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?