Difference Between EK and EY
 

Is there really any difference between EY and EK as far as services go? I feel like they are exactly the same.

Generalization: but, IME, when things go bad, things go worse with EY.

What do you mean by 'things go bad'?

IROPS, ground handling infrastructure, aircraft ops (once had a 4 hour delay because they couldn't find a plane to use!), things like that.

Both AUH and DXB have to deal with heavy fog in Jan/Feb and EY always seems to have more problems dealing with the repercussions of the diversions and delays.

Both have a fair amount of shiny veneer (in EK's case, literally!), but EY's tends to crack easier. Keep in mind that EY was only founded in 2003 (and EK in 1983).

EY also has a much smaller fleet and this includes narrow bodied planes - EK's fleet is much more reliable and you are less likely to get a swap these days.

Also what do you mean by "services" - hard or soft product, or both?

Onboard service, you won't find a difference.

But EY customer service is a dismay. For any reason if you have to deal with them, God be with you :D

I hold silver status with EY but am considering transferring my loyalty to EK. Would it be worth starting again with Skywards?

%100 worth it... Flying for 3 years with EK, just one problem I had.. Service is %101 :p

As previous posters mentioned, EY has less scale than EK so that they have generally more trouble in fixing things when things go wrong (e.g., I have had multiple instances where EY delayed a flight in order to wait for an incoming connection, which I have never experienced with EK - since EK has several flights per day to most destinations, less need for them to accommodate such irregularities).

In general, as an Elite member, service is much better on EY. They recognize Platinums as "special" (as opposed to EK's generally lackluster attitude) - there are much fewer Platinums at EY. Also, it feels like flight attendants are more hand picked at EY.