Hi Homer,

this is the policy:

If booked in U or above (suppose nothing under I comes in for you regardless) if EK can't provide a faster connection! from arrival in DXB within 8 hrs in Y or 6 hrs in J and F than it's EK's responsibility to arrange for your hotel (subj. to avail.)

Basically saying, if you want to fly out on an afternoon flight, then that is it. Even if the night connection is faster, it doesn't matter. EK can't dictate when you want to leave Germany!

Safe flying.

PS, love your You Tube videos about EK!

In my case EK certainly takes no responsibility. They expect me to call them to request the STPC, and even then I haven't gotten them.

@whimike! I wonder where your calls end up mate, sounds like a case of DXB syndrome to me! I say that lightly, but I work with them and I don't understand 90% of their procedures... Practice as you preach has gone out of the window, more a case of "do as I say, not as I do" tbh! Have you contacted your local Complaints department? If they don't react, email [email protected] or [email protected] ! You don't seem to be an "accidental Goldie" with your track record on here... so put particular attention to your status in your email! F - Class in Copthorne is a disgrace... Trust me, I learned a lot through this Forum and feeding it back to my superiors all the time, but it seems fruitless. Really sad!

Regards,

NGA

In the dxb lounge right now, apparently there were some changes to the rules as of 1 week ago (as I found out tonight). it seems like STPCs 'officially' require a minimum of t-24 to book or else they will not be confirmed (a new rule list came out last week apparently...). Hence, what I've been doing for the past few years (and have posted here recently) of getting the STPC booked at check-in, seems to be no longer valid..

On a side note, I confirmed the ticket at about t-30 but could not pay by cc w the call center due to my final destination being ADD. They told me it wouldn't be a problem, and I could pay/issue just before check-in and they would annotate the STPC request (which I made when confirming the flight). Departing I was told my STPC was waitlisted, arriving at DXB told that it wouldn't have been confirmed anyway as STPC is made only when the ticket was issued and that was less than t-24 (even though I had told the call center when confirming). Now stuck w a 10.5hr layover w/o STPC (getting to know the bar in the lounge quite well..).. Any thoughts on who I could complain to about this???
cheers

Rules have always been this way in my experience. If you ticket within 24 hours of departure, you are not eligible for chauffeur drive, STPC and a range of other benefits. Travel to/from most African destinations requires you to go in person to a ticket office with a copy of credit card and passport before the ticket will be issued, so you can pick up your STPC voucher at that time.

That is correct, it has always been a requirement to call before 24 hours to departure to get a STPC. Even calling 72 hours in advance I have been told I am wait listed as there is no availability at the hotel. So, YMMV.

On the other hand, when arriving in DXB I have always been able to schedule a Chauffeur drive at the airport and also a pickup, right there on the spot. I usually book them in advance, but on a few occasions I hadn't planned on using a Chauffeur drive, and in the case where they flat denied me a STPC even though I booked it, I walked up to the Chauffeur drive area and asked if it was possible to get one and they always say no problem.

Departing the airport is never a problem for Chauffeur drive, but return pickups are sometimes an issue when booking within 24 hrs, especially if your departure is in the early morning bank.