Emirates Airline Passenger Reviews and Emirates Customer Trip Reports

AMS-DXB-BKK-HKG-DXB-AMS all in Business class on A380. Impressed with the excellent in-flight entertainment, A380 Dubai hub, and chauffeur transfers but very surprised with the consistently poor service onboard. AMS-DXB, it took more than 3 hours to serve lunch with long gaps occurring between courses while crew carried trays individually almost the length of the aircraft to our seats. We booked the middle seats and although we were travelling together, our meals were rarely served at the same time. No food or snack offered before landing. DXB-BKK, around a half hour after takeoff the cabin lights were dimmed fully. We were both woken around an hour after takeoff to provide our breakfast orders for service hours later which was very frustrating. Breakfast began 3 hours before landing so we got very little sleep. No hot towel offered and again trays were so slow to be cleared. The worst flight of the 5 was BKK-HKG. Cabin was nearly empty but the crew were extremely slow – no nuts offered with cocktails, wine wasn't served until main courses were finished, and no tea or coffee offered. Crew gossiping in huddles at the back of the aircraft, blocking passenger access to the washrooms, while trays went uncleared. Immigration cards for HKG delivered down one aisle only - I had to ask 3 times before a card was brought. On HKG-DXB and DXB-AMS sectors service was painfully slow. When lunch was finally served on the last leg my main course was cold and inedible. We found many flight attendants disengaged and disinterested. Perhaps a complete re-think of the A380 business service might be required. All-in-all a very disappointing experience.

CGK-DXB-GVA-CDG-DXB-CGK. Assigned seats online but not available for all the flights, why have this option when it turned out they couldn't confirm my allocated seats? Cabin crew were not enthusiastic at serving passengers - rude and robotic. The only plus point was the entertainment system and the seat pitch. Will avoid this airline if possible.

GLA–DXB–BNE–AKL–MEL–DXB–GLA with 2 adults and 2 children (1 and almost 3 year old) in economy. Flight from Glasgow to Dubai was fantastic. We had the new 777-300ER with the new ICE widescreen in economy. Brilliant service, cabin staff very attentive. Seats were comfortable (we were bulkhead), no faults to be found. Things took a rather dramatic dip though once we arrived in Dubai. Plane delayed on the tarmac for about an hour and the cabin staff were very huffy about the fact that we needed to change our boy's nappy. They wouldn't let us use the toilet as the plane could be pushed back at any moment. We received very scant service and were denied milk and juice for our kids more than once. The plane was the old 777, seats uncomfortable and worn, seat back TV’s very loose so once the seat in front was pushed back you couldn't see the screen unless you held it. Flight to Auckland only a couple of hours so same plane but it was just a quick jump. Flew back on A380 via Melbourne. Bulkhead through to Dubai which was brilliant, great leg room and top notch cabin crew. Flight back to Glasgow on older 777 but again staff were attentive. Impressed overall except for Dubai – Brisbane leg. Will definitely fly them again.

First flight on Emirates. 11th trip to Adelaide to visit my sister. I flew from Birmingham, I always previously flew from Heathrow, the last 5 times with Singapore Airlines via Singapore, then a 5 or 6 hour wait for their Adelaide flight. I decided to fly Business Class, was extremely surprised at the price quoted, especially as it included a chauffeur driven car from my house and back when I returned a month later. The whole experience was perfect, especially on my overnight flight back from Adelaide to Dubai, I managed to go to sleep for quite some time on the bed, which also had a massage machine built into it. The whole experience was great, and I am hoping to go again, in business class. Highly recommended.

Flew SIN-DXB-JFK, March 2nd with an 85 minute layover. SIN-DXB leg delayed by 75 minutes so I was rushing through security at DXB. Well turns out I needn't have to as the connecting flight waited! Anyway, dropped my wallet in DXB and made a report. Staff were helpful, professional and provided support every step of the way! They found my wallet and shipped it over stateside so that's an added bonus. Inflight service is as good as ever, I would say on par with most leading airlines and probably surpassing most American carriers. Frequent drink runs over the 24 hours of flying, nice food served hot, good IFE, can't ask for much more. Only drawback is that seat pitch is a little cramped for my 6'2" frame. All in all, I'll fly Emirates again.

Glasgow-Dubai-Male return in February. Very pleased with the service provided. Economy seat legroom was pretty ok in spite of my height (6 ft 6). Pleasant, friendly cabin staff on all 4 flights. Excellent food, including some of the best chicken curry I've tasted. In-flight entertainment unbelievably good: huge range of films and all genres of music. On the final flight, we asked to change our allocated seats to aisle seats, and not only did they comply with that request, but they also gave us extra leg room seats unasked. Best airline I've flown with.

