Emirates

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.

Sydney to Dubai with Emirates. We were allocated the wrong seats from check-in. Ended sitting next to an inebriated passenger that made the trip the worst. Tried to change the seats before the flight but the ground staff were very rude. On return complained to airline, but not even an apology. The customer service team is a computer. The only response I got was a computer generated letter.

Booked to fly from New Delhi to Accra via Dubai in business class with Emirates in Aug 2015 with a layover of 1 hr 20 mins in Dubai. The flight from Delhi took off 30 mins late and then circled Dubai before landing in a remote corner of the airport. We rushed and reached our boarding gate (20 mins before departure) just as the last of the economy passengers were boarding. We were denied boarding on the pretext that we were late at the gate - never mind that there was no one to receive us at the terminal, Emirates flight from Delhi was late and that last few passengers were still boarding right in front of us. Staff at the gate were rude, turned us away and asked us to get our re-routing from the Emirates customer service. With 2 kids who were sleepy and exhausted, we made our way to a long queue at the customer service counter. They routed us to Accra via Abuja and on my husbands persistent query assured us that Abuja had transit facilities. The situation in Abuja was far from this - no transit, we were made to collect our bags by paying for passenger trolleys, re-check in at Arik Air and fight customs / immigration who insisted on stamping our passports. The Arik Air flight was delayed, there was no business class lounge at the airport and the flight itself was a small propeller aircraft. We were happy to reach Accra in one piece after the harrowing experience. On registering a complaint with Emirates we were advised that they would investigate and needed 30 days - at the end of this period they came back with no admittance of guilt but offered us 15,000 frequent flyer points each which to date they have not credited to my children's account. Contrast this with our recent experience on Eithopian where we were transported from the tarmac when they were late on a flight from ACC to NBO and even connected our bags. Did not expect Emirates to treat business class passengers in this manner. They clearly are now such a big airline that they could not be bothered by these exceptions - imagine how they treat non-gold, economy class travelers - am glad to see other airlines now catching up with them.

Dallas to Dubai with Emirates - amazing airline. A380 with good service, tasty food. The seat comfort was good. The cabin crew are friendly, entertainment had some good games and the latest movies to watch. The personal video screen size was good. Every 4 hours they serve a meal or snack. You can also get get free drinks any time in the flight. Every 1 hour they come along with some juice and some refreshments. Ground service was nice, little busy but overall good.

So the boarding was chaotic. Not much. The crew distributed hot towel in other section but not ours. The ICE system had an amazing variety of movies, shows, music etc. Once in air crew immediately distributed the food and drink. Pillow and headphones with magazines and. The serving of food just had 1 choice. Well it was fine for a short haul flight. The flight was of 1.30 hours. The food was fine not bad and drink was average. Not much variety. The landing was good. Crew were also good.

We were very pleased in all respects with Emirates. The check in both in Gatwick and Dubai was swift and efficient. On board the seating was fine with plenty of leg room and the meals served were tasty. The best aspect is the in flight entertainment system which has a huge variety of films and TV and large screens to make viewing a pleasure and cameras on the plane so you can watch the take off and landing from the pilot's view. I even read my emails using on-board wifi. It's a million miles away from British Airways! I would not hesitate to fly with Emirates again.