I read PG_ Monkey's initial post twice over, just to make sure I am getting all the data right..

I have to admit - I can relate to a lot of things that are being said by him.. I have had some of the worst experiences on the EK flights, in the Y cabin.. in the J cabin, the staff are a delight.. but the moment you are on the other side of the curtain, you are just cattle class to them..

and I can't believe how some of the so called "flyer talk evangelist" are trashing his post.. this has to be one of the better written reviews of a flight that i have read.. It's factual in nature and with very few personal idiosyncrasies thrown in.. It did not have a "oh they forgot to kiss my show laces - worst.flight.ever award winner" tag with it..

Correct. Its just a lime drink given out in aluminium foil covered plastic cups - not sure why only here but they do. They also serve some local snacks/ savories which makes the meal trays look fairly overloaded and probably makes people think that they are getting a lot of value out of the money they are spending on the ticket. Mostly junk imo. I've seen plenty of folks spill their drinks on themselves because there isn't any space to keep the glasses because the tray and adjoining areas get full.

Probably the OP was expecting something similar for his 'welcome drink' and meal and hence the reason for the disappointment.

Sorry which post might you be referring to...

I agree. If you don't have anything constructive and meaningful to say, then keep your ridicule to yourself.

As for the matter at hand, I am sorry to hear that PG Monkey has experienced a less than stellar flight. It is understandable that you may not want to fly EK again, but should the occasion arise, I urge you to give them another shot, they can surprise you with their (more often than not) superb service - at least speaking from my somewhat limited experience with them. Finally, These kind of 'bad' flights are obviously not just limited to EK, and are infamous in airlines worldwide.

Since I have had to fly off to SIN several times, I think I can empathise with OP a little bit.

On most EK flights, the FAs are fine and dandy and service is pretty good, no complains.

But there have been flights where the service has been pretty bad with sour FAs, almost a complete opposite to the good ones.

Its quite bizarre, for example I might get fantastic service MAN-DXB but on DXB - SIN I get a weirdo crew. but this is usually on rare enough occasions that I dont feel aggrieved by it. I mean, everyone has their off days.

I dont take it as an indictment against the whole of EK but maybe they have a consistency issue. Which I think is par for the course when you are such a major airline, there are bound to be some rotten apples. But so far, its really been the rare occasions for me, I dont bother, just get my drink and food in and head off to zz land or approach another FA if I want anything.

BTW, I still fly EK, my company thinks they give fair value (which they do) and I've not had any major concerns with the flight.

I would suggest OP give it a go on some other EK flights if he has not already, I feel this lousy service was a one-off. EK to me is really not that bad.

For those who are rounding on the OP, last time I checked, this was an open forum to post your impressions abt a flight you took, so lets keep to the issue and not the person pls.

I've flown emirates and enjoyed it, i dont really expect much in economy, it was lax-dxb-dxb-lax. i liked the seats, ife, service, and food. but others that i know have had bad experiences with the Emirates, like all airlines has good and bad days.

and try flying american airlines or china eastern or such in economy, its like a 3rd world bus complete with livestock.

If that describes your worst flight ever, then you either travel very rarely or been v lucky

The description doesn't sound like that much at all other than perhaps disinterested crew

Interesting that the pre-flight drinks are apparently served only to/from the Indian sub-continent. I distinctly remember passengers being offered those round sealed water containers when departing BHX. The FA walked down the aisle with a tray and asked if anyone wanted water. Not many took one but I did. The reason I remember it is because the smiley FA was radiating happiness.

What I've taken from the replies posted so far (thanks for all of them) is that is likely to have been a one-off. If this is the case, it's difficult to accept the way their customer relations dealt with it because for a one-off incident, I'd expect them to take an interest instead of issuing a standard fob off response. I did compliment them on the flight that departed BHX so they didn't think I was just having a go for the sake of it.

I do travel rarely, generally twice per year. I accept that this means each flight experience carries far more weight than it would for a frequent flier.

Based on your description of events, I am not sure what you would expect customer service to do. There is nothing much to complain about that I see and wouldn't expect much more of a response from EK

If other airlines better serve ones needs, then it is only sensible to use one of those

If having read my post(s) you feel there is "nothing much to complain about" it may be evidence that this was not in fact a one off experience. Maybe some customers are used to receiving this sort of service from Emirates which leaves them feeling there's nothing much to complain about.

Lol. Absolutely agree. I interpret all such responses as you do. I fly often, globally, and on a range if airlines, and have something to moan about with all of them once a year or so; when this happens with CX BA. EK TG LH. LX ( the airlines I use most frequently) I carefully report the incident and, TG excepted, always receive feedback on action. I do this in my own interest as
I like these airlines and wouldn't like to see standards fall.
But with each airline there is a core of flyers who accept, even defend, low
standards/ poor performance.

