Emirates have dropped the ball

[PAXboy]

I must say that our forums have improved in the last couple of years - once all the rowdies left for 'other pastures' ...

On looking into the F- Talk, I found it to be F- Howling. The miniscule 'problems' described and the folks who pursue Points as if the holy grail? They must be unemployed to expend so much effort.

[Mr Mac]

Paxboy / ExXB


Have to agree with you on this about f- talk gave up along time ago.


Graham O
I have spent most of my life flying in and out of 3rd world countries either because I was living there, or business / holiday, and one of the good things is getting on a 1st World plane with 1st world service either going in or out. Therefore it is quite nice and not unreasonable to get wines/ food in the correct order and temperature, with cabin staff who know what they are doing in this regard. I know you can get good service in some 3rd world areas, I have fond memories of Ouagadougou (Wagga) Burkina Faso and some truly excellent Civet de canard but in general it is quite poor, and it is just quite nice to step on board and relax after you have passed immigration with the young men with AK47 at security.


Not a "first world problem in my view" just what the flight attendants should do and are trained to do after their H&S responsibilities, but recently with EK it has not been that great , although still a lot better than London Airways. Flying again with EK on Sunday so we will see, as for Gold card, I think my company and I between us own at least a wing !.

[minstermineman]

A group of us flew from Birmingham to Manilla (via Dubai) last Monday to represent the UK in the Philippines International Pyromusical Competition.

The leg from Birmingham to Dubai was - frankly - a bad experience, we had seats right at the back, and so were last to get everything on offer - from headsets to drinks to meals, not in itself a problem and expected, but the actual service was not good - the 4 cabin crew seeming to be very inorganised and no cohesion on working together. Almost as if all four were on their first trip.
This was also the experience on the return journey from Dubai to Birmingham.

Seat space was extremely cramped on all legs (same aircraft type - 777-300 I believe) and most uncomfortable - on all sectors the entertainment system kept crashing and was repeatedly turned off to try and reset it.

The cabin crew themselves were attentive I must add - but the disorganisation and glitches make it a near certainty that Emirates wont be our first choice should we have to go to any of their destinations in the future.

On leaving Manilla our party upon reaching the gate , had our boarding passes taken off us and were told to stand outside the gate area and not sit inside, no reason given for our seperation and other arriving passengers were allowed inside. Then when boarding commenced we had to explain our way back in as they forgot that they had taken our passes of us. Still have no idea what that was all about...

[Heathrow09L]

Does anybody recommend anyone senior in the customer service dept to del with complaints, I am a regular First Class customer and Gold Card, I received on a few occasions quite poor service, I have wrote formally to the main Customer Affairs Dept, but always receive the standard cut and paste response,
I enquirer further to see idiot can be referred to someone more senior and the response I got was that " there is no one senior, I am empowered to deal with your complaint," surely as a high paying premium customer something better than that response would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Gulfstreamaviator]

There is no one in EK empowered to do anything

So don't feel too bad about it.....


if you want to see how many balls they are dropping go onto ME forum, and see just what the staff think about their own company.


Try Qatar next time....

[parabellum]

Heathrow 09L - Only ever write to the very top, by name, at the registered business address and make it a registered and recorded delivery letter.


Bosses don't like receiving snotty letters of complaint and will pass it straight to the department head, this way your complaint gets dealt with from the top down and not the bottom up! Just make sure of all your facts when writing, tell it like it is, don't embellish anything. Make sure you mention your are a Gold Card holder.


Sir Timothy Charles Clark KBE is the current President of Emirates, I believe,
and you should find him, (or his PA), at: Emirates Group HQ, PO Box 686. Dubai, UAE.

[Heathrow09L]

Thank you very much for that, I will defnately try that and well depending if I get a reply, will keep you updated

Thanks again

[flight_mode]

If you think EK are bad you should try the alternatives. When my job switched focus to the Middle East I tried to retain my Star Alliance status by flying with LX and LH then the Boss said try EK.

LX and LH
Old A340 with angled lie flats made from rocks in Biz and turboprop levels of comfort in Y. Crap IFE with tiny screens and controllers with the buttons warn off and disengaged crew.

EK
New A380 fully flat in C, fantastic IFE in both classes, wifi, phone signal, plenty of space in Y, good lighting and always a pleasant crew.

I don't know what EK used to be like but by today's standards they are still up there with the best.

[FFFlyer]

I was on the EK/ QF9 flight bought thru Emirates which had engine trouble and had to return to Dubai on 29 March. The plane had to dump fuel before it could land circle for 30 mins over the Gulf then it was an emergency landing, very hard, with fire tenders alongside. We were then kept on the plane for nearly 2 hours with only a bottle of water. There was only one overloaded Qantas representative there seeing passengers as they left the flight. Had to get CID clearance to leave the airport, took another hour.

It took me all that morning on the phone to rebook the flights with Emirates, they kept on saying we had to do this through Qantas. Nobody at Qantas was answering the phone. When eventually I did get through to the Qantas call centre they told me they could not rebook the tickets Emirates’ had to do it. After speaking to three different people at different times in the Emirates call centre at great length, two of whom promised to call back but did not I eventually managed to get the flights rebooked for the next morning. Appalling customer service.

[Sir Niall Dementia]

Last time I flew Emirates was 2004. I was booked business class Dubai-Gatwick. At check in I found the flight was full and the only way we could travel was in tourist. Two pilots, two hostesses from a VIP carrier who needed to be in London ASAP so we took the seats. The co-pilot and I were next to an emergency exit, after boarding we were asked to move so they could put a family with a tiny baby in our seats (illegal as no one may occupy an exit row if they are elderly, infirm or a baby) we refused to move on those grounds, BIG MISTAKE!


