Wtravel

The response to Q1 is, in theory, yes. However, I agree with many that in practice there will be little to no value added (and my arguments have already been covered by other posts, so I will not list them), hence I have skipped Q2 and Q3. EK (like any other carrier) would not be doing this for our blue eyes, but to benefit themselves in the form of data/information. And as far as data and cramping our style is concerned: I don't see an official lurker as negative in that regard, as EK (again, like any other carrier covered) is sure to be lurking unofficially anyway. Not to be paranoid, but who knows to what extent certain posts/social media may already be influenced by companies (I am not singling out EK/any company/poster or stating a fact here, but just stating a possibility) without us knowing...

ghostwrita

apologies - I'll search better next time.

Saltire74

Another bump folks.

If you haven't already taken part in the survey, we would be grateful for your thoughts. Please see the questions and format in the Wiki at the top of the thread.

Many Thanks

Safe & Happy Travels

​​​​​​​Saltire74

simons1

Personally I think the question is the wrong way round.

EK must have done their research before making an approach, if they state what value they think they can bring then I might be better placed to answer.

So basically the answer to Q1 is maybe and Q2/3 don't know.

DYKWIA

EK didn't make the approach. One of the ambassadors contacted EK and they seemed receptive to the idea. Hence this survey.

Saltire74

To prevent any confusion and to clarify the point you make re the approach, we (FT) made the approach to EK. We are looking at ways of making the forum better than it already is and one of those ways we were looking at was asking EK if they would be interested in joining. EK asked for feedback so that if they join, they want to get their level of contribution right.

Safe & Happy Travels

S

skywardhunter

Who made the approach has been clarified, but also, they should do their research, isn't that kind of exactly what this thread is???

simons1

OK, now I follow. To be fair the opening statement "we have piqued the interest of EK" could have meant various different things. If it had said "we have approached EK" I might have got it first time.

Seeing how lurkers operate on the other boards their input seems quite limited so I will go for a "no" then. Apart from feedback channels on key changes (which they could see just as a reader of the forum) I'm not sure what they would bring to the table beyond what I can access directly from EK/Skywards.

scottienz69

Q1: Yes
Q2: EK 'hot oil' & relevant FT-related advance insider info e.g. fleet news, route news, Skywards promos, etc.
Q3: Expertflyer; FT; Emirates.com; pointshack; onemileatatime
^

Dave Noble

That is one of the reasons I would not want it participating

Giving it carte blanche to be able to spam to its hearts content

DYKWIA

I remember watching a film a few years ago called The Cooler with William H Macy. Very enjoyable.

Xlr

Q1:
Would you like to see an Official EK Representative on Flyertalk? (If NO, could you please give your reasons as this will also be assessed in the feedback).

Sure, why not? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Q2:
If Emirates were to join the forum in an official capacity, what contributions would you like to see from them?

Perhaps most importantly, being able to see our questions during a fluid situation such as the electronics ban, flight cancellations due to weather or otherwise, etc. They can respond here, or on Twitter or as a website update (ideally linking to those here).

There is a wealth of knowledge among people on this forum for routine questions (case in point: I once had a question that I myself had answered previously!), which means most days for them will just be one person spending 5 minutes lurking/reading, which is an insignificant increase in workload for them.

It's probably in everyone's best interest that they don't respond to every single post! Rather, I'd prefer they post only when their posts add considerable value that wasn't already available. For example, announcing new routes isn't considerable value since that's already on their social media pages and their website, which most of us already follow.

Somewhat counterintuitively, I'd also prefer that they don't respond to rudimentary questions that can be answered with a simple Google search. I'd prefer to keep their regular workload on FlyerTalk as low as possible, so they'd be more likely to answer our questions at times when they actually need answering.

That said, there is benefit to reading people's questions -- if a question comes up too often, they could consider updating the website or booking process to make that information more obvious.

Q3:
Which online resource do you go to most when looking for information about flying Emirates or their Frequent Flyer Programme, Skywards? Emirates Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flyertalk or other Social Media/Online site? List sites in order of usage.

Emirates and Skywards websites and FlyerTalk, though I've also read some trip reports on common points/miles websites such as ThePointsGuy and OneMileAtATime.

ft101

I'm not sure I agree with the bolded bit. I haven't counted, but I think most respondents seem not to bother with Twitter, Facebook etc.

Xlr

Ah, yes you’re right.

Still, I stand by my larger point that we hear about the news such as new routes fairly quickly.

Dave Noble

which would suggest to me that the respondents may not be interested in such commercials or they would already subscribe to such