I don't see how its much difference - because I am a consultant and still choose EK. One is that they are always the cheapest out of SIN, they have the best schedule and SQ and QF come no-where near the op-up levels that EK have provided over the last 24-months.

Best IFE, good lounges, good onboard service and cant fault the service overall out of SIN or MEL.

Yes, I have a very skewed view of the world because I fly a lot of point to point (and avoid DXB) and think I've only been on crappy Airbus once in the last 2-years.

I go with them because the route and timings suit me, and the cost is not prohibitive (although it is getting worse). I would have thought the same was true for most pax.

I've never been on an old Airbus with them though so maybe that has skewed the OP's view.

Yes - all my recent Emirates flights have been with my own cash.

Generally they've all been excellent. Wish I could say the same about BA (who I use for work when heading west)...

My recent A380 MAN-DXB in F was the best flight I've ever had. Found out later that the Purser was a FTer. The return wasn't quite as good.

Last year we did LHR-DXB-SYD-CHC/AKL-MEL/PER-DXB-LHR in J, and every flight was great.

I await your 'rusted on' insult :D

Cheers,
Rick

I buy EK F tickets for my personal travel. I think that EK provides an excellent 1st class product and , on routes I fly, for a very acceptable price. I have also purchased business on some shorter routes and found that to be v good too

I'm all checked in now, EK405 to Dubai and EK to London. I will keep you all posted.

Well that's quite interesting.

All I can say is that if I were purchasing J/F tickets, it wouldn't be on EK.

And in any case, the thousands of dollars I save in buying economy class tickets gets me an awful lot of hotel and car rental and other goodies. I can put up with a little discomfort for a few hours, but hey.

Each to their own, though...

Cannot agree, maybe i have been lucky but i have flown in the 380 8 times this year. I sector in J the rest in F. EK tend to pick the best crew for the 380's. The only problem encounterd was an unservicable seat for Mrs. G. She had no problem getting her Skywards account credited with 25,000 miles.

Which airlines actually offer a better 1st class? There arn't many candidates that I can find plus EK tends to be one of the better priced options

Other than the first batches of 380 crew who transferred over from main fleet on a voluntary basis, all other 380 crews have been simply assigned to 380 fleet upon joining as luck of the draw. Right now, 380 crews can make it from G2->G1 in 8 months (versus 18-24 months for main fleet) and G1->SFS in 18 months (versus 4 years for main fleet). With very few exceptions, they are comprehensively unprepared for the responsibilities of these positions and unable to discharge them effectively. God help us if there is ever an emergency that needs them to display some sort of leadership. Sit down with a 380 purser sometime (thankfully all of those are still main fleet transfers) and they will parrot a tale of woe very similar to the above.

The 380 hard product is superb, but the 380 soft product is a disgrace to Emirates. Thankfully there are plenty of senior folks within the organisation there who realise this and are working to rectify things by pushing more cross-fleet transfers starting later this year (after the standardisation of service concepts across the two fleets).

So far, so good. All checked in. Had a bite in the lounge then went hunting for an iPad, no chance. So back to the lounge to have a shower and a glass or two! The lounge is ok, a little old looking but the staff are really nice and the food is outstanding. The flight is fully booked, i think coming in from Australia so it will be interesting to see if I get the seat which is on my boarding pass, which isnt the one I requested on my booked but never mind.

Next update, if your interested in Dubai.

SO far so good. But now I am in DXB I have the A380 leg to LHR, which was the main problem last time. The lounge is quiet, but it is 530am. I was on the 777 and I was put in 7J so just in front of the galley, but it wasnt too bad. I think that little forward cabin is better then the larger rear one. The forward one has 14, or 21, seats so seems much quieter.

I would have liked to try F, there was only one guy in it!

No 'rusted on' "insults". If that's how you want to spend your (hard earned?) cash, good luck to you. It's not for me though.

And you might be interested to know I did live in the M28 postcode area for several years (dual UK/Aus citizen).

Have a nice day.

I wasn't disappointed on my recent EK C flight (BKK-HKG), but I had fairly low expectations. I regularly fly 3+ hour stage lengths in the USA in Y seats (so EK longhaul C on an A380 is a realm of luxury by comparison), I knew this flight had lousy on-time percentages, and doing 90 C dinners on a short flight is tricky (my FA mentioned this).

The service I got in the lounge dealing with a potential irops situation plus onboard (I've noticed some of the crew members in A380 pictures I've seen in other TRs) was good enough to make me consider flying them if there was the option to do so... but it's unlikely, since trips to DXB aren't part of the plan. Though given that I'd like to do more travel in the part of the world I was in and open-jaws can help, I'd surely consider picking up BKK-HKG or v.v. on EK as a cash ticket... and paying a little extra for J might be OK by me.

l think on any airline, it's pretty much the crew who makes the difference. I find service to be extremly slow in J on the A380 everytime.
If you can go F, believe me, you will not be dissapointed.

Flew DXB-CDG in J this week on the A380. What a shambles.

a) Overlooked welcome drink to half the passengers but came around multiple times with newspapers.
b) Forgot to serve the starter to the rear J cabin until after the main course was already served. I mean, really??? That is just basic.
c) Constantly mixed up the drink orders. I kept getting coffee instead of Diet Coke. Eventually I just went to the bar and got my own.
d) Woke me up for breakfast despite THREE pink "DO NOT DISTURB" stickers very prominently displayed.
e) Horrible child ran around the cabin poking sleeping passengers and then running away. Purser eventually grabbed him and returned him to his entirely unconcerned parents.

A classic example of what happens with inexperienced crew who were in way above their heads.