Emirates In Flight Service

[Hong Kong Layover]

EK Crew

As a frequent flyer, but someone new to PPrune,I just wanted to say that I have noticed that the standard of inflight service on EK has gone downhill in recent months.

Has anyone else noticed the same? EK Crew - are you all under pressure these days beacuse the company is expanding so rapidly and you have to contend with so many new crew on board?

[A300Man]

Couldnt agree more with you Hong Kong. I am not a frequent traveller on EK, as everyone on this forum knows. But, I have had recent cause through scheduleto fly on EK. On all flights the service was totally abysmal.

It s OK to give every pax a nice TV screen and some games to play with, but that doesn't mean that customer service should just stop there!

I get the feeling that EK are expanding too quickly.Although they have an excellent infrastructure, the rapid expansion is barely coped with at cabin crew training.

[jdoe]

Couldn't agree more, I have been flying EK four or more times a month for 11 years both long and shorthall as a pax and have noticed a dramatic decline in service.
I am not knocking all crew, I have many friends from the early days, but a lot of the crew they have been recruiting in recent years are not fit to stack shelves let alone work in the demanding environment of an airline cabin.

[taba]

Sad, but have to agree...inconsistent.

Used to work for them in the old days and enjoyed every bit of it. The crew took pride in everything they did.

I still travel with them as pax and the service really seems to depend on the crew! I am NOT knocking EK. I still have a lot of friends there!

2 examples: DXB MAN Had a beer pre meal, but when I asked for another "well, we're doing the meal service in a bit so....." and off she trollied.

: DXB HKG MNL My wife and I asked for a glass of water to be told ' you can get a glass of water by the toilets!"

However, nothing can beat the truly wonderful return flight in business class...one of the best I have ever had! Of course I knew the PSR but still it was a nice touch!

Other EK flights have been fine. Good laugh with the crew and a great service, but every so often...

[gtadxb]

Ek's expanding too fast and crew no longer take pride in the excellent airline EK used to be. Seems all new recruits are only interested in living it up in Dubai. OK, pax are very demanding and you do work VERY hard as an EK cabin crew but you are paid accordingly and the perks are there too.
Maybe new recruits are a bit too young and spoilt ?:rolleyes:

[Psr777]

Friends of mine flew out to Perth via Dubai recently with Emirates. Two non cabin crew and one flyer with the fourth who used to fly. They have e-mailed me to comment on the very poor service on board from the cabin crew. Travelling in economy on the sector to Dubai it took them 2 1/2 hours from London, before they received a drink from the bar, a meal service and that was it for the duration. Out of Dubai, two of them were upgraded to business class, which they did not expect and had no idea. They were obviously very pleased to start with, an added bonus when on full fare economy tickets, and not to be sneezed at...............However, the service was just as slow and nowhere near what they had expected. They actually chose to fly Emirates because of the good reputation it has amongst the airline industry. They were very disappointed and are not looking forward to the return flight at all.

Colleagues of mine who used to work with Emirates say this is not the norm and they are having real problems with the crew morale at the moment, which may explain it.
:confused:

[AOG007]

Psr777

they are having real problems with the crew morale at the moment, which may explain it.

Please explain why crew morale is a real problem? What is the cause of the ill feeling?

AOG007

[Alpha Charlie Bravo]

Have flown EK a number of times and for customer service are up there with SQ and CX, if not in front sometimes.

Yet, they are expanding rapidly and sometimes this requires a company to take it's eye off the ball, momentarily.

On top of this, DXB - PER - DXB is a very new route for them and this always means teething problems too. They'll get it right. No airline can be numero uno all the time.

Good to see an alternate route being offered from Oz to Europe which also shaves some transit and jet time too.

[zed3]

Flew with them last November for the first time Dusseldorf-Dubai-Johannesburg . Business class on the way out was very good . Had an upgrade to first for the return and was impressed so I will use them again. Everyone has ups and downs - maybe I was lucky!!!

[Hong Kong Layover]

Zed3,

That was a fair comment !

I agree!!

[carrieleeland]

I am crew and have been for over 6 years and I see the good the bad and the ugly! My comments for the Perth flight are that the crew have only 2 seats in which to rest in and that is rest not sleep! On this long flight, it averages out at 25 mins rest for each crew member if rest rotation is to be fair to all crew. As it is a night flight, it is hard for the crew to be on their top form, unlike other airlines which currently allow crew bunk rest on long haul flights. This is not an excuse for rudeness, but it may explain why some of you are not having the best experience. The training is still excellent but as in all walks of life, in all careers there are some people who do their job better than others. An average meal service in economy takes approx 2and half hours which includes, round of cocktails etc from bar cart, clearance of the rubbish from that. Then the dietary meals are given out which can be well over 100!!! then normal meals according to your menu, which include water on the tray and a further small selection of drinks are offered also to accompany your meal. Then finally tea and coffee and intial tray clearance.. Obviously if you are near the back of the aircraft you will get served last. Hope this clears up some points!!

[nicuk]

Agree totally with the last post. I have been a regular passenger of EK since 1997 and service is almost always perfect. Yes if you do sit towards the back you do wait a little longer, don't forget guys this is an aircraft not a drive thru. Have fun!!:)

[raejones]

Flew with Emitates in their J class at Christmas as far as BKK and back. Had marvellous service on what was a completely full flight. Cabin Crew still managed to find time for a chat to me though !Travelling back on xmas eve and a very kind gate agent upgraded me to First on the DXB - LHR leg. What a wonderful experience that was!!!

I'm fortunate not to have experienced any poor service on any of the flights I've taken with Emirates - but I guess as someone else as already said 'somepeople do their job better than others'

Cheers guys - I think you do a great job !

[carrioke]

Thanks rae, it always nice to hear some positive comments!! Usually crew only get to hear about the bad stuff as people are obviously more likely to write a letter of complaint than write one full of compliments.. Comments like your certainly cheer me up and make me feel like I do a job that is appreciated and is hopefully a prod to those who need it, to do their job well. Thanks again :O :O :O

[Pam747]

Carrioke, well said. It is very difficult to work long hours with very little rest, but we do it to the best of our ability (God knows I do), and still smile. I just got back from Rome and it feels as though I walked back, but I still had a great flight. Being a high profile company, with high standards, people always expect more, but unfortunately sometimes when it is unable to be given, we get bad feedback. Thanks a million rae and nic, you have made my day, and it is people like you that make me look forward to going to work:D

[qfmike737]

Ok a 747/777 might be a big plane but it certainly isn't after spending a few hours on it...and it even shrinks more when it's full of passengers flying at night!

Although i'm not a flight attendant....YET! I have spent alot of time doing catering doing full cleans etc overnight on many different aircraft and airlines. So I get to experience different layouts and seats etc.

I also have rest breaks of 25 mins etc on overnight shifts whilsts the planes are EMPTY and on the ground at ground altitude! I must say that if anyone can perform excellent customer service and look immucalate from Dubai to Perth etc they are already doing a good job. I have also taken note that without a crew rest area like the 747 bunks it makes a big difference!! simply having complete privacy for 25mins allows you to "RELAX" it's that extra little bit that can make that tiny difference in working in the next hour.

Add:
Working at altitude with cabin air pressure at 7000feet
Dry air
Changing time zones
New crew
Expanding Airline
Confined area
Limited lighting
Hundreds of pax going through the same thing!

= You have a major job to do!

Unfortunately the crew are the face of the airline to the pax and the pax are usually unforgiving.