For the whole flight to London the Emirates cabin crew ignored us, we couldn't even get a glass of water. On landing at LGW we asked to see the purser and station manager to complain, they couldn't have cared less. Ten years later my company is still awaiting a refund for our downgrading (thousands of pounds) We refuse to use Emirates to position our crews and as far as I'm concerned they can go broke tomorrow.


Sadly for Emirates they don't seem to understand that if you do something well everyone will expect it and not comment, do something badly and a p***ed off customer will tell everyone he knows. I'd need to be escaping a disaster zone to get on an Emirates aircraft again.

[PAXboy]

A cogent example SND. Middle Eastern companies may have forgotten the old adage 'bad news travels fast' and not yet worked out that the Internet spreads bad news very fast. They need to read the story behind the 2008 story, United Breaks Guitars. It even has it's own Wikipedia page and the song is available online. The event is used as an example of a PR disaster.

Will they learn or will their money insulate them? Will they be able to keep fares low enough to keep the folks buying?

[pwalhx]

I am not sure a flight from 10 years ago is relevant to the initial question as EK have changed a lot in that time.

I am afraid my view is contrary to recent posters in that as a regular user over the last 4/5 years on their Manchester services I think there service has been excellent. Yes I have been lucky to be travelling in Business, yes I have regularly been on the superb A380 and I do agree the 777 isn't as good but it is still not as bad as being pictured.

If I compare them with other carriers I have been on - BA are awful, CX/MH I found distinctly average, KL never found them that good, LH efficient but bland. to name but a few.

[Admiral]

The Emirates A380 experience I found to be very good. Flew yesterday economy CDG-DXB, good leg room for economy, IFE is well ahead of competitors in economy. Having flown the Abu Dhabi based operator and Emirates in all classes in the last twelve months, from/to UAE-Emirates are ahead by a nose.

[PAXboy]

Fair point, pwalhx. But it does show that pax do not forget.

I have not had many occasions to chose a particular USA carrier, since a grim experience (both check-in and cabin) since I was on them in the mid-90s. So I presume they are better now - but in the opportunities I've had to chose them and find out - they've not been on the list.

I have only once had to meet an unaccompanied minor (ny neice then aged 12) from a long haul flight but the airline made a hash of the handover and if anyone mentions UMs, then I tell the story as a warning.

All companies have to learn that you have to be good all the time and to rectify faults rapidly. In the biggest recession the West has had for 90 years - there are no second chances.

[parabellum]

Sorry to hear that Heathrow09L, there was a time when a letter to the top person would have always got a reply, it seems that manners count for nothing these days, never mind best business practice, just one word though, given that EK is a Middle East airline you may still get a reply in another couple of months!


In your case an investigation should have been instigated and as it went from department to department, (all blaming each other!), it would have taken time, eventually, the reports all collected, someone would have had the job of doing an assessment and then writing to you, but that was in the days when things were still done properly!

[mixture]

Bosses don't like receiving snotty letters of complaint and will pass it straight to the department head, this way your complaint gets dealt with from the top down and not the bottom up! Just make sure of all your facts when writing, tell it like it is, don't embellish anything. Make sure you mention your are a Gold Card holder.

You do realise they don't read their own post don't you.

It will be opened and read by their PA, and then passed onto the executive complaints department.

Its the same in all large entities.

[Heathrow Harry]

not always......

I've had letters from the Top Man in two airlines

Much better class of paper and envelopes tell you it's not the usual corporate rubbish and they have a better signature printer as well....................

[parabellum]

It will be opened and read by their PA, and then passed onto the executive complaints department.

Not so in my experience, not at all. If the top dog's PA opens it, it has to be dealt with as though the top dog had read it in case there are legal ramifications down the track. Once the complaint leaves the top dogs desk it will usually be routed to a head of department with a terse note, "Sort this pls." Far, far better that it should be opened and re-routed via the top PA in the company than by some very lowly clerk in the main mail office.

[KBPsen]

Not so in my experience

You do realise that most, of not all, around here just make it up as they go along.

[GEB74]

I fly EK pretty frequently - in all classes for both work and family, not through great personal preference, but because their schedules suit where and when I want to travel.
Couple of personal observations of them over recent years.

Massive degradation in the value of Skywards. Reward flights rarer and more costly in 'fees' than they used to be. Upgrade availability also gone badly south.
Oh, and being Gold or Plat means nothing. You might get a 'welcome back Sir' if your lucky - thats it.


Don't bother complaining. They just don't respond. Save your time and blood pressure.

Whilst the A380 is a great aircraft in all classes, the cabin service is shoddy in all but F. I'm sick of cold tea and coffee in Y due to the time it takes to serve everybody. I'm sick of getting poor and slow service if i'm unlucky enough to get stuck in the back of the J cabin.
Their older aircraft are a disgrace. How the A330's have spent their entire life at EK without any major refit i just cant fathom.
The 777W's are well known for being cramped in Y, but for me, their biggest weakness is the 7 across J cabin. Yes, I understand their J fares are cheaper than most other carriers, but it really is a substandard product to many competitors offerings now.


BUT - its all irrelevant!
Their aircraft fly round near full on most routes, most of the time.
Fares are going up, but loads are not going down.
They continue to treat their customers with little short of disdain.
Yet they continue to grow massively.
For me, the interesting question is at what point will they have annoyed enough of their customers for loads and yields to go south??
Until this happens, don't expect any positive change in Emirates service standards.
Ryanair got away with awful customer service for well over a decade before it finally and recently caught up with them.
I'm waiting for the same thing to happen with Emirates - but i'm not holding my breath.
In the meantime, i continue to use them when it suits me, but without any loyalty - next flight for me is on EY........