LHR-DXB-SEZ. Economy. Scheduled to travel on EK2 but flight cancelled at gate and transferred to EK30. It was one thing to have the flight cancelled, but the wait and no information was annoying. Gate staff appeared to hold little gatherings laughing and joking, when the majority of travellers were looking for some information, someone from the gate staff to take control, start providing useful information about our flights and Emirates' response to addressing this problem. Our replacement aircraft was on the next gate, so we were individually escorted to the next gate with additional waiting time. The same happened once on the aircraft, waiting for over an hour to take off. The A380 was packed with passengers, no seats spare. Cabin crew were indifferent, even challenging one male passenger with "why do you want water now?" The Emirates service to Dubai was appalling. As I had missed my connection to Seychelles, I was told I would be met by an Emirates representative at the arrival gate with my new boarding pass and flight information. This information was wrong, no one to meet me, just chaos. I was directed down to the connections counter to wait with over 100 other passengers experiencing the same problem. What a joke this was passengers everywhere, no one person from Emirates taking the lead to organise affected passengers. Lines for first, business and economy passengers were awash with passengers looking for help. The whole scene was chaos. I was eventually placed onto EK707 to Seychelles. This flight was okay and uneventful. A340 was about 75% full. Would I recommend Emirates- on this experience no. It was really a let down and very memorable for the wrong reasons. These issues required a plan and leadership and the Emirates staff were found wanting. Quite an embarrassment on their business really.

Birmingham to Dubai on 20 February, EK040. Boarding late at Birmingham although efficiently carried out. Seat space in economy I found cramped. When we reached Dubai had to circle for 1.5 hrs before we could land. Return journey, Ek037 on 4 March was worse. Plane boarded late. Grim faced ground staff and chaotic boarding. No boarding announcements or priority boarding even for business, people with children or row order. I heard several gold card holders complaining that they had not been given priority boarding. Everybody just piled on to the plane in no order at all. There were many transit passengers who on check in had been allowed to keep multiple hand luggage items many of which were well over the size and weight limits which they then proceeded to try to ram in to the overhead lockers. The result of thsi was total chaos ailes blocked resulted in several arguments. Not surprisingly the plane left over an hour late. As the plane climbed with the seat belt sign on many people got up to go to the toilet. When I pointed out to the stewardess she just smiled and agreed with me. In conclusion it was an uncomfortable flight. The service during the flight was good - a pity about the bad flight management.

DXB-JED, C Class. Outbound flight was positive. Pick up by chauffeur was on time and pleasant as always, check in, security and Immigration within 5 minutes and through to the lounge which was spot on. A380 lounge is far superior to that of the other lounges as its calm clean and the smoking room is fantastic. Flight delayed by one hour due to holding for delayed passengers. Once airborne, crew were perfunctory, it was 7 am. No alcohol as KSA flight, no big deal really at 7am. Food was ok not particularly inspiring, landed 45 mins late and bussed to terminal. Return a different story. No chauffeur pick up, arrived to check in and it was bedlam, people and staff shouting, pushing of Y class Pax into business class queue, Emirates staff just stood there and did nothing. Finally checked in by rude man, no business class fast track, lounge was filthy and food minimal. No priority boarding. Staff were good on board, pleasant and obliging, food was not good - ordered low fat, got what looked like a lump of turnip and a fish roll. Landed 45 mins late and the fast track immigration took 45 minutes. Bags obviously on belt within that time. For a 2 hr 45 min flight at 1200 euro Id expect much better.

Dubai to Athens (Greece), Feb 2013, Business. 2 hours delay. The boarding gate was in the old terminal, a 30+ min walk. I fly this route often and it's been more than a year they haven't managed to board us from terminal 3; one out of two flights boarding by bus. FA's were OK, the food was mediocre. The seats of the A330-200 Business Class are awful; narrow and leave the feet hanging for people less than 1.80m height. The IFE is completely outdated; very small screens, and most of them way off in terms of colour and image quality.

CCU-DXB-LHR Economy class - a big disappointment. CCU-DXB was an A300-200, and looked very tired. I am smaller than average but found the seat pitch only just adequate. The lumber control was wrongly set for me but the adjustment button didn't work didn't work making it quite uncomfortable on a 5 hour plus sector. I had a sound fault on my IFE which made it all but impossible to watch any films or listen to music. The cabin crew were an unfriendly and unhappy bunch. Being trapped in a centre seat meant I had to use the call button to get a glass of water. But to no avail, despite pressing it another 3 times at 5 minute intervals. DXB-LHR was better, mainly because the A380 is a newer and much more comfortable aircraft with better seat pitch. Overall I think Emirates have a real problem with their cabin crew. They may be young and pretty or handsome, and speak half a dozen languages, but don't seem to bond as a team. Worse still they don't know how, or haven't been trained, how to provide an efficient high volume meal service. We waited about 3 hours for the main meal, despite leaving DXB at lunch time. And with Emirates you get your choice of red or white wine not during the meal but once you've finished eating (I took a glass of water)! Likewise for afternoon tea the beverage came along later, to be followed by the scones after you've finished everything (including the clotted cream and jam) drunk your tea and returned to your movie. Add to that the air traffic delays at DXB, and the nightmare if you have to transfer terminals in the middle of the night, and I conclude that Emirates only care for high yield passengers and should be avoided.

