Saltire74

Dear Fellow Flyertalkers

A few months ago, it was mentioned on the EK forum that there is an absence of an Official Emirates Representative/Lurker, unlike some of the other forums.

I have been working behind the scenes with help from Zol, sydtogla and my other Ambassadorial Colleagues (m3red & DYKWIA) to see if Emirates would be interested in joining the forum on an official capacity and am happy to report that the PR department have shown an interest.

Our esteemed moderator Zol has held a face to face meeting with the PR department, giving them a bit more information about the Emirates Skywards forum and Flyertalk and they have been positive throughout discussions.

One thing that the PR department would want to ensure if they did take up the role is that they get it right and there is a benefit to both Flyertalk contributors and EK.They have asked us to conduct a simple survey to gauge what members have in terms of expectations and what kind of engagement you would like to see/want from an Official EK Representative.

So with that, the Moderator & Ambassador team of your favourite Flyertalk forum would be grateful if you could take a few moments to share your thoughts by completing the short survey using the format in the Wiki.

Feedback will be collated and presented to EKHQ PR Department for them to assess and respond once they know what our expectations are and if they have the resources at their disposal to commit to our expectations.

This may happen, it also may not, but hopefully all of the responses will encourage EK to participate and make our wee forum an even better one than it already is.

Safe & Happy Travels

Saltire74

Emirates Flyertalk Forum Ambassador

DYKWIA

Q1:
Would you like to see an Official EK Representative on Flyertalk? -

YES

Q2:
If Emirates were to join the forum in an official capacity, what contributions would you like to see from them? -

Help with general EK related topics rather than trip related topics. So, things like details of upcoming EK routes, details of new F cabin etc.. Rather than answering specific questions regarding flights - eg. "Can I upgrade my flight on Saturday from J-F, and how much would it cost?".

Q3:
Which online resource do you go to most when looking for information about flying Emirates or their Frequent Flyer Programme, Skywards? Emirates Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flyertalk or other Social Media/Online site? List sites in order of usage.

Flyertalk
Emirates.com

m3red

Would you like to see an Official EK Representative on Flyertalk? -

YES

Q2:
If Emirates were to join the forum in an official capacity, what contributions would you like to see from them?

[b]Help with general EK related topics rather than trip related topics. So, things like details of upcoming EK routes, details of new F cabin etc.. Rather than answering specific questions regarding flights

I agree with DYKWIA I want the rep to refer any if those questions to the EK twitter page

Q3:
Which online resource do you go to most when looking for information about flying Emirates or their Frequent Flyer Programme, Skywards? Emirates Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flyertalk or other Social Media/Online site? List sites in order of usage.

[b]Flyertalk - the level of nerd and information beats any official channel!

skywardhunter

Q1:
Would you like to see an Official EK Representative on Flyertalk?

Absolutely, yes.


Q2:
If Emirates were to join the forum in an official capacity, what contributions would you like to see from them?


As above, for obvious reasons they cannot help with specific trips and members shouldn't start posting booking references and names. I also think it would be important to have both a sticky thread to ask direct questions, but also for them to monitor all threads and jump in where they can add value (but not for the sake of just saying something when other members are already providing actual info). Also refer to EtihadHelp (the official EY rep) as to how to not act.

Also I think the sticky should have a wiki or first post clarifying the ground rules with regards to what can and can't be discussed. While we'd love to know the latest about new F cabins or planned changes in seat pricing, often they won't be able to disclose this pending a global/planned release to public. However the rep should also be mindful of the advanced knowledge some members have with regards to revenue management, miles earning & redemptions and fare rules, and not insult us with copy paste answers that don't answer a question (asking for clarification on op-up policy for example is often answered with a copy&paste about miles upgrades, pretending op-ups don't exist. We're not naive, we know they do, we also know there may be a limit to what can be disclosed, if this is the case just say "Sorry we can't discuss that, because X and Y" instead of 4 pages of posts trying to coax an answer out of the rep). An intelligent, mutually respectful discussion would both add incredible value to EK's brand amongst frequent travellers, as well as allow the PR team to gain insight into some of their pax' mindsets (keeping in mind that we represent a small, non-representative, sample set of EK Pax)


Q3:
Which online resource do you go to most when looking for information about flying Emirates or their Frequent Flyer Programme, Skywards? Emirates Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flyertalk or other Social Media/Online site? List sites in order of usage.

