Emirates

Gatwick to Hong Kong via Dubai on Emirates. Check in and boarding at Gatwick smooth and departed on time. My pre booked seat was changed to accommodate a family but my reassigned seat was still an aisle which was my preference. The drink trolley took a long time to come around and was followed by the food trolley. Meal was braised beef which was OK, but only lukewarm. The entertinment was OK but headphone socket was dodgy so only had sound in one ear. Landed on time in Dubai but the queues for security were horrendous. Easy transfer to A terminal and the flight on a newer A380 took off about 30 minutes late. Again, trolley service was vey slow and cabin crew seemed to do a poor job. As this was a 3am departure only a sandwich and drink was served before the lights went out. Prior to landing in Hong Kong a hot breakfast was served which was OK. Scrambled egg, baked beans, spinach, veg hash brown. Immigration at HKG took forever then had to wait ages for bags to be delivered to the carousel. All in all, an okay experience but the crew need to sort out the trolley service a bit.

Kuala Lumpur to Heathrow via Dubai, and returning from London Gatwick through Dubai with Emirates, in economy. I am very impressed with the experience on each flight I took. There were no major delays to speak of, the food was actually very good (minus the strange fishy starters), drinks were plentiful and they had a great database of entertainment. The tail mounted cameras are a fantastic feature and the wifi worked well - but only on 2 of the flights. The crew couldn't do enough to help, they were friendly and helpful it was refreshing compared to some airlines I have been on. One downside I found on all flights was that it took over an hour for the FAs to get the drinks trollies and begin service. Each time they started serving from the front of the cabin, which for me was fine as I was at the front - while the people in the back looked on longingly. The check-in staff at Gatwick were really miserable. Other than that, everything was perfect. The first of four legs was on the Boeing 777-300ER with 10 abreast seating. Yes the aisles are a little narrow but as there was nobody next to me it wasn't a problem. I'm 5'11 and 70kg - sat in the aisle seat and wasn't hit very often. Maybe a larger person may feel more uncomfortable, especially if the middle seat were occupied. The other 3 legs on the A380 were better. The seats were roomy and spacious, and on the DXB - KUL route the plane was 10 days old. The flight was empty and there were only about 12 people in a cabin of 120(ish) seats so the crew and I spent half the flight talking as there was little for them to do. 68A was a great seat as it has nobody in front. Overall, very pleased with how well everything went! I look forward to flying with Emirates again very soon.

Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur with Emirates, and I arrived on New Years Day in Kuala Lumpur to discover that my wallet had fallen out of my carry on bag, and the first thing I did on entering the airport was look for it. Staff were unhelpful and the ground crew refused to let me back on the plane to check. I understand this may be policy but nothing was explained. After waiting to no avail I went to collect my luggage, but to my horror no luggage appeared. The staff representing Emirates had no help or a kind word to offer, and could not tell me where my bags were. The best I could do was make my way to my hotel and wait. My bags turned up the following day. On my return flight, accompanied by my partner, we found that they had changed our pre-selected seats and we were not seated together. We did not notice this until we were through immigration, and then had to talk our way back through so that we could convince the check-in desk to re-seat us - a huge waste of time. Waiting for our luggage at Melbourne airport at 2:00am it turned out they had misplaced my luggage again, as well as my partners this time. This led to more time spent at the lost baggage counter, and having to sit at home for the better part of the next day waiting for it to be delivered. All up I would say that I wasted at least 8 hours on unnecessary mistakes, not to mention the distress caused, which was certainly not alleviated by their very unhelpful staff. Inflight was all smiles and complimentary wines, but that does nothing to buy back the time and stress spent on this company.

Frankfurt to Dubai in First class, and chauffeur-service included in the fare, Emirates lounge is okay at Frankfurt but there is no extra space for First-Class-passengers, and it is before security, what you have to keep in mind when calculating the time budget. There was no priority boarding for First Class. That was the only weak part of the trip. Onboard the seat is fantastic, plenty of space and the staff was doing a great job. Meal service on demand was classy, with tasty food and great wine. The lounge in the rear was outstanding with a great ambience. The shower was perfect to get refreshed before arrival. They have Wifi available. 10MB free, 500 for 1 USD only (Credit Card). It was faster than I expected, just okay to send some pictures home. At Dubai, they have a dedicated area for chauffeur-service. It took no time to get a car for the destination.

The staff on my Emirates A380 flight from Dubai to London and the Mumbai to Dubai section of my journey were very good (and return flights). Perhaps there could be a few more of the them on the A380 - it is such a large plane which was full, so service a bit slow. Food was good for economy but the legroom on the Boeing 777 was a bit cramped. Would use them again no problem and they were great with a disabled friend, both the staff on the plane and the ground crew when moving between planes.

