I paid cash to fly EK F, thank you very much :rolleyes:

So if you don't fancy bus transfers you have choices then :)

Well you do make a point on EK's chain of thought, but people do change when competition offers a better overall experience. I speak for myself, I've found flying EY or QR much better in terms of service and hard product and I've found few of my fellow EK PLAT members echoing the same thing!

I don't understand of the logic whereby EK looks to 'allow' loyal customers to divert their revenue to rival carriers due to sub par evolution.

Who knows, maybe EK loyalty comes from their A380 so people 'put up' with onward B777 angled lie flat seats. I spoke to my TA about this and he did mention that EY and QR are gaining momentum. Revenues may not slump today, but I'm sure it will in the not so distant future.

EY have a great J product on a fraction of their route. If you want to talk about A380 dependance. The rest of their route is pretty terrible and the ground handling is downright horrendous. AUH transit vs DXB, I'll pick DXB anytime. the bus gate issue is overblown as well, don't get them that often, especially now with concourse D open there should be even fewer. While in AUH half the flights are still from the 1950s looking T1

The J bus is perfectly acceptable at DXB and the F bus is downright civilised!

AUH is terrible until T2 comes online, yes, but EY's widebody business class (the majority of their capacity) is on par with EK's A380; a few less bells and whistles, but rather solid, especially post-refurbishment.


That's not a knock on the new EK 777 product though: it does seem to do a lot with the space it's been allocated, and I still think there is a plus point for the upmarket leisure traveller/couple/family to fly in these vs a fully segregated seat.

I agree, but is there another carrier that can match EK for both network and price?

Given the choice and a comparable price, I'd go with the following :-

1. EK A380
2. EK 777 for direct routes (anywhere to DXB)
3. EK (any aircraft) on routes not served by other carriers
4. QR/EY on routes served by QR/EY and a EK 777

So, I'd go with QR/EY over a EK 777 if it involved a non-direct route. And only if I didn't fancy a few days stopover in DXB :D

For me, the EK 777 is perfectly acceptable.

Cheers

While I consider direct aisle access to be a great perk and the EK business product is definitely lagging in this respect, I would still choose them over ANY US airline and most others, based on soft product, lounges, IFE, and connections. I always select a window seat as my preference and I don’t often get up on flights so this is not a deal breaker for me. What I do appreciate is good food choices, better wine lists, MUCH better FA’s that treat like you well and I personally love the fact that FA’s are so diverse. IFE is also a big deal to me. I do wish they had gone with the Apex suite as it just seems awesome especially at the window. Tim Clark definitely needs to re-think his statements as an "industry leading product" especially if he’s referring to the seat it self.

However, I fly to NBO a lot and they are the only ME airline to offer a proper J seat on a widebody jet and they even send their newest 777’s on a 5 hour non-prestige route! In J, it is definitely better, than QR or EY which have regional configs (except QR on select aircraft). My point is, direct aisle access is not the average but rather the aspiration, even in 2016. It is still sad that an airline like EK would introduce this a “new” J class though. The remaining options for proper non-regional J are not particularly wonderful (BA, KQ, KL, LH, LX, CZ), Swiss being the only direct aisle access airline in J.

Even in Y, which IMO people grossly overstate is so terrible because of the 3-4-3, has never felt cramped on ULR including DXB-IAH (I am 5′ 10″ and 165lbs).

Right.
Even within EK, you can feel the difference when flying B777 right after A388, and it indeed does matter when flying 2 or 3 trips per month.

Genius solution :D:D:D

Ha ha ! Genius solution indeed.

There must be EK managers who took their MBA degree specially to develop such clever 'positioning' ideas.

Of course, there is also an alternative - equally genius - solution for those who want guaranteed direct aisle access on a 777.

And it just happens to be a lot cheaper than booking F with EK : simply buy a ticket with any of the 777 operators who offer 1-2-1 config in J class :cool:

I agree with all comments here (JL 2-3-2 would be the best solution, not sure if you just can copy that or if there is something like a patent), but IMO the people who will switch because the 777 has still a 2-3-2 are 0.000001% (they havent switched before, so..).

at least the new seat looks better. any idea if the minibar is fridgerated? looks like.

big change will come with the 777X so not really a bad move from EK in my opinion.

Does EK J mean the customer is a "joker"
 

After several years took a J ek flight as a mh codeshare..7 abreast on 777 omg..is this a bad joke?

Absolutely & without paying for F & getting J food per EK F. LOL ^

This has been extensively covered in other threads this past week. Perhaps mods should start merging these?