Emirates Service
Jun 7, 2010, 1:32 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Belfast/Dubai/Hong Kong
Programs: QR Gold/CX Silver/EK Silver/EY Gold/Spire Royal Ambassador/Hilton Diamond
Posts: 190
Emirates Service
Flew DXB - HKG last night in F and i have to tell you that the crew were SUPERB! especially a pakistani cabin crew who was literally on her toes for the duration of the flight. The cabin was full in F because they upgraded 8 passengers to F but i must say the service was impeccable. So far I have flown 7 times to HK on EK this year in F and this was the only time where the cabin was full so I decided to share the experience.
I have also flown 5 times to various EK destinations to Europe in a mix of F and J class this year but i must say very dissapointing, I dont know weather they have a seperate crew that handles the european sectors but they need to do something or they will definately loose business. On my flight back from LHR last week i had to return my main course because it was really disgusting!!!!! (cold, hard and terrible smelling Lamb Chops) and the crew agreed with me but no one cared or did anything. No apologies, the crew just took the tray back and got me steamed salmon because that was the only thing available also pretty BAD!
I did not complain because I dont have the time to write to them but there is a huge difference between service levels from EU and Asia. I easly do more than 200k in tier miles and not once have I received any upgrade from J to F and yesterday I see 8 people upgraded to F!!!!!!!!!!
Although most of my flights are in F but occasionally i fly J when i go on vacations or short haul flights and use my miles to upgrade on board to F but I have yet to receive a freebie from EK.
I was BA and CX Gold for several years and got upgraded from J to F many times but never on EK. I guess they have way tooooooo many Golds. They seriously need to get a PLATINUM level going if they want to keep their premium flyers loyal to EK. Just my 2 bits.
I have also flown 5 times to various EK destinations to Europe in a mix of F and J class this year but i must say very dissapointing, I dont know weather they have a seperate crew that handles the european sectors but they need to do something or they will definately loose business. On my flight back from LHR last week i had to return my main course because it was really disgusting!!!!! (cold, hard and terrible smelling Lamb Chops) and the crew agreed with me but no one cared or did anything. No apologies, the crew just took the tray back and got me steamed salmon because that was the only thing available also pretty BAD!
I did not complain because I dont have the time to write to them but there is a huge difference between service levels from EU and Asia. I easly do more than 200k in tier miles and not once have I received any upgrade from J to F and yesterday I see 8 people upgraded to F!!!!!!!!!!
Although most of my flights are in F but occasionally i fly J when i go on vacations or short haul flights and use my miles to upgrade on board to F but I have yet to receive a freebie from EK.
I was BA and CX Gold for several years and got upgraded from J to F many times but never on EK. I guess they have way tooooooo many Golds. They seriously need to get a PLATINUM level going if they want to keep their premium flyers loyal to EK. Just my 2 bits.
Last edited by gametitans; Jun 7, 2010 at 7:38 am
Jun 7, 2010, 4:55 am
#2
Moderator, Trip Reports
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA GS-2MM, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 3,715
I think there are 2 issues here.
One is the recurring theme of inconsistent service on EK. Growing pains. Young crews. Not enough training. Call it what you want. Most EK road warriors would have experienced this at some point during their travels.
But then again, if you crawl all over FT on other airline forums, you'll see the same thing.
I've done over a million miles on UA and I can tell you - I've had plenty of lousy flights. And plenty of excellent ones. At one point, if you travelled out of SIN to NRT with a SIN based crew, you would think you were on SQ. Then you changed planes and crew in NRT and flew to the US with a crew who were older than your grandparents and the service was non-existent.
The second point being the whole area of upgrades on EK (or the lack of them). This example is further evidence of EK's zero upgrade policy (unless for operational reasons). I've found from experience with EK, that upgrades are SO dependent on the route and station you fly out of.
Last month, I did 10 long haul flights on EK (5 round trips between MEL-SIN). Normally, the loads out of SIN to MEL are fairly full, but in May, the loads were exceptionally light (30-50% max), so zero upgrades. And the flights from MEL back to SIN were approaching 95% on most flights (and yet again, no upgrades).
As a fellow 200K tier miler, I sympathise with gametitans. But at the end of the day, I keep reminding myself that compared to other airlines available to me (and ones I am prepared to fly), I get the best bang for my buck with EK. I'm self employed - so I pay the travel and most of my flights are in Y. I've had more upgrades than I expected, the lounges are some of the best available, EK suits my actual travel patterns and ICE is a huge advantage.
Would I like more people onboard sucking up to me - or the occasional upgrade to reward my loyalty? Sure (the upgrade that is, the sucking up part no). But in order for this to happen, fundamental changes need to occur at EK from a technology perspective.
Third party gate agents and check-in staff are simply not empowered to upgrade people based on a whim (or someone standing there, waving their Gold card, yelling out DYKWIA).
In all the years I've flown UA, maybe 1-2 op ups. Thats it. In only 12-months of EK, more than a dozen. But all operational.
And yes, a fourth tier is definitely needed. And on its way, according to multiple sources within EK.
One is the recurring theme of inconsistent service on EK. Growing pains. Young crews. Not enough training. Call it what you want. Most EK road warriors would have experienced this at some point during their travels.
But then again, if you crawl all over FT on other airline forums, you'll see the same thing.
I've done over a million miles on UA and I can tell you - I've had plenty of lousy flights. And plenty of excellent ones. At one point, if you travelled out of SIN to NRT with a SIN based crew, you would think you were on SQ. Then you changed planes and crew in NRT and flew to the US with a crew who were older than your grandparents and the service was non-existent.
The second point being the whole area of upgrades on EK (or the lack of them). This example is further evidence of EK's zero upgrade policy (unless for operational reasons). I've found from experience with EK, that upgrades are SO dependent on the route and station you fly out of.
Last month, I did 10 long haul flights on EK (5 round trips between MEL-SIN). Normally, the loads out of SIN to MEL are fairly full, but in May, the loads were exceptionally light (30-50% max), so zero upgrades. And the flights from MEL back to SIN were approaching 95% on most flights (and yet again, no upgrades).
As a fellow 200K tier miler, I sympathise with gametitans. But at the end of the day, I keep reminding myself that compared to other airlines available to me (and ones I am prepared to fly), I get the best bang for my buck with EK. I'm self employed - so I pay the travel and most of my flights are in Y. I've had more upgrades than I expected, the lounges are some of the best available, EK suits my actual travel patterns and ICE is a huge advantage.
Would I like more people onboard sucking up to me - or the occasional upgrade to reward my loyalty? Sure (the upgrade that is, the sucking up part no). But in order for this to happen, fundamental changes need to occur at EK from a technology perspective.
Third party gate agents and check-in staff are simply not empowered to upgrade people based on a whim (or someone standing there, waving their Gold card, yelling out DYKWIA).
In all the years I've flown UA, maybe 1-2 op ups. Thats it. In only 12-months of EK, more than a dozen. But all operational.
And yes, a fourth tier is definitely needed. And on its way, according to multiple sources within EK.
