Long time forum lurker , sitting in the EK B terminal at 04:30 (In transit HKG – NCL) considering saying goodbye to EK and thought I’d share a few thoughts.

Does anyone remember the days when a single bizz return ticket to DXB from the UK would nearly get you a GOLD card?  (Its true! And it was not that long ago) these days it all seems to have changed though, I do at least two long haul routes a month ( NCL – HKG / CGK / SYD , all in the back of the bus ) so this month have just hit the 100,000 tier mile mark (only 2 months left , no chance of hitting the 150).

I don’t have a say in the ticket type I travel on regretfully, standard policy says it must be the cheapest, full stop. But strangely, what I do have is the freedom to pick the route/airline (how does that make sense? i.e. EK is £600 quid to CGK and BA/SQ is 1200 quid, hey ho that’s corporate policy for you).

Anyhow let me get back on track here. As a previous platinum flying blue and Gold BA card holder, several years ago I made a conscious decision to abandon these chaps in favour of EK. It was an easy decision at the time, lovely new terminal with great lounge, ICE system was/is marvellous, skywards program was great! Upgrade with your air miles when you got on the plane!!! The old dears on BA would have had a heart attack and called an immediate strike (yet again). So it was a no brainer really , and I never regretted the move, have been a EK Gold card holder now for coming up on 5 years and believe it was the best thing I ever did (airline wise that is). However it now seems to have all changed, the terminals are a pain in the butt IMHO, if I am in Dubai I need to get to the airport earlier now as I have no idea what terminal I will be departing from, & I seem to be cursed on never landing in the same terminal that I am departing from while in transit, and don’t start me on the immigration queues at midnight (I have a story about the EK Gold card access, but another time).

So all that and now the most important bit, upgrades and flight loads “and before anyone kicks off , off course I do not have a god given right to an upgrade, but with a GOLD card and a first and second name both beginning with a B it was certainly great fun for a long time ” . However it has been months now since I received an OP-UP , which is disappointing but is not the real problem. The main issue is that for the last couple of months it has also not been possible to upgrade even with air miles. I guess it is summer and the routes I am taking these days are busy, but it is a bit of a bummer. And let me initiate a right stinker here, I hate the new terminal A lounge / lounges, I find them cold inhospitable and uncomfortable, could be because my backside has worn a comfortable patch in the B lounge and it’s difficult to teach an old dog new tricks . Anyway, the price you have to pay if you select EK as your carrier is the stopover in Dubai, it never really bothered me that much as the rest of the perks easily made up for it, but now the perks seem to be disappearing rapidly, so wasting away my life in the EK lounge in Duabi is becoming less and less attractive, I don’t know if the new platinum tier has impacted / contributed to this , I don’t think so, it has been heading downhill for a while I think.

Anyway, while scribbling this I have made up my mind , off to SYD next week and I think for the first time in many years I will be on BA metal (I still have a silver with them from the few European flights I do, and suspect I will ramp up to gold quick enough). Give me a month or two and I’ll report back on my findings (although I am dubious, I left BA a couple of years ago because they were atrocious , constant flight delays, rude staff, jaded old 747’s (and that was when I always flew up the front of the plane). However the Emirate summer is drawing to a close so time to move on.

Rgds From a weary traveller
BB