Emirates. Have they outgrown their capacity to give decent service??

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We were early this morning and after five minute delay pulled into the bay and no buses. Walked about 20 minutes to luggage though. Which arrived as we got there, walked quickly through customs and out in less than 10 minutes from luggage.
 
I had about 100 minutes in the main First lounge in DXB last week, from about 2.30pm. For the entire time there were no more than, at most, six passengers in the whole lounge. There were far more staff than passengers.
 
I had about 100 minutes in the main First lounge in DXB last week, from about 2.30pm. For the entire time there were no more than, at most, six passengers in the whole lounge. There were far more staff than passengers.

That's always been my experience too. Feels like hardly anyone there. That said it is also far bigger than any other normal lounge!
 
I had an interesting EK experience on Friday, was the first to board down the F/J channel - plenty of people boarding in whY. Got to the aircraft door and the CSM yelled at me (and I mean actually yelled ) that they were not ready for boarding yet, I was shocked and said "I'm not a mind reader, if it's not ready then don't call boarding and allow people to scan in." he then said something in Arabic and half closed the door. I stood there for about a minute (meanwhile about half a dozen other pax came along and the door opened up again and a flight attendant welcomed me aboard like nothing happened.

The CSM ignored me for the whole flight, which was interesting given I was in row 6. ( first row of J) so was in a pretty high traffic area.

Service on board was fine, the cabin supervisor (A German woman) was great but It was almost a surreal experience.

Just plain bizarre.
 
My partner and I have taken 3 flights in Y and one in J with Emirates this year, our first experiences with the airline.
Ironically, we have received an in seat personal welcome from the CSM on each of those flights, thanking us for our loyalty as Gold FF members of the Qantas program, with the 'anything I can get you let us know' spiel on each occasion. We have found it a little bemusing when as SG members for 6 years or so, this has never happened on Qantas.
 
To go OT again - maybe time for a new thread - is HKG airpport tedious for connections? But I digress.

I get grumpy when my flight lands / departs from a high numbered gate. e.g. 47, 66... absolute annoying walk... Fine if its once or twice, but when that is your home port and you encounter it frequently... does get on your nerves...
 
I had an interesting EK experience on Friday, was the first to board down the F/J channel - plenty of people boarding in whY. Got to the aircraft door and the CSM yelled at me (and I mean actually yelled ) that they were not ready for boarding yet, I was shocked and said "I'm not a mind reader, if it's not ready then don't call boarding and allow people to scan in." he then said something in Arabic and half closed the door. I stood there for about a minute (meanwhile about half a dozen other pax came along and the door opened up again and a flight attendant welcomed me aboard like nothing happened.

The CSM ignored me for the whole flight, which was interesting given I was in row 6. ( first row of J) so was in a pretty high traffic area.

Service on board was fine, the cabin supervisor (A German woman) was great but It was almost a surreal experience.

Just plain bizarre.

That's pretty bad.
 
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I used EK from SYD-BKK and back last year..... i would say its a bit meh in comparison with Thai Airways which i generally use when i go to SYD-BKK and back
 
I was on the EK HKG - BKK. Was disappointed that my impressions of Emirates has taken a nosedive since I last travelled them in 2009. Not sure if it was because I was in a relatively full Y (normally fly CX J or 3K). Wife was in F and she had a great experience given she was only one of two pax in that cabin.

1/ No proactive customer service - choice of beer ran out on the trolley and the stewardess did not offer to take it from her colleague nearby (across the aisle or down the aisle). First time it has happened to me - on QAN / CX / SQ the crew seem to talk to each other and work cooperatively... Seems in EK's case they just wanted to get the service over and done with. She said she would come back later when the service was over but obviously didn't.

2/ Rang the call bell and nobody came for a long time. Just had stewards and stewardess running up and down the aisle with trays of beverages trying to pour excess open beverages (water, juice, tea, coffee) down the toilet - has anyone ever seen that anywhere on any flight? Weird... In the end, was a stewardess from F who came down to locate my seat to pass a message who helped me out in the end...

3/ Was going back to sit down in my seat when the seatbelt sign came on. However my meal tray was obviously the way so a little slow and careful in trying to get back. Tried to explain it to the stewardess who was just beside me but she just seemed intent on getting me to sit down asap without any consideration for the circumstance?! In the end just had to tell her firmly that "look, I am trying to get back into the seat with my tray in front of me" - and she did apologise in the end...

4/ Bar service closed sometime in the flight prior to landing (c.30-40mins). Never heard of such a thing before. Is there curfew / time limit on when they are allowed to serve alcohol on the flight due to some unique Emirates law?

5/ No greeting from CSM - not that it really matters

Mitigants
1/ Flight was turbulent and seatbelt sign was on for most the flight - maybe the had little time to prepare? Having said that, a shorter TPE - HKG flight does not even seem so rushed
2/ CSM in F was generally good from what I heard
3/ Allowed to sit in F for the landing to disembark together
 
I agree. I started flying EK about 5 years ago, and then it was smiling flight attendents, they gave you an amentity kit in Y (socks/toothpaste/eyemask) on flights 6-8hrs and the did two drink runs for a meal service. I felt welcomed and almost got to EK gold in the subsequent years.