Sydney to Dubai December 2012 left me, my wife, and two children in the darkness of 'night mode' and without any light, call button or entertainment system for the entire duration of the flight. We notified of an egg-allergy several weeks prior to flying but this was not catered for. Also, there was 8 hours between breakfast and lunch. The flight experience was consequently hellish.

Travelled Brisbane - Dubai - Manchester and return in Economy. Brisbane - Dubai - Brisbane on 777, good service apart from one of the two meals served between Dubai and Brisbane. Seating is very uncomfortable for a 14 hours non-stop flight especially on the return leg where the cabin was completely full. The return flight was 2 hours delayed due to fog in Dubai which is not the airline's fault. Dubai - Manchester - Dubai both legs on the A380 and the food, seat comfort, IFE and general experience was noticeably better, couldn't really fault it at all. Beware of rows 40-45 on the A380 - there is very little overhead locker space for hand luggage. I only had one piece but when I boarded the lockers were already full with other people's stuff which meant my bag had to be stowed about 10 rows behind my seat. Two days before my return flight from Manchester I was offered a deal to upgrade to Business Class on the Dubai - Brisbane leg which given the length of this sector (14 hours) I would have happily taken. Unfortunately however it was only available online and the online upgrade system wouldn't accept my payment despite several attempts. Overall however Emirates did a good job, and I would have no hesitation using them again.

Gatwick-Dubai-Bangkok and back Saigon-Dubai-Gatwick. This was the worst long haul experience we have had. The staff were unhelpful, food options ran out quickly so we had to settle for whatever was left and we had to ask for drinks (water) as they were rarely offered. The staff were unhelpful and the quality of service was simply poor.

LGW-DXB return F-class Boeing 777-300ER. Chauffeur service punctual and friendly, fast track security at LGW and also for immigration at Dubai. Lounges good. The DXB lounge in terminal 3 was virtually deserted around midday. Flights were excellent in comfortable suite. Food and service exemplary, FA's friendly and attentive. Possibly for daytime 7 hour flights Business class would be quite acceptable another time.

SIN-DXB-IST, CAI-DXB-SIN. The SIN-DXB and DXB-SIN were both with A380. Outbound flight was not full, I had 3 seats to myself. The food was okay. The IFE was good. However the inbound flight was full. There was no toiletries pack (socks, eye shade, toothbrush + paste) provided for 7 hours night flight. I had to request the eye shade from one attendant and I got it only after asking another flight attendant. DXB-IST and CAI- DXB were with B777. You can see the contrast of IFE quality between A380 and B777. They should upgrade the IFE on B777.

I have flown Emirates a few times and feel that their service is rapidly declining. I visited Malaysia on honeymoon from South Africa. My flight out of Johannesburg was delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft which meant I missed my connection to Kuala Lumpur. The next available flight to KL was 11 hours later. All I was offered by Emirates staff at Dubai airport was 1 meal voucher. Missing my connection meant that I lost my night's prebooked accommodation in KL (a special honeymoon surprise) - and 2 successive days spent in airport terminals!. I submitted feedback to the airline by means of email and online submission and 1 month later am still awaiting a response.

GVA-DBX-ICN, and the experience was mixed. B777-300ER out of Geneva was comfortable but nothing special. The food was really poor and the service downright surly. I don't think I saw a single smile. The connection in Dubai was fairly straightforward but I was surprised how poor the signage was and how complicated routes inside the terminals were. I liked the massive business lounge in the new 380 terminal - quiet and comfortable smoking lounge, staff friendly and the boarding directly from the lounge. Dubai-Seoul the business cabin of A380 lacks style and charm but the seating is well-designed and spacious. I loved the mattress and the extra pillow and slept unusually well. The cabin crew were charming and helpful but food was not only average in terms of quality but bresola with a strange salad (not on the menu) was served when smoked duck breast had been ordered. The main course came without the advertised Korean soup. Not impressive. I don't use in-flight entertainment so can't comment on it.

BHX-DXB-COK return. Excellent flight from UK, good leg room, very impressed with quality and quantity of food and drinks. Flight from Dubai in a very old airplane and seat pitch much less than the newer planes. Flight from COK was ok but very early so slept. Flight from Dubai was full and large numbers of passengers with huge amounts of luggage - staff were often struggling to keep control. Quite a long delay getting off the plane and baggage re-claim due to all the luggage. Took almost 90 minutes from landing to leaving airport.

CPH through DXB to MRU. Picked up on time from our Copenhagen hotel for our complimentary chauffeur drive, express check in by friendly staff at CPH, pleasant and quiet lounging pre-flight. Experienced high standard of service and kindness, excellent food on both flights. Cabin attendants always at hand. Seats on 777-300ER gave hours of good sleep, seats 777-300 comfortable for relaxing, not so comfortable for sleeping. ICE system worked without problems on both legs, easy to understand and rich on offers. Emirates lounge in Dubai in peak hours was a delight, quiet and lots of free tables/seating. Staff friendly. We found the C- concourse business lounge closed due to construction works. Invited to use the first class lounge, which we did. We would not hesitate to recommend Emirates and are looking forward to the return flights.

If you experience any problems submitting comments on the above link, please use our general   Feedback Page