In the 6 or so months that I've been using EK (and this forum) it would seem that the volume of people unhappy with Emirates in one form or another is on the increase. Aside from a ludicrous complaint about PCS chauffuer service at Manchester most complainants seem to have valid points, be it lack of reward/upgrade availability, inflexibility in dealing with problems, fare increases, involuntary downgrades, poor quality call centre staff, the list goes on. Is it just me or is the general Emirates experience very much in decline as they grow as a company? Is this increase in complaints recognised within EK?

I've got no real complaints with regards to the actual travel experience - and recently, I probably had the most enjoyable flights I've had in ages (MEL-AKL-MEL) in J, met some great people and had a couple of very relaxing drinks at the bar.

The airline is growing like crazy and Dubai is bursting at the seams. Those silly plonkers over on the BA board are all waving their arms in glee and raving on and on and on about their very first A380, which is due in October. This year alone, EK will receive 13 big birds, bringing their A380 fleet total to 43 (approx).

While EK management will tell you that they have everything in place, my view is that there is a mad smoke and mirrors exercise going on in the background.

The thing with EK (like just about every other airline I fly) is to set your expectations to the bare minimum, that way you wont be disappointed. The other day in SIN, the car didnt arrive (not sure if it was my fault or EK's) but a quick phone call and it was all resolved - and all the subsequent car bookings were fine.

I use SIN and MEL frequently - so I recognise a lot of people. I like that sense of familiarity. Rarely does something go wrong and if it does, I know who to call. Or email.

The last flight I was on, the Purser didnt say hello. There were 3 Plats on board (as far as I could tell). I couldnt care less, but the 2 flights previously (ie MEL-AKL-MEL) I was greeted several times. Are crew supposed to greet high value customers? Yes. Do they do it all the time. No. But the same complaints are being discussed over on every other airline forum.

The biggest concern for me is pricing (ie collusion) and award inventory. If due to the Qantas partnership that EK have suddenly discovered a river of gold beneath them yield management computers, then I for one will simply switch carriers.

I keep saying it. We are all just a number within a faceless Oracle database. I like EK. A lot. I will continue to fly them. A lot. I like the aircraft, the lounges, the IFE and for most parts, the consistent service delivery. What will sway me is if fare levels increase past my pain threshold and awards go the way of the dodo...

The Emirates experience has declined... in Economy class.
Why they get an award for economy travel is beyond me.

The 20something cabin crew in economy always looked peeved to have to deal with any passenger on any matter. Note to cabin crew: if you start your flight treating passengers in an offhand, bad-tempered fashion you are going to make that a contagious attitude with passengers throughout the flight.

Emirates economy passengers don't touch that call button, it's there for decoration only. And if after pressing it within reasonable timeframes for about the 4th time you will get some surly sue stomping down the aisle to hiss at you "what?!". No joke I witnessed that happen to a passenger beside me on a recent flight. I was shocked at the rudeness of the cabin crew member - the passenger (lady) beside me had been extremely patient and polite.

God forbid you manage to flag a rapidly moving cabin crew member down for some assistance (where they're running to in such a busy beaver way is beyond me because they're not serving anyone in economy). Expect them to answer you in abrupt manner and then go away to never come back with whatever was requested.

When stating your meal preference almost always expect to be told there is none left.

Emirates let passengers on with well over the usual weight for cabin luggage (WELL OVER - as in the stuff should be checked in) and then move every other rule-following passenger's luggage to far away parts of the plane to make way for the crate being shoved over your head. But then when you ask 'where is my luggage?' after landing they feign ignorance.

The economy seats suit an Asian physique as skinny minny. The recline is negligible. The leg room blood clot inducing. If a passenger in front reclines their seat you cannot put your tray table down for use.

ICE changes programs very slowly so if you are a frequent traveller (as I am in long haul) expect to watch the same programs over and over and over and over and over and over and over....

I can only assume other airlines must be far greater hell holes in economy if Emirates are getting the awards in that class.

Don't get me started on the hair scrunchie accessory of their uniform.

I have to say that on the whole I really like Emirates. The majority of my flying with them is in Economy. Yes there has on occasion been a few issues. I rarely press the call button, when I do it is always answered and in a polite way. I am not so small around 40" waist and 6 foot 2 I have no issues fitting in any of their seats. Yes the 777 can be a little tight but still I don't find it torture. The thing that concerns me and I feel will get worse is the call centre issue. I hope that this service will improve and get back to how it used to be.

