Emirates = lack of compassion
 

I just want to share with you the Letter I sent today to Emirates:

Dear Sir,

I would like to share with you the terrible moments I experienced on 14th September 2011 and the reason I am sharing a such personal situation is because the attitude of the Emirates Ground Staff at London Gatwick Airport make it even worst.

I am a resident of Dubai and on 14th September 2011 I was in London for business, when at 12:47 pm (UK Time) I received a call from my wife informing me that somebody enter into our house, attempted to kidnap our 4 months baby and after a fight with our maid the kidnaper left the house without managing to take our baby.
Baby suffered major injuries and his now in the hospital.
My wife called me from the ambulance and when she left the house, 5 Police Officers where there and a neighbor was taking care of our 2 and 4 year old sons.

15 minutes after receiving my wife’s call I was in a taxi to Gatwick Airport.
While at the taxi, my secretary purchased me a ticket for EK 16 that leaves LGW at 02:25 pm.
Once ticket was issued, she contacted Skywards help-desk to look for assistance to check-in me and to inform the ground staff at the airport that I would be arriving very close to the flight time.
Skywards clerk was completely helpless.

Personally, I called the number mentioned in your website as the one of the Emirates London Gatwick Airport.
I explained the situation to a very helpful person and told her I would be arriving at airport around 02:00 pm and I need the ground staff to check-in me and eventually help me to go through the security lines.
After a while she came back to me and informed that I should go straight to the Emirates ticket counter. It was 01:58 pm and I was already running at the airport terminal.

At 02:00 pm I was at the ticket counter and there I had one of the worst moments of this terrible day.
The Emirates lady in the counter asked me politely to wait for my turn to be helped since she was already with another customer.
I, also politely, but in a desperate way, explained the situation and the most coldest face you can imagine look at me and said: “ too late, the flight is closed”.
I explain for a second time the terrible situation It happened to my 4 months baby and I get for the second time the same response.
I lost my temper and I insulted her…. I regret, but I was under such stress that I couldn’t retrieve myself.
For her I was just one more passenger, late to ctach his flight and inventing the most absurd excuse to try to get on board.

I strong believe that 25 minutes is enough time to catch the flight… if your ground staff wanted and showed any compassion towards the nightmare I was living.

It’s 03:00 am and I am no back home. I took a later flight from Heathrow airport.

I sincerely hope that none of Emirates staff will ever experience a similar situation and I sincerely hope that if one day they will have an unfortunate event in their lives, they will find more human ground staff to help them.

Yours sincerely,

Firstly, I am sorry for what you've gone through (re: the attempted kidnapping and inability to get home instantly), and hope the baby is fine soon.

However, I don't see how the airline is at fault here. A flight closes 60 minutes before departure, and if you know you can't make the flight in that much time, it is your fault for booking incorrectly.

You need to understand that the 60 minutes is not the amount of time the airline thinks it'll take you to check in and walk to the aircraft, but the time they need to submit the manifest to authorities, load baggage, do all final checks, and get on their way. I see no reason why the airline should delay 300 other passengers, especially when they possibly have not been made fully aware of the situation.

Arriving 25 minutes before a flight is cutting it extremely close (actually, it is far too late), if you are not already ticketed and checked in. Obviously, this is easier to say in hindsight, but you should have booked yourself on a flight you would have been able to catch. There are about 8 flights a day from London, so you reached home a few hours late, and hopefully by that point the baby was already under hospital care.

I would have to agree with Ung1.

Whilst I sympathise with you situation 25 mins will never be enough for getting on board an international flight.

I also don't see any fault of the airline or lack of compassion. 25 mins is too close for Gatwick airport and the flight would be closed at that time and would be boarding

Dave

Generally I agree with the others. But I'm wondering if you used this person's name to try to show the folks at the ticket counter that you had a prior arrangement.

did you have bags to check in or where you flying with only hand luggage? If you had to check in bags, i can understand the airlines problem regarding baggage handling etc.

@plemos: I hope you don't misunderstand us in for what happened with your family. This must be the most horrific thing that can happen in life! However, we need to separate such case from airline processes.

What you did to talk personally to prepare for such kind of check-in was correct, but I feel that the line of information was broken from that helpful person on the phone to the check-in agent at Gatwick. It might have resulted in a different situation if the station manager was aware of and present.

But if not, you are in the same boat as everyone who is late for the flight, no exceptions.

your staff never should have booked you on that flight to begin with. Your anger should be directed at them and not Emirates.

wow everyone is on OP's case.

I wonder what all of you would have done in op's situation....

In the first place, I wouldn't have booked me, or anyone else for that matter, on a flight I knew I couldn't make.

In the second place, While I have compassion for the OP's situation, there was absolutely nothing Emirates checkin staff could've done for him, nor any other airline.

please dont say that you would'nt have booked the flight.... that sounds absurd.... everyone here with a child would do the exact same as OP did - tried first available flight and after not being successful went for the second one from a different airport....

i know the check in staff should be strict with the queue but for once in a blue moon a little understanding and trying to listen will not hurt anyone

I think everyone here is sensitive to the OP's situation, but they are agreeing with the actions of EK. 25 minutes is far too late to make an international flight. It is hard to know what the gate agent actually said, but there is no doubt that they frequently hear people desperately using any excuse they can find to get sympathy (even if in this case, the OP had a legitimate reason). Imagine the chaos at check in counters if every person who was upset/angry/anxious get served first. And, even in a emotional situation, the OP will lose sympathy points from gate agents after insulting them while they are in the process of dealing with another customer.

Certainly a sad situation all around, but I fail to see how EK is at fault in any way. Best of luck to the OP.

Plus, by the time the OP already got to the airport, it was to late.

The best way to help your family is by thinking with as much of a level head as you possibly can. Just by rushing to get on the first flight you can get yourself on is not very prudent and wise and can lead to even more setbacks and delays.

I don't see people being "on the OP's case". What I see is people not agreeing with the OP that EK did anything wrong. Arriving 25 minutes before departure *is* too late for a Gatwick departure to Dubai.

As far as what I would have done...if needing to travel back, then would have booked (or had the agent book) a flight which it would be feasible to catch such as the 17:00 from LHR.

which is what I said, and was accused of 'attacking' the OP.