ET359

He claims that the flight was dark and couldn't shoot the rest of his experience in business class, I call that bs. He clearly got caught, his seat mate likely reacted after waking up to a person next to them.

Tanya934

It gives a bad impression of the Cabin Crew if they'd allowed him to stay in business class for the length of time he claims and opens the doors for more people to try their luck, thus putting more pressure on the already stretched cabin crew in all classes.

ioto1902

Yes.
And don't think that it is more difficult on a A380. Several times, did I see a guy coming up the stairs, absolutely not bothered by the rope. I remember one particular case, where the guy with a GoPro was stopped by the CSA. Good job !

spainflyer

Is it possible that cultural norms are involved here? He wasn’t making a fuss – in fact, he was trying to remain unobtrusive – it’s dark, probably others have not seen him, so don’t be confrontational?
Our man even remarked on how polite all the Emirates staff were, even with his hungover look, hoodie and earbuds (which he does not take out when he talks to people).
It seems unlikely that he could charm his way into J, but isn’t it possible that the on-board staff simply took the path of least resistance and let him stay?
BTW, I dislike this sort of mischief as much as the OP, and I suspect if he had tried this on BA, he would have been frog-marched back to his economy seat.

pokeable

Heh, this is like my uniform when I fly Emirates. It's comfortable, I like my headphones better than the Emirates ones, and who am I to turn down all the champagne?

Metanoia

I talked to some cabin crew about this and they said that would never happen, they're very aware of which seats are occupied in their section.

XXTSGR

ioto1902

True / not true put aside. I would be very surprised if they answered otherwise ...

spainflyer

A quick Google search indicates that Emirates gets a fair amount of this vlogger nonsense, and apparently is quite happy to accommodate them.
Obnoxious Vlogger Sets Up Pop-Up Shop In Emirates A380 Shower Suite - One Mile at a Time
Casey Neistat in cap, tee shirt and sunglasses gets a $21,000 first class suite. Someone called Logan Paul goes first class and sets up a store in the shower room, where he sells branded merchandise. And vlogs about it, of course. These vloggers reach millions of viewers, but are they Emirates’ target market? If I had paid for first class and found myself sharing the Krug with a slovenly, semi-literate rapper, I’m not sure I’d be back. What is Emirates’ strategy here?

Metanoia

Any coverage is good coverage?

k.flow

I would say that it is possible (for short period of time), but not till the end of the flight. There are services and staff cruses around. If he swapped before the service, they would see it doesn't match with their seatplan on MODs.

S.R

But that semi-literate rapper probably paid full price for F, so I think anyone paying is EK's target audience.

vytas315

Agreed. Not every paid ticket up front is a corporate suit.

Also, don't underestimate the size of the population spending other people's money...be it their employer, sugar daddy, or parents. Those with access to money and lots of time on their hands can easily be the target audience of vloggers. Not everyone at the front of the bus is there on business. I bet % business travel in F is lower than J (anyone have stats on this?). Not a bad idea then for Emirates to use vloggers.

Next time you're flying a premium cabin, look around. What % of those around you do you think might be interested in watching Casey Neistat or the likes? I'd say at least 25% from my experience. Just because we at FT find him off-putting doesn't mean we accurately represent EK's premium customer base.

That said, I'd love for someone to get the scoop on what really happened and out this guy. I think he definitely got kicked out and certainly didn't stick around for meal service (for sure there would have been video of this). Also, he's got that silly spotlight shining all over the place...he wasn't being particularly inconspicuous.

ioto1902

Totally agree. Those flying F frequently are absolutely not interested by someone getting (artificially) over-excited by a service that we are accustomed to.
This said, there are always FF who fly EK for the first time, and take videos and selfies. They are not much of a nuisance, as long as they do this discreetly and don't take picture of other pax.