Bye-Bye-Dubai
The other day my wife and I faced the impossible task of returning on staff stand-by tickets from DXB to Europe. We had tickets on KL, AF, LX, BA, and LH but every flight was full or overbooked. And Emirates would not honour our tickets because my line has an agreement with everybody else but them, so we had to shell out US$ 1500 for a couple of cattle class tickets to London. OK so far, I know the rules and I accepted the game.
But what I find particularly upseting is the way you're treated in some parts of the world when you're on a staff ticket (which is a part of your salary). It seems that the average Emirati or Indian or Middleasterner can't pass away the chance to make your day a little more miserable just to show you that he (or she) is in charge. (Hindus beware, you may reincarnate in an ID traveller on your next life). No disrespect intended to any national or ethnic groups, but I'm sure many of us have gone through this ordeal more than once.
The interesting part of the story is that we discovered the hardway how much-advertised Emirates treats its customers. Everything from ticket purchase to the flight itself turned out to be more than disappointing. It's ticket agents were rude, DXB check-in area worthy of an obscure African outpost, check-in procedures third-worldish, it's ground staff can hardly be described as efficient or courteous. The flight was awfully late (oh yes, there had been "fog" in DXB that morning). We were given separate seats (just as a reminder) although one was next to an empty one. The plane was dirty, the 6 pm "lunch" appalling, the options non-existent, the coffee missing, the washroom disgusting, all my calls ignored, the cabin crew nice but unproffessional and couldn't quite cope with a near full load ( I shudder to think what they would've done in an emergency). The captain managed to synchronize the seat-belt sign with the chop -in reverse. Good IFE though, if only my screen had worked as advertised. The purser didn't come to talk to me,a humble Y class pariah (or he was too ashamed). F and C class pax may be pampered, but that doesn't mean you have to treat the others like scum.
Where I work even a new hire flight attendant would be given a business class seat whenever available, not to mention the captain of any airline. Colleagues from other lines are treated like royalty in comparison to EK. Extra meals are ordered if needed, nothing is charged and sometimes I send champagne or wine, compliments of the captain. In Spain pilots can fly on any flight, of any Spanish airline, at zero cost and are invariably offered the best seat in the house, no matter what some inane regulation might or might not say. But then we are in command of our flight, unlike those EK mere airplane drivers.
I know one flight is too little to draw any conclusions. But if what I saw is the typical way EK treats its employees and clients, then no thanks. I'm not applying, DECs or not. I will not subject my family to the hardship of EK travel. And I don't want to fly for a company that spends a lot on advertising and equipment but then forgets the human factor altogether, and where the captain's prerogatives don't go beyond ordering some extra fuel. Perhaps Emirates' glossy cover, superfluous luxury, massive advertising and general haughtiness is hiding a huge inferiority complex and it's just trying to set itself apart from other 3rd world carriers.
PS. The rest of the trip was flown on BA and I would like to thank them for being so courteous and reliable and for providing an excellent value as usual.