Just flew EK earlier this month, for the first time and in Y. I think EK is definitely over-rated.

Catering: The catering onboard was fine for the first meal but the snack was bad. A piece of sponge cake in a plastic wrap. Otherwise I think EK catering in Y is one of the better ones.

Crew: As others have noted, they are generally unfriendly and unwilling to assist. Someone had a bag but couldn't find space. The crew just told her, "there is no allocated space for anyone for hand carry, just put it anywhere you find space" then walked off. Service was rather unfriendly, and this was for all 4 mid-haul sectors.

Entertainment: I think ICE, the latest one is really good and fast.

Skywards: Useless to me with so few partners. Now after reading about the award availability issues, definitely no incentive to fly EK.

Seats: Awfully narrow. The pitch is fine, but not the width, especially shoulder space.

Not EK's fault, but their flights are so popular that they are always full, and that makes it impossible to have empty seats next to you. DXB airport is a mess. Got the remote stand twice. Buses took 30-40mins to get to the terminal building.

I would only fly with them again if they were dirt cheap, but they rarely are nowadays. But seeing that I will qualify as *A Gold next month, and hold ST E+, OW Emerald, the fares really have to be ridiculously low for me to fly with EK.

If you look over the past few years, there have been relatively few complaints on here about the EK flying experience (I'm not talking about Skywards here, that's another story). I think it's quite good that the current complaints are that a 6'5 guy doesn't like economy, and an F passenger is complaining that he had to pay extra for excess baggage. These are both pretty minor.

In Y, EK beats all the other airlines I've flown. I'm big, but I don't have any issues with width or pitch.

The biggest problem for me is the lack of consistency in J & F hard product.

Nicely summarised. ^

Based in Dubai so besides the fact that there is very little choice for direct flights. I fly both directions SIN and to Europe. Sing Airlines/Cath Pac. dont use decent equipment from here to SIN because they cant compete so not worth any value old 777 with simple reclining seats (F or J) KLM/BA just cant stand the crew attitude, as if it is a priviledge to fly BA or KLM. The only maybe is Lufthansa.

Emirates works for me, rewards, service, for sure sometimes a mishap (my fault mostly, booking or not reading T&C's) but 98% of the time I get what i expect and pay for. Dig for the lowest price and you will not get the same as a full fare, simply impossible. You get what you pay for.

For me, who voluntarily takes a Y flight instead of J to help keep the budgets intact I have certainly noticed a gradual decline in the last few years in on board service. The rest of the product is the same.

I dont know if shifts are worse or there is just something else going on but for sure the grumpiness of the CC, for me, has increased. When they had their first A380 the service was incredible as they seemed to put the new staff through additional training but of late I just see impatient, grumpy CC.

If I wasnt Gold I would move elsewhere, but the benefit for me of the lounge outweighs the on board experience.

For my vacation I chose EK despite it being a longer trip, because of the lounge. But I am thinking of trying SQ or alternative on my next Asia trip - just to benchmark. This is not a good thing and maybe my 14 Y roundtrips a year wont be missed but I am starting to think about alternatives.

Just to add.....since the new Concourse has been opened I also find this has affected my impression of EK. I hate having to get that pesky shuttle and the A380 in general has a knock-on affect in terms of time to get bags etc. Maybe there isnt a better alternative I know but its does dent the experience for me.

I am 6'3 and a large guy, i flew 4 sectors from OZ to Western Europe all in Y and to be honest Emirates were great, the crews were great, i dont ask for much and rarely ring the bell if at all, the frustrations or crew being even remotely rude to passengers were the passengers that constantly rang call bells and expected more than they honestly deserved service wise.

The food was both good and poor, the legroom was sufficient, the width of the seat on the 777 doesnt compare to the SQ A380 seat but that i can get over. The ICE system was by far the best i have seen and considering in 40 hours of total flying with no sleep it kept me entertained.

I think alike with EightBlack, some people set their sights a little too highly sometimes, sure there are flights which are poor, some crew who arent as good at their jobs as others but honestly welcome to a massive business where nothing will ever be perfect.

A passenger sitting on front of me on 406 by the end of the flight was claiming poor service and rude staff and claiming loudly that she was going to complain, yet this occured because she caught the eye of one of the cabin crew, who allowed her to use the J lavs, brought her Godiva chocolates and champagne, when the purser found out she was told in no uncertain terms that she was not to enter the J cabin any longer, same said passenger also thought it was great she could use her cell for sending text messages while taking off and while coming in on final descent as well..

