FlyerTalk Forums

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)
-   Emirates | Skywards (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emirates-skywards-490/)
-   -   EK Code Share Stinks (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emirates-skywards/1882038-ek-code-share-stinks.html)

bbar2000 Dec 10, 2017 11:20 am

EK Code Share Stinks
 
Company booked my EK flights with the first leg out of Heathrow on codeshare with Qantas, I didn’t think much about it, thought other than the different paint on the tin it would be pretty much the same. ! Boy was I naive.

Background: : (Booked on Qantas operated flight with ticket issued on EK5102)

The issues:
1. Booked about a week in advance, constantly tried to pre-select a seat which was never possible. On initial booking was able to select 80A , but this immediately went to pending state and a couple of hours later found I had been evicted J. After that all seats showing as full both on Qanta’s web site and on Emirates.

2. On flight day was flying in to Heathrow with non EK partner (landed in T5) and even though received mails saying check in now enabled etc. , every time I tried to check in it told me it was not possible (EK web site redirected me to Qantas website and Qantas web site tells me check in not possible.) So, no ticket so couldn’t do a terminal transfer in Heathrow, rather had to exit T5 and go across to T3 by train.

3. Due to the weather today I had been put on an earlier flight by the T5 crowd but thought not a problem, I’d check-in in T3 and get some time in the lounge. I guess if I had thought about this I should have expected the next bit; EK couldn’t check me in as the flight was operated by Qantas but Qantas check-in desk want open for another 2 hours. (ok I was early anyway but if I had stuck with an EK flight it wouldn’t have been a problem)

4. Finally checking in at the Qantas desk, tons of seats available window/aisle, front/back take your pick!

5. All checked in, past security, and headed to the familiar EK lounge, and surprise surprise denied entrance! , yes it’s an EK booking you have but it’s a Qantas flight so you can’t come in here off to Qantas with you.

6. I finally got a bit fed up and told the Emirates guys cancel my ticket and give me a full Qantas ticket as Emirates where adding no value whatsoever and I would be better getting a Qantas ticket and getting some Avios ! (All right I was getting p********* off ) Off course they couldn’t do it but said talk to Qantas, in the Qantas lounge the same question resulted in a comment to talk to EK. No surprise there then.

So in summary this was a bloody pain in the a***, how the hell can this benefit the customer? It’s a mess. My strong advise to everyone here who thinks like I did that an EK booking would be seamless across partner carriers, especially Qantas are very wrong. The EK code share booking was a complete pain from start to end. Never again. The Emirates and Qantas statement that this tie up benefits the customer is complete trash, I am sure they experience efficiencies and cost savings in the tie up but the reality is that based on my personal experience the code share agreement is poorly implemented and managed and is a serious inconvenience to their clients.
Comments more than welcome .

BB

ps: Sorry (Silver lining) The new Qantas lounge in T3 is very nice !

skywardhunter Dec 10, 2017 12:12 pm

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Generally with such a codeshare the interaction with the issuing carrier (here EK) ends with ticketing. Check-in, seat selection, lounge etc are generally all provided and managed by the operating carrier (QF). While there certainly seems to be some misunderstanding as well as poor service and handling from both airlines it sounds like mostly this is an issue you have with QF, who were unable to allow you to assign a seat, check-in online and failed to inform you which lounge to use (LHR has a specific rule that you just use the operating carrier's lounge). Thus perhaps this thread belongs in the QF forum.

Do you know why you were booked in the codeshare and not an EK-operated flight or a QF-issued ticket? Perhaps you can ask your travel agent to not ticket you on codeshares in future. Have you written to QF to complain about specific issues (leave the emotion out of it).

corbomite Dec 10, 2017 5:39 pm

I've had similar experiences on the KE DXB-ICN flight which is a codeshare with EK. I call KE, and they basically know nothing and try to handle me off to EK.

DYKWIA Dec 11, 2017 2:34 am

Regarding point 2, you could just have got on the connections airside bus to T3 and got your BP from the transfer desk at T3. You don't actually need a BP to get on the bus.

ukdoctor Dec 12, 2017 5:07 am

I transfer at MAN all the time from T3 to T1 airside . Most of the time I don't have a boarding pass but usually carry a copy of the e ticket .

​​​

I'm fairly certain that it should be possible @ LHR to transfer without a boarding pass ?

Saltire74 Dec 12, 2017 6:08 am


Originally Posted by ukdoctor (Post 29164062)
I transfer at MAN all the time from T3 to T1 airside . Most of the time I don't have a boarding pass but usually carry a copy of the e ticket .

​​​

I'm fairly certain that it should be possible @ LHR to transfer without a boarding pass ?

It is possible. I transferred to T3 from T5 the other week with the only purpose of exiting immigration and going to the CX ticket desk landslide. However, follow the signs for flight connections and there should be transfer desks before security.

S

bbar2000 Dec 13, 2017 1:30 am

Tks for the responses folks,

FYI, I arrived in T5 on a domestic route so straight in to T5 (Downstairs) You get 3 options , Left for connections, Right for Exit and straight ahead for upstairs to T5 proper. There are no transfer desks here other than a BA desk.

For me I took the left option, there is no security here, just two people from C4 looking for boarding passes, in my case without one they were not letting me thru so the only option I had was to exit.

As it is not a security check per say maybe there is some flexibility here i.e. as ukdoctor said if you have a copy of the ticket … but I'd be hesitant to plan a tight connection on it

Rgds
BB.

DYKWIA Dec 13, 2017 1:59 am


Originally Posted by bbar2000 (Post 29168398)
FYI, I arrived in T5 on a domestic route so straight in to T5 (Downstairs) You get 3 options , Left for connections, Right for Exit and straight ahead for upstairs to T5 proper. There are no transfer desks here other than a BA desk.

The transfer desks are at T3 when you arrive there.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 5:53 am.


This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.