The last two years have been markedly different. I've just done 3 flights with EK just this month and gone are the kits and the smiles to be replaced with sullen looks, dirty seats (my seat on the most recent flight had new coffee spills all on the back of the table tray), faulty ent equipment, only one drink run for a meal and other noticeable differences such as the hot towels not being cleared away - not just once, but the did another towel run later and didn't clear that so everyone was left with two cold soggy towels upon touchdown. Not just in Y is the service haphazard, on two flight in J last year they twice in the one meal service gave me the wrong order to swap it with what I did order without an apology, served after dinner chocolates to only one half of the cabin and gave me a lukeward coffee-like substance when I asked for a capuccino. The last few flights I certainly didn't feel too welcome.

I will be boarding an EK flight in about 1 hour and this will hopefully be my last.
 
I agree. I started flying EK about 5 years ago, and then it was smiling flight attendents, they gave you an amentity kit in Y (socks/toothpaste/eyemask) on flights 6-8hrs and the did two drink runs for a meal service. I felt welcomed and almost got to EK gold in the subsequent years.

The last two years have been markedly different. I've just done 3 flights with EK just this month and gone are the kits and the smiles to be replaced with sullen looks, dirty seats (my seat on the most recent flight had new coffee spills all on the back of the table tray), faulty ent equipment, only one drink run for a meal and other noticeable differences such as the hot towels not being cleared away - not just once, but the did another towel run later and didn't clear that so everyone was left with two cold soggy towels upon touchdown. Not just in Y is the service haphazard, on two flight in J last year they twice in the one meal service gave me the wrong order to swap it with what I did order without an apology, served after dinner chocolates to only one half of the cabin and gave me a lukeward coffee-like substance when I asked for a capuccino. The last few flights I certainly didn't feel too welcome.

I will be boarding an EK flight in about 1 hour and this will hopefully be my last.

Where were you going and how was it?
 
Where were you going and how was it?

Going DXB to SIN, arrived a couple of hours ago. I was seated in 52A of the A380, the bulkhead row just forward of the wing. Whilst we were waiting to push back the AC unit started dripping water onto me and the fellow in 52B, followed 15mins later by soundling like an ice machine and blowing ice bits onto us. The crew said if it gets worse we can move to another seat once we were in the air (there were 17 free in the Y main deck, mostly middle seats :( ). There was also a lot of leaking water around the adjacent galley - which the crew put down a few towels for - and from the otherside of the bulkhead which soaked some of the carpet infront of seat 52C so the lady had to put her shoes back on otherwise her socks would get wet. When we revved up to take off, an unsecured trolley went shooting to the back of the galley followed by more water gushing from the overhead compartments onto the galley floor. As I was in the bulkhead I didn't have my bag and phone with me during takeoff otherwise I would have taken a photo of that galley with the travelling trolley and water everywhere with our wet carpet. Once we levelled the crew mopped up the water and secured the trolley but it still left a musty smell for the rest of the flight and as the AC unit stopped blowing sleet on us (at least till we started descending which it then started to give us an ice shower again) I stayed in my seat but the guy in 52B moved to another seat. Little smiles and lots of uncoordination - the staff didn't know some of each other's names and they weren't too sure who would take what trolley down where in what order and kept backtracking into the galley. The lady in 52C remarked "they call themselves a premium airline?!". Indeed.
 
Thanks very much for the report, it doesn't sound very good. By comparison a few years ago I was in an NZ 744 going to BNE. I got the free shower treatment as well but much less than what you got. I got shifted to a free J seat even tho Y was only ~70% full. That's the way to do it!
 
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Do they still give out mini bottles of spirits in Y? Ive not flown them in Y for ages. They used to have grey goose in economy which was great. Do they still have it?
 
Do they still give out mini bottles of spirits in Y? Ive not flown them in Y for ages. They used to have grey goose in economy which was great. Do they still have it?

Yup. I checked for you today. :p

ImageUploadedByAustFreqFly1406834568.192010.jpg

Sorry it was gin and not vodka.
 
Having to disembark an A380 at Dubai is a rare occurrence, but it occasionally happens like it has done with other A380 operators at their home ports including BA... frustrating nevertheless. A lot of the regional GCC A330/777 flights also use remote stands, and the bus journey is deceptive because the airport isn't that big, it's just the convoluted route that the buses need to take most of the time. Now those regional aircraft are really shabby, nothing premium about those.
Emirates clearly has outgrown the airport with its rapid expansion, and the increase of Arabic staff definitely has affected the service standards (in my experience from living in the Middle East, they love receiving good service but having giving it, perhaps stereotypical, but that's what I observed). The lounges in DXB are amongst my favourites, particularly once you know all the secrets...
As for the comments about HKG and transfers??? Personally one of my favourite airports to transfer in, all in in terminal and and easy bright an airy stroll from checkin/transfer to the wings of about 20mins max. Schiphol also features on my list of favourites for easy transfers, just a shame about KLM.
 
May last EK flight was on A380 day flight DXB to HKG in J (half empty), once up in the air, the FA's went into hiding for most of the flight, always one at the onboard bar though :)
 
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