I agree with the above. EK is definitely still extremely popular in the market. As a travel consultant I know first hand that demand for EK is high from NZ (even with the leapfrog routing). Availability through July and August to DXB is really tight showing that flights are definitely selling on this route. I'm trying to get a pax BKK-DXB-BKK late June and have to route AHU or DOH to get seats at a decent price (NZD1,200 vs EK at NZD2,400). I've only ever had one bad flight on EK due to a grumpy Y crew member out of about an average of 10-12 flights per year for the last five years mixed across Y and J (probably 50-50). I've loved every J flight with EK. I would like to see on time performance out of SYD improve though, I always seem to be boarding at scheduled departure time, but the lounge more then pacifies.

Even though Dubai Airport repotedly resembles a refugee camp for the jet lagged and the delayed, it's better than most. If T3 is as great as people say it's gonna be, then this will give EK a considerable boost, not just in terms of efficiency, but in terms of its image as word goes around about it's awesomeness.

They are changing terminals but not the people and it is the people on the ground who are the problem. You just need to read all the threads concerning poor customer care at DBX, it really is non existent. I flew into DBX on Monday on business and economy only flight and give praise where praise is due the cabin service was probably the best I have experienced. Get to Dubai and you come down to earth with a bump. Busing to the terminal took 30 minutes on a packed bus. Why don't Emirates use separate buses for 1st and business passengers? They do in Muscat, Doha etc but not in their home base. E gate not working, not Emirates but still part of the organisation. Given the delay i expected my bags to be on the carousel, no such luck, waited 20 minutes for the belt to start. Does business get priority, well actually no they don't, they started rolling off after another 10 minutes. Chauffeur drive service was again a 20 minute wait. From the time we had touched down and we deplaned it took close to 1 1/2 hours to get into the car.

I've had my moments w/ EK ground staff (including a couple of threats of arrest), but overall I think they do a decent job of resolving problems. You've literally got over a hundred nationalities working for EK and the characteristics of each seem to complement one another.

is saying they do a decent job one of the conditions for not being arrested?

Lol, harsh, anyone?
Anyway, it's not like in London where BA and BAA are two different companies. Emirates is owned by the government, as is DNATA (ground handling) and the Aviation Authorities is obviously government. So there should be better intergration as it is entirely possible. They're all working towards the same goal-to make DXB & EK a success.

They always have in my experience. As soon as all the J passengers are off, the bus goes.

Unless it's changed in the last few weeks.

Cheers,
Rick

If you are flying in a 3 class configuration then there is normally a single bus. In a 2 class configuartion it is a mix of bussiness and economy and they make sure the bus is full. If you are bussed to the aircraft from DBX it is exactly the same.

If you are flying in a 3 class configuration then there is normally a single bus. In a 2 class configuration it is a mix of business and economy and they make sure the bus is full. If you are bussed to the aircraft from DBX it is exactly the same.

It appears that people have 3 main problems with Emirates:

Dubai Airport - T3 should take care of that & then JXB comes online in later years
Premium product: B777s are being upgraded & the A330-200s will be on there way out as they get replaced. Aren't A330-300s being leased as a stop gap measure before the A350s?
Soft product, staff especially: That's down to how hard they work & how hard they're trained.

then what is left?

Respectfully, I'd have to disagree. I think it's the salary structure for the personnel working in the Middle East (and I've noticed for Dnata and Emirates, that tends to be a lot of Indians, whereas they might be better off hiring Filipinos for customer-facing roles).

Basically, these guys seriously just give the impression they're not paid enough to give a sh*t what the customer needs. And frankly, I don't blame them. Add to that the lack of respect they get from management and customers alike (not us, perhaps, but remember the location).

So I don't think it's down to training or how hard they work. I feel it's compensation and respect (and the lack of either).

I have to add a few more

1) Customer Service - While this is somewhat related to Soft product, I think the issues are different. While staff may not be compensated properly, a well-paid worker in a New York or Toronto office has no excuse to be

i) ignorant
ii) arrogant
iii) obnoxious

I am yet to meet a really good EK agent, and sadly, most of them range from mediocre to purely pathetic.

2) Lounges in Dubai

I guess this is part of the airport problem. What were once world-class lounges are now overcrowded, dirty, and, depending on the time of day, genuinely unpleasant.

3) Consistency

Why does EK offer STPC to Person A but not Person B on the same itinerary
Why does EK have a special offer but then insist to every pax that he / she doesn't qualify?
Why does EK reconfigure it's planes so that, at one time, it has five different configurations in one class (J)?

4) Baggage

This may be a more recent thing, or just my friend's and family's experience but it seems that EK is losing a lot more bags lately. We had a mini family reunion in Karachi this winter and >50% of the people who flew in on EK lost their bags.



IIRC, EK's operations are already too big for T3... but I am hopin that overcrowding will be reduced.

Premium Product - As I wrote above, I believe the problem is with consistency. Once the 777s and 332s are done, EK will have another new configuration - the A380. Until the A340s are retired they have a completelt different configuration, as do the A340-500s.

Cheers,

Flyboy777,
Is there a programme/schedule for this work?Last time we flew EK in J(almost 18 months ago) refurbishment was taking place then.We defected to BA to use loads of miles and they were refurbishing their J product(very nice it is too)
We have flights booked in J LHR > BKK in December,as things stand today we have 2 flts in 777/300ER,1 in 777/300 and fingers crossed 1 in A380! What chance is there of lie flats on the 777 legs?

Again, not in my experience. I tend to fly MAN-DXB which is a 2 class service. The bus departs as soon as the J passengers are off.

As for the bus service to the plane, would you expect the bus to wait until all the F & J passengers are on board before it departs? Or have a bus for each passenger?

Cheers,
Rick