Sleeper Service
 

I just did a couple of late night flights on EK, business class which got me thinking about why they don't consider offering a BA-style "Sleeper Service". EK does not seem to be able to differentiate its service process on board depending on the time of the flight which I think could make a difference - particularly at night when a majority of passengers clearly just want to get as much sleep as possible.

For those who may not be familiar with it, the BA Sleeper Service is offered on late night or overnight sectors in Club and First (maybe Economy as well, I am just not so sure). It involves the option to have your meal in the lounge before getting on board (we can of course do this on EK too) but then the aircraft cabin lights are on dim the whole time and window shades are normally shut before passengers even come on board (which is curious because EK makes everyone open window shades for take off and landing - maybe someone on here can tell us why BA are ok with window shades being shut while EK makes you keep it open for safety reasons?). All passenger announcements are kept to a minimum and pax have the option of going straight to sleep, an "express meal" option of something brought quickly after take off to maximise sleep time or the regular, full-service meal with drinks etc.

EK have all the cabin lights on bright, dim them for take off , then switch them all back on again, then make the full PAs in different languages etc - and the same when landing along with the Dubai promotional video if landing in Dubai etc. Meal service is always the full version with the drinks orders taken first, then the drinks and nuts, then the meal order is taken and the finally served course by course, all the while with full cabin lights on. All of which results in a lot of precious sleep-time compromised. Maybe give pax a choice? Just a thought.

I thought having window blinds open for takeoff and landing was to allow emergency service staff to be able to look inside (e.g., to see if there's fire in the cabin).

I have tried the sleeper service on BA on short trans-Atlantic services and had to put up with the noise of cabin announcements as well as a brightly lit cabin for quite some time after departure. I found this made sleep difficult. The activity was due to some extent to some opting to eat onboard plus all the usual (some quite unnecessary) announcements. This was some time ago so perhaps it's different now.

I find most 6 plus hour night flights are like a sleeper service and in F and j they dim the lights quickly and put them on for the decent. You can have light bites at any time too.

I don't think they'd need to do anything different.

Re: window blinds - also to allow pax to report anything going on outside, and also in the event of an emergency for cabin crew to easily check whether that side of the aircraft is safe to evacuate to. Why BA can have windows blinds down on take off on the sleeper service is something you would have to ask the CAA!

I always assumed it had to do with the eyes having to adjust to the outside in case of an emergency evacuation. On the last four flights I took on BA departing at night, they had the blinds closed. So clearly, they have some different information they are operating to although I would have assumed common CAA rules would apply to all airlines. But then again, Emirates allowed pax to use mobile phones right after landing while BA and most other airlines used to insist that they stayed switched off till after the engines were switched off so clearly airlines have some leeway there ...

Anyone on here who knows more about how airlines can operate to different rules?

EK operates by the GCAA, GCAA takes most of its regulations from a hybrid FAA/EASA mix.
EK do allow pax to use phones after landing correct, they will also be looking to introduce the same regs as the FAA now for PED's.
On EK it is required that all window blinds be open for take off and landing with cabin lights dimmed/off for hours of darkness.
The reason for the window blinds being open is so that you can see outside. For example if an evacuation is required the cabin crew can see clearly outside the window from the inside. As we all know its hard to look out a window when its bright inside and dark out.

With regards to sleeper service - as of yet there are no plans to introduce it. Yes you are correct, cabin crew have to go through the whole "welcome to emirates, skywards, languages bla bla bla" because they can face a disciplinary if there is an audit manager or mystery shopper on board.
The lights is how it is, they switch them off as soon as the service is completed.
There are "service routines" for different sectors and different times of departures but no thing like sleeper service akin BA something I know very well.
EK will not do this though because they'll think that they are making it easier for cabin crew and thats something they think is a cardinal sin.

The position of blinds for takeoff and landing is a matter, in the first instance, for government regulators and in the second instance, for the carriers. The different procedures on BA and EK are simply due to the fact that they are regulated by different governments and are different businesses.

No different than other bits and pieces such as use of electronics, use of glassware on the ground and luggage size.

As to "sleeper service" it's really a change of culture. Sleeper is not just about the meal in the lounge or dimming the lights, it is about keeping the back-and-forth in the cabin to a minimum. Everytime a FA walks by and interacts with a pax, that disturbs others.

On a sleeper flight, not only should the lights be dimmed and the cabin announcements be kept to a minimum, but service should be accomplished quickly, e.g. single tray and lengthy discussions kept to a minimum. That contravenes the service culture of the premium cabins on most cultures.

I don't think a sleeper service is a requirement for EK. Most pax will be on different time zones based on their origin or destination so it won't be their night time even if the clock says so at that point.

Putting lights off etc may discourage those who want to stay awake from getting up and walking around, or having a chat with their companion.

On the other side, eyemasks and earplugs are available for those that can't sleep with the light on or a bit back ground noise.

Have things changed with regards to the BA sleeper service? I wasn't aware that it was in First at all, although portions if it are offered anyways on all flights. I also didn't realize that in Club passengers could have a full meal service, I thought only the express meal was served on board.

I think it is something that EK should consider, and they likely have. But the BA service is best designed for short TATLs where people are likely to work the whole next day in London. Lots of EK passengers will have another long flight after they arrive in DXB, so there is less need to get every extra minute of sleep.

Based on the thoughts of various posters above, it's interesting to reflect that a policy (if indeed one officially exists) seen by some as intended to be a passenger 'benefit' might in fact revolve more around the convenience of crew, at least in its origins.

It's several years since I have flown long-haul with BA, so I cannot judge their current practice ; but there was a time when I was booking them monthly, mainly UK to Africa. I was never the best of sleepers on those trips (although it was before the days of full-length lie-flats & suites etc) and would often pass time chatting to FA's in the galley. Many would tell me that their priority on any night flight was to get the meal service done & dusted as swiftly as possible, dim all the lights, close all blinds, rack up the cabin temperature, and generally do everything they could to get as many pax as possible to nod off (or at least keep them quiet). The whole idea being - surprise surprise - to give the FA's themselves as peaceful and non-taxing a flight as possible.

Couldn't fault the strategy !! :cool: