IO Experience with Emirates
 

Hi everybody,

I opened this thread to share IO experiences with other IOs and to see, which of the benefits are most liked by them.

Before I got an IO, I was just wondering for whom the black S-Class Limousines are waiting. Now I know:D
But what was really behind this status I was definitely not aware.

I would never had expected before, that travelling with Emirates could be such an easy thing.
No queues,no check-in, no closed doors, no waiting at any stage (except in the lounge, of course),First-on-board boarding and my absolute favourite: Limousine pick-up from the plane when parked at a remote-bay.

My final resumee to anybody who says no need to become an IO: it's worth it!

I'm sure many of us would like to know how you earned it! I ask just purely out of curiosity, but I doubt you'd be able to divulge that info anyway!

I'm just being Gold at the moment, there are some nice touches for me I haven't had in the past.

Cheers,
Justin/BKK

IO Experience with Emirates
 

I would love to know if there's any "secret lounge" that IO's get?

Hi Justin,
my IO nomination definetly results on my personal flights as I'm almost the only one in my company who is flying regulary Emirates.

Hi HB7,

in DXB there is one small VVIP Lounge next to the First Class Lounge . But usually the IO members stay in the First Class Lounge and only pass by this Lounge on their way to the limousine when departure is done from a remote-bay.

Agree that iO is definitely worth it. I've noticed that they will go out of their way to help you. Once i needed to book a chauffeur drive with less then 7 hours of notice, not in Dubai, but in Houston, and they were able to do it! It's these small things that make me really appreciate being iO. I remember when I was platinum and they couldn't book me a car to IAH with even about 20 hours notice.
I also love how fast our luggage is delivered to the carousel. And of course the car to/from aircraft makes remote stands a little better!

For those that wonder how i attained iO status, i fly between Dubai and Houston around once/twice a month in J (sometimes F) and then a bunch of flying to Europe/Asia/Africa from Dubai. I also have employees that fly EK a lot, so I guess I received iO because of the amount of money I (or my company) spends on Emirates.

I wonder if Chauffeur Drive and Limousine Pickup are great reasons to aspire for iO. I've seen iO bags come out first but F & Plats follow just after. Of course it is a great feeling to belong to an exclusive tier but I'd really be interested in hearing about more tangible benefits.

Being escorted through passport control at certain outstations is very tangible and priceless benefit.

This plus the car from/to remote gates would be the big ones for me.

I'll have to make do with Plat.

I still don't understand all the fuss about the I/O's.

You are being transferred by a limousine from the aircraft to the terminal? Well, did you know that you get the precise same treatment when you fly Lufthansa and Garuda Indonesia first class? I believe you also get the same treatment with Oman Air first class experience, so being transferred in a private limousine to the terminal is nothing to brag about (unless of course that limousine was a Rolls Royce :D )

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/256786

http://www.omanair.com/en/flying-us/...-drive-service

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...en&cid=1000286


You can always book the "Meet & Greet" service upon arrival at many airports for a small fee and enjoy the service. Once again, this is nothing special to brag about being an I/O's.

It seems that the treatment of an I/O is not as wow as I was expecting..... :rolleyes:

True. You will sometimes also be picked up by a Porsche with DL (if you are a DM) - however you get the service as an iO also if you are flying Y or C - that's the difference.

Also things like waitlist, seat guarantee, guaranteed reward bookings are a plus (especially if you are flying high demanding flights).

You can earn miles for DM status, HON or whatever however you cannot (officially) earn miles to become an iO

Ray44,can you tell us how many tier miles you do in a year?

Are they personal or business flights as you say "I'm almost the only one in my company who is flying regularly Emirates", if your company is paying then great these benefits are quite nice but if you're spending hundreds of thousands a year with personal flights, it seems rather pointless... Especially as there's a meet & greet service isn't there?

I'm not sold on the effort to get IO and Plat is fine by me :)

Absolutely, can't really justify a 5 min limo drive and 5 minutes saving to get through passport control (at least on the stations I travel) for $1MM. Plat for < $25K will do for me... :D

Some people make iO with very few tier miles - some people with hundreds of thousands of tier miles are not iOs because they "only" spend 100-200k USD a year with EK (e.g. once a month F travel USA-DXB).

The critical factor is spending money with the Emirates Group (1M USD+ in most cases), being in charge of a company with a serious commercial relationship with the Emirates Group or someone whom Tim Clark (or someone nominated by a local office, but Sir Tim signs off) believes should be given iO status, but isn't suitable for the "VIP" designation - although iO in most cases I think is better given the questionable levels of fame and status I have seen with given VIP treatment :D

In terms of the main tangible benefits:
- remote stand iO car pickup at DXB
- chauffeur drive at DXB in the S550 (was Range Rover) on arrival and departure in all classes
- chauffeur drive at all stations where available
- no restrictions on outstation lounge usage (i.e. you can use them whichever carrier you are travelling on, arriving, departing or in transit and you can bring as many guests as you want in depending on capacity)
- 10 guests at the F lounge DXB
- sometimes your family is also given iO treatment even when not travelling with them
- escort to and from the gate at all stations where possible from check-in through to immigrations - even if you are connecting from another carrier to/from EK
- if you are in Y or J as an iO you are escorted to F at top of descent to disembark first
- you can pre-board the aircraft before it is open to other pax (i.e. immediately after the cabin is secure and ready for passengers). you can also board it last :D
- in oversold situations, iOs in Y or J are immediately upgraded to F, not just one class, as a matter of policy

Less tangible benefits:
- your point of contact at EK will bend over backwards to get you on to flights you need to (as in, offload people/op-up them etc. to get you on), as well as open up skywards miles redemption availability as required
- outstations are briefed as to who you are etc. so if you call in with a request such as the arranging chauffeur on short notice, they will go above and beyond to make it happen (i.e. cough up the money to buy the service for you)
- baggage sometimes picked up off the belt by a local agent so you don't even have to wait for it - however it usually comes in the first container along with bags loaded at DXB as short transfer F, so YMMV

YMMV as to whether this means much to you :D It's nothing that the average frequent flier can actually aspire to, though - like BA Premier.

The VVIP lounge referred to upthread refers to a lounge that is part of the Al Majlis complex. Whilst they have their own building and facilities, they also have a lounge directly connected to the FCL B - you can book the service, which includes private Al Majlis bus to/from remote stands, meet and greet etc. for 1500 AED per person.

Kinda cheap on EK's part to op-up only on oversold situations a guy who gives more than $1MM of business. You should straightaway take him in F if there is space....