Dubai to Muscat with Emirates, and it was a short flight of approx. 1 hr with a wide-body A330. Unlike flights in Europe where for this flight duration you only get a drink (if at all), on this flight we were served breakfast.

Paris CDG to Dubai with Emirates. The chauffer transfer worked well, the lounge was good and I enjoyed the IFE. That is where the positives end. Check in was slow and did not feel I was warmly greeted. Greeting on the plane was neither warm or genuine compared with Singapore Airlines. The cabin crew did not engage and would not make eye contact when walking past. Had to make up my own bed. Food was average and not the best wine selection. Overall, this was not a premium experience.

Flew Durban to Seattle via Dubai on Emirates Boeing 777s. Durban to Dubai was very bumpy almost the entire 8 hours, so cabin service was limited to a single meal and a single drink prior to that meal. Cabin crew were fine, not overly friendly but definitely not hostile. The warm towels were a nice touch. Seat was a not terribly crowded aisle seat in row 41 made all the more comfortable by the fact that the person in front of me did not recline. Thank you! Inflight entertainment offerings were somewhat limited (just 400 channels) but far superior to SAA's offerings. Flight was very full in economy. Dubai to Seattle leg is a long ride: 13 hours over Iran, Russia and the north pole. Cabin service again was very good. The meal was ok; a promising chicken dish in a mustard sauce that lacked flavor when delivered but the rest of the meal was quite good. Cabin crew offered pizza a couple of hours before landing. I was seated in a window seat on this leg which felt more crowded because I had people next to me and the guy seated in front of me reclined to the max as soon as he could and stayed that way the entire flight! IFE on this leg (ICE) was outstanding, over 1000 different selections including several Mozart channels plus a whole season of The Big Bang Theory! Plane was very full in economy. Overall, a pretty good experience for such a long ride. Booked 14 days in advance and still got what I consider to be a great price considering the distance and how full the plane was when I booked. If you're not a high-maintenance customer, Emirates value to its passengers is definitely superior to South African Airways.

Hong Kong to Glasgow via Dubai with Emirates. The bar was a highlight of the first leg of my flight. The food on Emirates lacks a certain something. Not sure what it is but the menu just doesn't seem inspiring. Beverages on the other hand are plentiful, varied and excellent. My seat on the A380 was comfortable but I feel boxed in on those seats. The one on the 777 was a pain in the butt. I wanted to do some work on the plane but my lights shone into the face of the person seated beside me on the 777. My personal reading light did not work at all. Further to this, the lounge in Dubai is not a pleasant relaxing environment. There are just too many people running around. Not great at 3am when all you want is a good rest. I ended up going down to my gate where everyone was a lot less manic and chilled out on the comfortable long loungers. The chauffeur service was excellent, my driver going above and beyond the call of duty to deliver a great service in Glasgow. My return flight was the contentious one. I'd chosen my seat when booking, an aisle seat because I'm very tall - when I went online to check in, I find my seat has been re-allocated without even being informed. Not an obligation on their part of course but it would be nice to know. Ended up upgrading to business rather than deal with middle seat in economy. In a rare act for one so afraid of flying as myself, I managed to focus on the entertainment for more than ten minutes without losing myself to panic. Managed to watch live football which was a great and pleasant surprise! As it goes, the one leg of economy I had, seated near the front of the bottom deck in economy was the most comfortable and best flight of my itinerary. Great seat.

Auckland to Newcastle via Dubai and I was very disappointed with the service. They had run out of food options so we only had one choice, the staff were unhelpful. My coffee fell off my tray onto my seat, I told the stewardess and she handed me five napkins and walked away. I asked her for another blanket and she never returned, so I asked another stewardess and she walked away. I thought she was coming back so I was reluctant to fall asleep, I sat on my soaked blanket to soak up the coffee on the chair. Half an hour later she didn't return so I had to ask a third member of the crew. The crew were rude about getting the trolleys past us and when they hit a man's foot they didn't apologise. They looked stressed and annoyed during the flight safety announcement. When they brought round the warm towels the stewardess handed one to the person next to me then noticed she had none left to give me. She said "oh" and walked away. When another steward came to collect our towels I said I never received one and he frowned, looked around, and walked away. I wasn't spoken to again. Halfway through the flight an alarm went off and a yellow light flashed the stewardesses asked each other "what does that mean". I pointed to the screen by the toilets where it said "smoke detected". They swore and ran off and came back later to announce "it was just someone's deodorant". Finally we were delayed for an hour when leaving Dubai and were not informed why or spoken to, we just watched the flight safety video and an hour later we suddenly took off.