: Don't have unrealistic expectations (expect the Ritz-Carlton pampering) with any airline and you should be happy
Last edited by aceboy44; Jul 5, 2015 at 10:55 am
Jul 5, 2015, 10:08 pm
#12
Join Date: May 2010
Location: BOM
Programs: EK Plat, HHonors Gold
Posts: 2,882
I am seeing more of this kind of 'parallel processing' attitude slowly creeping into EK these days - doesn't make me feel bad giving up my Plat status.
Last edited by jackiedada; Jul 6, 2015 at 1:32 am
Jul 6, 2015, 1:30 am
#13
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SYD (perenially), GVA (not in a long time)
Programs: QF PS, EK-Gold, Security Theatre Critic
Posts: 6,766
I was seated in (say) 63D. He walked past me, towards the rear of the aircraft looking at the manifest and at row numbers, without stopping at my seat. Then two minutes later going forward, still looking at the manifest and row numbers, into the forward Y cabin. Then 90 seconds later, he was back again, squinting at row 62, then 63, then at the manifest, then at me: "Ms RadioGirl, welcome on board. I couldn't find you at first." Uhh, yeah, it's real confusing how row 63 is behind 62 but ahead of 64.
I don't really care about the greeting, especially since it turns out they were joking about that whole "if you need anything let me know" part, but not being able to locate a passenger in their assigned seat is just weird
Jul 6, 2015, 4:57 am
#14
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 5,454
Oh, and I forgot to mention that she had a novel (and super-efficient) way of greeting status pax. 2 at a time (ones seated at B & D) and just the bare minimum - "Sir my name is xyz - I am the SFS in charge of this cabin. If you need anything, please let me know."
I am seeing more of this kind of 'parallel processing' attitude slowly creeping into EK these days - doesn't make me feel bad giving up my Plat status.
I am seeing more of this kind of 'parallel processing' attitude slowly creeping into EK these days - doesn't make me feel bad giving up my Plat status.
Jul 6, 2015, 5:01 am
#15
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 5,454
I'm more worried about the SFS (or purser?) who was lost on his own aircraft.
I was seated in (say) 63D. He walked past me, towards the rear of the aircraft looking at the manifest and at row numbers, without stopping at my seat. Then two minutes later going forward, still looking at the manifest and row numbers, into the forward Y cabin. Then 90 seconds later, he was back again, squinting at row 62, then 63, then at the manifest, then at me: "Ms RadioGirl, welcome on board. I couldn't find you at first." Uhh, yeah, it's real confusing how row 63 is behind 62 but ahead of 64.
I don't really care about the greeting, especially since it turns out they were joking about that whole "if you need anything let me know" part, but not being able to locate a passenger in their assigned seat is just weird
I was seated in (say) 63D. He walked past me, towards the rear of the aircraft looking at the manifest and at row numbers, without stopping at my seat. Then two minutes later going forward, still looking at the manifest and row numbers, into the forward Y cabin. Then 90 seconds later, he was back again, squinting at row 62, then 63, then at the manifest, then at me: "Ms RadioGirl, welcome on board. I couldn't find you at first." Uhh, yeah, it's real confusing how row 63 is behind 62 but ahead of 64.
I don't really care about the greeting, especially since it turns out they were joking about that whole "if you need anything let me know" part, but not being able to locate a passenger in their assigned seat is just weird
Also on the A380 the seating is staggered between the window and central seats so if you are counting down the rows on one side and then look across you might do a double-take. Has happened to me before.
Still - it would be a little weird to see from the perspective of your seat
Also - regarding the "if you need anything let me know" part, what did/didn't they help you with? I find that is exactly the moment to make requests and invariably they get fulfilled.