The good, the average and the bad
 

On my 4th of 6 EK flights over the next fortnight and I have had the full gamut of experiences. Sub 5 hours so we always use Y for these flights but as Gold members.

The good. Dubai to Kuwait. The purser Nadine was fantastic, really spontaneous welcome, she wanted to remind me I had some Skywards miles and I shouldn't forget to use them up. Actually she had noticed I had several other flights booked over the next couple of weeks, and why didn't I treat myself to an upgrade. Crew member from Slovakia was really lovely, we had a chat about Bratislava. Excellent stuff, exactly why I use EK.

The average. Dubai to Nairobi. Crew really just going through the motions. IFE didn't work and they weren't that bothered about it. One reset and the crew was never seen again. Food OK but nothing more. Seemed like one of those days really. Shame as I was through the terminal in about 5 mins, had a good lunch in the lounge and it was going so well.

The bad. Kuwait to Dubai. Totally chaotic service. It was a full A380 but the crew didn't have a scooby. One trolley stopped 3 rows ahead of us, the other one started 3 rows behind. Totally oblivious to the cock up. When pointed out there was total disinterest and almost insolence. No sign of the purser at all. Really poor. Kuwait airport is a total dump but I suppose you can't blame EK for that. The high spot (the only high spot) was the EK lounge at Kuwait where the two Filipinas on the front desk were excellent.

Shows the inconsistency of EK really. I hope the airline isn't going off the boil. I love the hard product but it needs to be backed up by service.

Doesn't sound good...

How long is the flight? About an hour I'm guessing? Maybe they just didn't have enough time to get through an A380?

In my experience the NBODXB leg tends to be a bit rowdy. As a result I think EK staff tend to be resigned to going through the motions to complete the leg as quickly as possible.

Good to hear of another FT'er traveling through NBO!

Just under 2.

In Y in the GCC and places like NBO I'd have very low expectations.

In my 4 years of flying EK a lot the crew are only really happy going to decent over nighters like the Dxb sin Mel rotation or MRU or HKT...

On those flights we've had the best experiences. MAN is normally average with some crew being quite patronising to Mrs M3red.

Patronising? Interested to hear a little more, if you don’t mind? Mrs NoY is travelling solo J (perhaps F) on EK soon (too good a deal to resist :p) & she is somewhat apprehensive anyway..

Is NBO a turnaround?

If yes, it would explain, to some extent, the crew's attitude, thought not justified...

Not sure, I'll have to ask next time. I think most of the time it is passengers that make it rowdy in Y. On some recent flights I've had some seat mates who don't speak english, yelling about seat assignments...which they didn't really understand. The crew does generally do their best to deal with situations, but I imagine having to do so does wear you out.

Well we are relatively young? Mid 30s...Not your typical F pax and they sometimes act a little strange around MrsM3red in a way that's shall we say - its assumed that its always MrM3red that pays and they always assume I'm the plat member when we approach the lounge when we both are.

When I guested MSN from the Qatar board into the F lounge they assuned he was the plat member...

Madam/Sir the J check in is over there at outstations...

I could go on

Lol, I've flown EK F from HKG with my only luggage being a rugged blue backpack, was expecting some funny looks but got one. Also showed up at check-in precisely when they opened it.

PS: I was 23 at the time.

I've recently flown DXB-NBO return in J, and the staff were amazing! Incredibly friendly, very attentive service and went out of their way to ensure both myself and MrsNMC980 had an amazing experience.

The one time I flew J out of NBO that was my experience as well. I think the challenge is in Y where there are often language barriers and culture clashes and generally a lot going on, especially while boarding.

Oh yes....the check-in and boarding! :D

The F / J / Plat / Gold queue at check-in were filled with non-stats pax in Y and all either attempted to flirt with the line controller (when he turned up) or feigned the language barrier when asked to move to the Y line.

p.s...never heard of Skywards Sliver :D:D

Haha, nice. I'll check next week to see if it's still like that....

Oh OK, thanks.

Mrs NoY is also (relatively :D) young - just turned 40 this year - & has been travelling with me (exclusively in long-haul J & F) for about 14 years now. I am a little older ;) and yes, because I am male & older, she is sometimes treated a tad differently - as if I have paid perhaps, or am treating her - even though she has sometimes held higher status than me, whilst travelling together and been treating me.

Never been told to go to the J line when travelling F though. Although she did give a suitably withering look to a lazy FA that just pointed right (to economy) before looking at her BP - she responded with...”..that’s lovely but I am going that way to my seat, pointing to the Business Class cabin...” you would not want to mess with Mrs NoY, I can assure you - I did chuckle.

Sounds similar!

I've had an F BP and they've pointed me right and I said I think I'll go that way...:D :rolleyes: