Just had my first EK sectors booked under a QF ticket from London Gatwick to Bangkok and I must say I am a little bit disappointed. For years I have been hearing about how good EK are, but from my two flights, admittedly in economy I thought they were average especially in terms of service down the back and of course the horrid 10 abreast 777 config.
The positive for me was the 'experience' on the ground at Gatwick. As a QF gold my wife and I used the business class check-in, which was smooth and effortless, with priority labels put on both bags. The agent put on express lane stickers and explained where to find the lounge. Security was quick though the guy checking the passes was a little bemused by the fact that the boarding pass had two flight numbers, being EK16 and QF8016. The boarding pass also stated lounge eligibility.
After doing some shopping we found the lounge which is access by a lift to the left of the security. The EK lounge is down one floor. Inside no dramas with the 'dragon' (or what ever the make equivalent is called) and into an almost empty lounge. The lounge is quite large with a seating area right in front, then to the left the drinks and food area with seating behind then beyond the food another large seating area. Good choice of hot meals, salads and some yummy deserts. The only downside was no power points for computers etc.
Boarding was simple though no obvious priority lane. As the wife and I arrived first boarding was called which included a specific announcement for Qantas gold/platinum FF'ers to board at their leisure.
On board I settled into my middle B seat with the wife in A. Before checking in the C seat was free, but alas someone turned up and occupied it. The seats are certainly on the squeezy side, don't think I would have liked to be on a 777 for a long flight, the flight to Dubai being enough for me. During the greeting by the CSM when up in the air Qantas frequent flyers got a specific mention, then later he came and introduced himself to me and a pax behind and thanked us for our business and said if we needed anything than let him know.
A drink service followed about 1 hour into the flight, and incredibly despite sitting in row 14 (of the 2 class 777-300) they had already ran out of coke. Going by the labels on the can it seems as if they load the drinks in Dubai and don't restock in London. Lunch then followed. Only positive was the use of a full sized tray as opposed to the small one Qantas now use. Once lunch was over that was the last that was seen of the crew unless you specifically asked for something. No water bottles were given for the ~7h flight and if you wanted water you had to page and you when then brought what could best be described as two mouth fulls of water. Prior to landing the came and collected headsets and blankets, not really good considering the content on their ICE IFE system, would be nice to enjoy gate to gate, especially as we circled for 45 minutes before landing.
Dubai was an interesting experience, this being my second visit (with my first being a quick stop on QF9 on my way to London, so quick I didn't get to the lounge). This time however the inbound and outbound flight both used the 'older' B gate terminal. The wife and I made our way through the zoo that is Dubai and found the business lounge, part of which is under refurbishment. The food was ok, but nothing special and all drinks except orange juice had to be ordered. Wifi worked and there were a small number of power points, but not many.
Boarding time cam so we headed to the gate which has a priority lane on the same level as the lounge. Agent let us in and said it would be 5 mins before boarding started. The gates were access through a lift. When the time came the agent said to go down to floor 2, which it turns out was the floor for the upper deck of the A380. At the a/c door we were directed through the first cabin down the stairs to where we belonged. First looked pretty swish. We were seated in row 56 which was in the second economy section. Again I was in the B seat with the wife in A, the extra width compared to the 777 being very noticeable. The flight was meant to leave just after 3am but was delayed to 4 due to missing passengers. Once in the air the CSM gave the greeting but no mention of Qantas and Qantas customers, just Thai who must also code share on the sector. No personal greeting either, not that I would expect that anyway.
About 45 mins after departure, which is the a/c left on schedule would have been 3:45 they offered the meal service which was breakfast. I would have though the more logical thing would have been for the meal service to be offered as a brunch before landing rather than breakfast so early. By the looks of the numbers who turned the meal down many would agree. Like the flight from London no water bottle and the only water was what you asked for The flight was a quick 5:20 meaning it arrived more or less on time. It took for ever for the bridges to be docked and not sure if normal with the A380 or an Emriates policy but no passenger was allowed off until the upper deck bridge was in place and open. This flight continues to Hong Kong with HK pax directed to stay on board with belts off. Not sure how many were going all the way.
Immigration was quick, thanks to my wife holding a Thai passport, then we waited for the bags. Despite priority tags they were a long way down the order. As the foreigner queue for immigration was so long the belt filled up quite quickly, so looks like BKK needs bigger belts for A380 flights.
So as mentioned I am not going to say the EK experiance was poor, but certainly not what I was expecting. I have no doubt if I was up front they would be excellent, but down the back give me Qantas any day. Looking forward to the trip home next week, my first time on a Qantas A330-300, thankfully the economy seats are 2-4-2 so no middle seat for me!