Recently, I complained about loud and disturbing talking in the galley during taxi takeoff descent, and landing ( I can still tell you what they all did on their BKK layover) and subsequent poor management of meal service ( definitely a one off -- first time ever on EK for me and thats why i alerted customer service) on a recent BKK-DXB flight. I got
(1) within 4 days a response saying they had launched an investigation and would revert and
(2) within 10 days a detailed response that acknowledged the validity of my complaint and informed me that the VP for cabin crew was actively
following up on the issue, thanking me for the feedback, and encouraging me to keep providing such feedback when I encountered such poor standards

In this case I both complained to the Purser ( being careful to specifically point out the one CC on rhe team who actually did perform to EK. Standards) and wrote customer service. (2) above mentioned the Pursers log as recording and confirming the service issues I raised.

OK I was in J and am Gold but I think it was the specific and empirically
verifiable nature of my complaint and the fact that I alerted the Purser that triggered a structured and excellent response.

Well done you. And THAT is exactly how to handle such matters.

I'm glad someone else sees it

I wonder whether the airline would accept passengers if they didn't bother to pay the full fare. Of course they wouldn't.

By that logic, passengers shouldn't accept less than 100% of the expected (and extensively advertised) service standards. If Emirates pitches itself as a premium and multi award winning airline, they should sit up and take notice when customers report a failing. Instead of making no effort to disguise their contempt for Y class complainants.

If I'd seen the Purser (or someone who looked like they were in charge) I'd have raised it but I didn't think to actively seek out the purser. He/she certainly wasn't at the main galley at the rear and the rest of the Y cabin was devoid of staff.

I did provide the name of one FA in my complaint and it was structured and factual. I don't know what records they referred to in their response to me, or whether those records were fabricated by the Purser on that flight (or made up by customer relations) but clearly they couldn't have cared less about a complaint from someone in Y.

Given that you were in J and Gold may have led them to provide a more appropriate response (which didn't take 12 months to materialise), given that your class of ticket is among those that bring in the bucks.

I really have read this very carefully.

And I also should say that I am NOT an EK fanboy who thinks they can do no wrong. However I haven't had any major issues with them on service delivery on my flights to and fro OZ. That doesn't mean I am particularly tolerant but I do enjoy travelling/flying so tend to be in smiley mode on my journeys. And people generally respond to that, other than those who think I might have something wrong with me!.

I am not sure why you mentioned this as it was not an issue for you. There isn't anything odd here..I have had personalised greetings as well as Sir/Madam. Some airlines save personal greetings for passengers with status with the airline. It has no impact on me one way or the other, they are only reading a name off a ticket or form

With respect, maybe she was in a hurry, perhaps she was urgently needed at the front of the aircraft? She asked using the "please" word. Again as this had no impact upon you I am not sure why it is mentioned. "He seemed taken aback"......Hmmmmm. Is it your place to make a complaint based upon how someone else "seemed"?

Other experienced EK flyers have indicated that this is a route specific service. So hardly a complaint unless it is about EK corporate policy.

In all my travels I have never pressed a call button on a plane but I doubt that ignoring them is an EK Cabin Crew unique trait. See Purser point below.

This is to me where the crew lacked. However, I have been on non-EK flights where my tray and I looked like we were bonded for the whole journey. As I result I have got up and taken the trays back to the galley with a "you are obviously busy".....it also provided an opportunity to get my wine glass topped up. I have had others passengers then copy me doing this, passing the problem back to where it belongs, the less than attentive cabin crew!

And it is for such incidents, including the call buttons not being answered, services you expect not being delivered, you seek out the Purser, the onboard crew boss and have a word. You ask for the Purser and if he/she doesn't show up, you can go and find him/her. That is how things get sorted straight away, rather than being allowed to fester. And if they cannot be sorted to your satisfaction then at least there is a record of your complaint(s).


I have no idea about the coffee, again I would have gone to the galley.


Regarding after the event customer service, I find all airlines to be lacking in this area. Nothing frustrates me more than the automated "we will respond in 28 days" response, it means that a simple communication can drag on for months. That is not a EK specific point however.

This is, of course, about meeting customer expectations.. and therefore I do sympathise with the OP. And the OP quite rightly will take his/her money elsewhere in future as a result.

However my sentiment remains the same as before...if this earns the comments "The seven hours on that flight felt like several days" and "Worst. Flight. Ever" from the OP then I regard the OP as a very lucky person.

It's interesting that you raise this, because whilst the loss of a couple of Y fares won't bother them at all, I was originally supposed to go to Singapore via EK in Business, but upon finding out the proposed itinerary, asked if there were alternatives (this was about a year after the above flight and soon after I'd received EK's "we ain't bovvered" response). The alternative option was the direct A380 from LHR with Singapore Airlines (my first A380 flight).

If Emirates had sent a response that demonstrated they took the complaint seriously (as opposed to openly displaying the contempt they hold for customers), they would have got the proposed return business class fare from my company. Ultimately, I couldn't be sure that the service would be as advertised and couldn't guarantee that any failure of service would be dealt with by customer relations.