Flyertalk
Google > Emirates website (best way to find something, Ek website cumbersome and slow)
Twitter DM (excellent!)


Any other comments:
Think my essay above covers it. Welcome to the forum EK! *holding thumbs*

vytas315

Q1
YES!

Q2
Like skywardhunter was saying, I'd look for genuine, common sense participation in the forum. I'd hope for them to add info and value where possible, and either step out of the way or explicitly excuse themselves when on topics they can't discuss. That's it. And please avoid the cut and paste non-answers

Q3
Flyertalk, emirates website, call center (I think everyone else forgot that one, but it's used a lot here).

sydtogla

Q1
Yes!

Q2
I think this would be counter productive if it became like many social media channels where people post their complaints directly to them. I'm all for contacting a twitter team etc, but imo that's not what this forum should be. A rep may attract people who feel they've not been heard (read:recent post demanding compensation for a 45 minute delay). We should have some ground rules to try combat that.

On the positive side, it would be good to hear about new routes, lounge expansions, new wine and seasonal menus on the ground and on board. I think it would be good to have a link on the dashboard to the 'Official EK rep page', if it happens.

Q3
Flyertalk of course. Even googling my EK question will throw up an answer that's already come up on this board.
so: Flyertalk, Google, EK Website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if I want to know what happened 2 weeks ago.

Metanoia

Q1:
Yes!

Q2:
I think that it's been covered well up to this point - value-add information that doesn't appear on the front-page of the website or social media - such as route changes, featured wines, lounge menus at DXB perhaps, and discussion on trends we see at EK rather than specific service issues. Serious IRROPS updates (fog diversion updates, etc.) would be good as well, if the need arises.

Ditto the ground rules, we have @EmiratesSupport and other channels for immediate, specific issues and service recovery. This needs to be a win-win for the community as well as EK and if they're going to dedicate time to answering our questions and provide information we want to make sure that they don't spend their time duplicating what other channels provide.

I think that all of us here on the forum are also interested in EK's success as an airline so a forum for suggesting changes that help both the community and EK, and having things actually happen (or reasons for why not) would be a good thing as well.

I guess this means that whoever this person is would have to have some level of latitude and contacts in other parts of EK for it to work really well.

Q3:
Flyertalk is #1 , Google is second. Twitter/FB but those are more of a novelty.

MSPeconomist

Q1: Yes.

Q2: It depends--undecided.

In some FT fora, the official rep will (often) try to intervene to fix issues when a FT member has already tried other channels for the problem. This is done by PMs. It's not meant to be a substitute for contacting customer service, reservations, etc.

Starwood is an example where this works extremely well. IIRC Hilton and AS are other examples. UA has an official rep but their role has been minimized over the years. At least one of the rental car companies has an official rep, but AutoSlash also participates and is excellent at explaining general rules and procedures.

Obviously the downside is that offering individual private omnibundsman type service requires more resources and might not provide the best bang for the buck for most customers who participate in FT.

Q3:
FT then the official airline website.

ft101

Q1:
Would you like to see an Official EK Representative on Flyertalk?

Yes.


Q2:
If Emirates were to join the forum in an official capacity, what contributions would you like to see from them?

Most of the previous answers. Heads up on changes to network, lounges, hardware etc. Any team associated to FT should be given the responsibility, training and authority to make it a meaningful presence, not just a relay of messages and copies from the website.


Q3:
Which online resource do you go to most when looking for information about flying Emirates or their Frequent Flyer Programme, Skywards? Emirates Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flyertalk or other Social Media/Online site? List sites in order of usage.

Flyertalk.


Any other comments:

Flyertalk is the only social media site where many of the users have a technical or operational knowledge higher than that of the general public and this should be recognised by EK. I find it surprising that EK are not represented on here, despite being well aware of its presence. I am not interested in having a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Dave Noble

Q1: No

Q2 & Q3 : N/A

sydtogla

Would be valuable to hear your thoughts, Dave.

m3red

I don't think it would actually.

Dave Noble

Sorry - are people not allowed to have different opinion to you without being insulted?

m3red

This is a discussion thread and one where we are inviting conversation yet you have simply put "no" without explanation, which isn't particularly helpful. Perhaps you'd like to justify your response?

Dave Noble

This is a survey - Given my answer to pt 1, the rest is irrelevant ; since I do not want to see EK officially present, there is no way in which I would want to see them involved as per q2