PS why did we leave from Gatwick? Well on the day I booked in Feb the flights ex Gatwick were around $500 cheaper than the flights out of Heathrow. Considering our tickets cost $1800 per person the slight extra distance to Gatwick was a no brainier. Just hope thought the average punter booking flights to London realise 'Qantas' now flies to Gatwick because the booking engine was bringing up Gatwick options even if LHR was specifically chosen in the booking engine. In my case it was a choice, but for many I reckon they may do it without even knowing,
The positive for me was the 'experience' on the ground at Gatwick. As a QF gold my wife and I used the business class check-in, which was smooth and effortless, with priority labels put on both bags. The agent put on express lane stickers and explained where to find the lounge. Security was quick though the guy checking the passes was a little bemused by the fact that the boarding pass had two flight numbers, being EK16 and QF8016. The boarding pass also stated lounge eligibility.
After doing some shopping we found the lounge which is access by a lift to the left of the security. The EK lounge is down one floor. Inside no dramas with the 'dragon' (or what ever the make equivalent is called) and into an almost empty lounge. The lounge is quite large with a seating area right in front, then to the left the drinks and food area with seating behind then beyond the food another large seating area. Good choice of hot meals, salads and some yummy deserts. The only downside was no power points for computers etc.
Boarding was simple though no obvious priority lane. As the wife and I arrived first boarding was called which included a specific announcement for Qantas gold/platinum FF'ers to board at their leisure.
On board I settled into my middle B seat with the wife in A. Before checking in the C seat was free, but alas someone turned up and occupied it. The seats are certainly on the squeezy side, don't think I would have liked to be on a 777 for a long flight, the flight to Dubai being enough for me. During the greeting by the CSM when up in the air Qantas frequent flyers got a specific mention, then later he came and introduced himself to me and a pax behind and thanked us for our business and said if we needed anything than let him know.
A drink service followed about 1 hour into the flight, and incredibly despite sitting in row 14 (of the 2 class 777-300) they had already ran out of coke. Going by the labels on the can it seems as if they load the drinks in Dubai and don't restock in London. Lunch then followed. Only positive was the use of a full sized tray as opposed to the small one Qantas now use. Once lunch was over that was the last that was seen of the crew unless you specifically asked for something. No water bottles were given for the ~7h flight and if you wanted water you had to page and you when then brought what could best be described as two mouth fulls of water. Prior to landing the came and collected headsets and blankets, not really good considering the content on their ICE IFE system, would be nice to enjoy gate to gate, especially as we circled for 45 minutes before landing.
Dubai was an interesting experience, this being my second visit (with my first being a quick stop on QF9 on my way to London, so quick I didn't get to the lounge). This time however the inbound and outbound flight both used the 'older' B gate terminal. The wife and I made our way through the zoo that is Dubai and found the business lounge, part of which is under refurbishment. The food was ok, but nothing special and all drinks except orange juice had to be ordered. Wifi worked and there were a small number of power points, but not many.
Boarding time cam so we headed to the gate which has a priority lane on the same level as the lounge. Agent let us in and said it would be 5 mins before boarding started. The gates were access through a lift. When the time came the agent said to go down to floor 2, which it turns out was the floor for the upper deck of the A380. At the a/c door we were directed through the first cabin down the stairs to where we belonged. First looked pretty swish. We were seated in row 56 which was in the second economy section. Again I was in the B seat with the wife in A, the extra width compared to the 777 being very noticeable. The flight was meant to leave just after 3am but was delayed to 4 due to missing passengers. Once in the air the CSM gave the greeting but no mention of Qantas and Qantas customers, just Thai who must also code share on the sector. No personal greeting either, not that I would expect that anyway.
About 45 mins after departure, which is the a/c left on schedule would have been 3:45 they offered the meal service which was breakfast. I would have though the more logical thing would have been for the meal service to be offered as a brunch before landing rather than breakfast so early. By the looks of the numbers who turned the meal down many would agree. Like the flight from London no water bottle and the only water was what you asked for The flight was a quick 5:20 meaning it arrived more or less on time. It took for ever for the bridges to be docked and not sure if normal with the A380 or an Emriates policy but no passenger was allowed off until the upper deck bridge was in place and open. This flight continues to Hong Kong with HK pax directed to stay on board with belts off. Not sure how many were going all the way.
Immigration was quick, thanks to my wife holding a Thai passport, then we waited for the bags. Despite priority tags they were a long way down the order. As the foreigner queue for immigration was so long the belt filled up quite quickly, so looks like BKK needs bigger belts for A380 flights.
So as mentioned I am not going to say the EK experiance was poor, but certainly not what I was expecting. I have no doubt if I was up front they would be excellent, but down the back give me Qantas any day. Looking forward to the trip home next week, my first time on a Qantas A330-300, thankfully the economy seats are 2-4-2 so no middle seat for me!
PS why did we leave from Gatwick? Well on the day I booked in Feb the flights ex Gatwick were around $500 cheaper than the flights out of Heathrow. Considering our tickets cost $1800 per person the slight extra distance to Gatwick was a no brainier. Just hope thought the average punter booking flights to London realise 'Qantas' now flies to Gatwick because the booking engine was bringing up Gatwick options even if LHR was specifically chosen in the booking engine. In my case it was a choice, but for many I reckon they may do it without even knowing,