Tbh i feel for the cabin crews, sure some maybe rude and unhelpful but i do wonder how often is that their short tempers are caused by poor passenger behaviour.

End Rant......

I think in general the CC are pleasant and helpful. Most generally seem to have some personality and will have a laugh if you make a modest effort. Perhaps due to the growth rates the training cycle is tighter. I do know that CC are getting promoted earlier due to purser shortages etc. have flown a few airlines over the years and whilst I have to say SQ are the most consistent I wouldn't say they are necessarily better. As for the 'old world' airlines, I find them to be pretty awful but It's pretty hard work being CC on any airline for modest pay so I say cut them some slack!

Majority ( if I can say ) here are status holders, who flies in better class & routes.

But the majority of EK customers are Y class travelers. They may not be dedicated to EK,but often flies EK because of low fares/better connections.

Is the service fair to that section of the crowd ? A big NO..

In the last year I was travelling a lot within Asia ( almost 15 flights ), and in all fairness I say the service is close to worse in almost all flights in Y class. There was one flight from DXB to MAA, and NONE of the crew spoke any Indian language, the flight was filled with Indians, mostly vegetarians. Almost everyone wanted the Hindu meal option in Y, but asusual the food ranout even before they started serving. I was in the first rows of Y, the one next to me ordered a Hindu meal but served with a meal with egg ( to cut short, FA thought egg is also in Hindu meal ). It was a chaos in back rows. The attitude of the crew in Y in Asian routes are always unpleasant. Majority of those don't care of complain. To them they have better things to worry.

Having said all these, I always enjoyed EK, but I knew that its because I'm flying better routes, and with a decent status to back me up.

But I just cannot accept that EK can be partial. Its like, I own the sky, major routes are mine, take it or go. I choose my special guests at my discreet.

Interesting reading about the cabin crew.

I know that EK has expanded rapidly and part of that is running CC hiring sessions in different cities around the world. The hiring process is rigorous and intense with only a small fraction of applicants making it through the process.

When I trying to train that many people from so many different cultural and work experience backrounds, inconsistency of service is bound to happen. It happens without that as well, just fly AC to find out!

The EK FA who I know very well, receives many positive comment cards from her flights, thoroughly enjoys her job for the most part and strives to do her best. She has commented though, that some crew are lazy and/or do not care.
The other side of the coin, some passengers are far more demanding than others, some flights are far more demanding than others based on the typical pax on those flights. It is all part of the job though and needs to be taken in stride.
Most pax never see or hear much of what goes on with FA/pax interraction that could cause some issues for the FA. Some examples are men stripping off in the galley, naked man in bathroom, woman performing felatio on male in aisle seat (at least have him in the window seat where could be a little discreet) and being offended when asked to stop.

^

I would think that attitude changes and short tempers are directly related to having to deal the the worst passengers, and over time they become more numb to them, and by default, the other passengers.

I wouldn't think EK would hire cabin crews that started out with bad attitudes and short tempers.


I don't fly Y often, but the one time I did was SFO-DXB-ICN-DXB-SFO. The cabin crews on the flights to/from Korea were very some of the best I have had on EK.

What?! I know there is some joke in here about 8B somewhere, but in all seriousness I have never heard of such a thing. With the laws of the UAE (assuming flight to/from DXB), getting caught doing that would mean some serious prison time.

To be entirely fair here, a Hindu meal IS a non-vegetarian meal and can contain egg, but does *NOT* contain beef.
http://www.emirates.com/english/plan...uirements.aspx
Hindu Meal (HNML)
This meal is available for members of the Hindu community who are not strictly vegetarian and eat meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products.
It contains one or more of these ingredients: lamb, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, and dairy products.
It does NOT contain beef.


The bigger issue that I have faced is the significantly large number of FAs who think that egg is vegetarian (Oh! simple coz its not meat. Really? put it 28 days in an incubator and see what happens...) and when the pax ask for a vegetarian meal for breakfast, they will pass on a scrambled egg or cheese omelette telling them that it is vegetarian meal, and trying to convince the pax. End result = bunch of really pissed off passengers fairly common in flights to predominantly vegetarian cities like MAA. Perhaps, this is what the pax next to you experienced?