Emirates

A quality product and service across the Tasman with Emirates from Sydney to Auckland. If you are an economy passenger on this route this is the only sensible alternative. 32-34 inches of space on a wide body jet compared to the cramped narrow bodied aircraft of QF or NZ. Service with a smile, economy meals that include extras QF did away with years ago to cut costs. Buy it with a QF flight number and you still get points, status credits and lounge access if a Club member.

Colombo to Melbourne via Singapore. I was allocated the wrong seat from check-in despite having booked it 2 months ago. I wouldn't have minded except that the new seat was near the toilets. When I inquired, it was found the seat I booked was still vacant. The ground staff at the boarding gate in Colombo were not very helpful except for one staff officer from Emirates. He was very professional and made the seat correction promptly.

Flew with Emirates for the first time. JFK to Bangkok with layover in Dubai. I chose this flight due to short layover. All would be great if the flight was not delayed. We left JFK later than projected and ended up missing our flight from Dubai to Bangkok, resulting is a 8 hour layover. Emirates were not exactly sympathetic or apologetic and only after much fuss provided us with a few dollar worth food voucher (incorrectly printed for 3 passengers only rather than 4, which they were not happy to fix either). The flight was ok. A380 is an impressive plane. Seat are relatively comfortable in economy section, entertainment selection was very good. Food and drink service was ok. The crew was very international and not super friendly. Our seats were close to the galley and the staff not only left the curtain constantly opened, letting bright light in, they were also extremely loud, chit chatting, laughing. When I asked a flight attendant if she could close the curtain in order to reduce noise and make it darker so we could sleep she just walked away, returning in a few minutes with ear plugs, which I never requested. Eventually we ended up moving to the back of the plane (as flight was only half full) and had a peaceful reminder of the trip. Return flight from Bangkok to Dubai was also delayed. At some point there was airport security on board going through all carry-ons. However afterwards the flight took off and was uneventful, with same okay food/drink service and not overly friendly the international crew. Overall I was not very impressed with Emirates, their flight attendants could be more friendly and on ground crew could me more helpful.

Dubai to Paris with Emirates, and this time with my kids we have experienced an overbooking. At the checkin counter they told us we have no seats and have to go to another counter where they told us you have no seat, so we offer you an hotel 5 stars, dinner and breakfast (it was already midnight and the next flight scheduled at 7 am). I said I refused and they immediatly found 3 seats next each other. So problem solved quite quickly. The flight was good, the seat is comfortable. Food is good, staff is really nice.

Flight no issues, inflight entertainment was not as expected or advertised. Food was not good at all. On my flight back to SA, the only good option I had was vegetable and was told that the other options were not available as it was finished. Most of the time cabin crew had to be asked twice as they had forgotten. Just some info for passengers, if you are asleep while serving food you will be left to sleep.

Our flights to and from Cape Town using Emirates for the first time were in the main very good for economy class. The 777-300 ER is a fine aircraft, but as a lot of reviewers have mentioned with Emirates having a 3-4-3 seating arrangement it does make it quite cramped, and being in an aisle seat I was constantly bumped into with people moving up and down the aisle. The crews on all our flights were very good, happy and willing to serve and help the passengers. The food for economy class was very good indeed, and the individual menu was a nice touch, and there were plenty of water and juice runs throughout the flights. Compared to other airlines I've flown with, Emirates don't have a general bar service before they serve their meals, although they do offer wine, water or juice with your meal, but right behind the meal service comes the bar service which just felt odd. The ICE entertainment system was excellent, large screens, huge selection of films, TV, and music to while away your flight, and the external cameras showed you views you normally don't get to see unless you are a pilot. If Emirates changed to a 3-3-3 seating arrangement and increased the pitch too they would offer their economy passengers a fantastic service instead of a very good service.

So I finally flew with Emirates and apart from one thing it was a really nice experience. You can tell that their planes are young, seats are comfortable and ICE is really good, so many movies and you got nice headphones even in economy. Food on board was good, I liked the taste and was actually full. On my flight from Vienna to Dubai, it took almost 2 hours to serve the food and since it was a 6 hour night flight you want to sleep, however, on my second flight it was better. Price was really good, it was the second cheapest ticket I found. We had long layover in Dubai (on purpose because we wanted to see Dubai) where we were given a meal voucher for Dubai airport for a couple of restaurants which was really nice. I will definetelly fly with them again, already purchased tickets to Bali and plan other destinations this year as well.

Kuwait to Kuala Lumpur via Dubai with Emirates - a pleasant experience. I was overfed (which is a pro in my opinion), the seats were comfortable, the ICE system was amazing and helped pass the time, and overall the crew were amazing. I would definitely fly Emirates again in the future.

Chauffeur pick up worked excellently, and is a really nice touch. The lounge at Birmingham was fairly small but large enough for the number of passengers and with good food and drink. The Birmingham to Dubai leg was on an old 777, and the 777 business product isn't as good as the product on other airlines for this length flight. The seats aren't fully flat nor do they have direct aisle access. As this was also an old plane the in flight entertainment was fairly poor. While the screen was enormous, the resolution was very low and the controls were frustratingly difficult. The cabin crew were fine without being outstandanding as was the food. The lounge at Dubai was very good as we were in a smaller one rather than the main central one. The food and drink offering was very good and I liked that some of the bar was self service. Dubai to Mumbai was on a newer 777 and the entertainment was much better. As this was a short flight through the night there is not too much to say, although the cabin crew were fairly good, they did insist on waking up passengers who had ordered food then clearly changed their mind and fallen asleep (it was 4am). Spending a long time trying to wake them up, not just a quick tap or hello. Arriving in Mumbai was fairly easy with prompt processing on the ground. The chauffeur pick up worked well although could have been better organised at the airport itself as you just had to look around the busy bundle of Emirates chauffeurs trying to find your name. A central person who located your driver would make it much smoother and more professional.

Mumbai to Gatwick via Dubai with Emirates. Chauffeur pick up and check in/security at Mumbai went smoothly. The lounge is a shared one at Mumbai but nice and the staff excellent. Mumbai to Dubai was on an old 777 but was suitable for this length flight. The seat is comfortable and spacious, and the IFE screen of reasonable resolution and had a good selection. Food was fine. The lounge at Dubai is not a particularly good one in my opinion as it is huge and chaotic and not a particularly nice layout. I appreciate this is only business not first, but still would have preferred less of a corridor feel to it, as well as self service drinks areas dotted about. Dubai to Gatwick leg was excellent. The superior level of the seat is significant and avod is excellent. The cabin crew on this flight were friendly and attentive. The only very minor niggle is that the food and wine service were not coordinated at all, so the wine was served after the meal rather than with it. This was after two glasses of champagne and a gin and tonic though so no real complaint. The big let down was Gatwick airport where we were not offered premium service for immigration. Gatwick is awful at the moment and the queue was enormous. This as well as the ridiculous and terribly organised baggage reclaim (which clearly is not able cope with the A380) let down the whole premium experience of Emirates down.