Emirates

✅ Trip Verified | We booked a connecting flight from London to Dar es Salaam via Dubai. Due to bad weather in Europe our plane was late departing and we spent over two hours on the runway. Consequently we missed our connecting flight in Dubai. When we finally reached Dubai there was complete chaos. There were 200+ other people who also missed connections and it was not clear where to go. We followed the crowd to the desk area for help there were only 4 Emirates staff helping over 200 people get to their final destinations. We were trying to get to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania to meet a further connecting flight to start a 5 night safari. After after about a 45 minute wait we eventually got to speak to someone who said we could get an 8 hour flight to Johannesburg then a further flight to back to Dar Es Salaam. This would mean we would have got to Dar Es Salaam too late to catch our final connection and would have missed two days of our safari. Out of a 5 night safari this is a significant portion. When I complained I was told to stop wasting his time. Other people were also being badly treated. One other passenger found a replacement flight online and asked to be transferred but was told you've got your ticket don't speak to me anymore. Bearing in mind Emirates knew early on that the plane would be delayed they had over 8 hours to sort this out what they came up with was completely inadequate. It seemed everyone was being sent to Johannesburg. As the flight to Johannesburg was 4am the next morning we were sent to a hotel to wait. When we got to the hotel there were hundreds of other people waiting to check in as well. We queued in reception for over 3 hours to get our room but I'm not sure why we bothered as we had no luggage as this was still at the airport. Thankfully our tour operator Audley Travel managed to book us onto a flight to Zanzibar and then onto Dar Es Salaam in time to meet our final connection and only miss 1 day of our holiday and not 2. The flight to Zanzibar was with FlyDubai which is owned by the same people as Emirates. Why couldn't we have been offered this option by Emirates? You would hope this was the end of our bad experience with Emirates but no. When we went to come home we turned up at the airport in Dar Es Salaam over 3 hours before our flight was due to leave but were told by the check in staff that they could not print our boarding passes. The reason for this is because our tickets were out of sequence. It seems you have have to go wherever Emirates wish to send you in this case Johannesburg regardless of wether you wish to go there or not. We spent a further three hours at the airport in Dar Es Salaam not knowing if we would be able to go home. They said it was a security issue but they could clearly see our passports, they could see when we arrived in Tanzania as our visa was stamped with the date of arrival and they would have known our luggage had been transferred to a different flight. Only thanks to the persistence of the check in manager at Dar Es Salaam who spent over 2 hours on the phone and the immigration officials who sped us through security did we make the flight back home with only 2 minutes to spare. All in all I would definitely not recommend Emirates as an airline. It seems they can only run an airline if things run smoothly but are completely out of there depth if they hit a problem. The mark if a good company is how they deal with things when problems arise and in my view they completely failed

✅ Trip Verified | Durban to Athens via Dubai. Emirates standards have dropped considerably. They don’t even have the food which they are offering on the menu, the menu offers a choice but when you choose the fish they say they don’t have. On this particular flight they even admitted they had hardly any of the fish option. On the next flight my wife was lucky enough to score the last chicken meal and I was forced to accept the beef. Also, the food was generally bland and I would hazard a guess they have changed caterers. They have also cut a few corners in the meal, for example the little chocolate has disappeared. They also didn’t offer the usual overnight packs (tooth brush, eye thingy etc)...when I enquired about this I was told they only offer these on flights exceeding 9 hours and the first leg of our flight was about 8 hours. This must be a new policy, as we have always received these packs. I have for many years regarded Emirates as the worlds best airline, but after experiencing these cost cutting measures, I will gladly forfeit my skywards miles and go back to Qatar or Etihad.

✅ Trip Verified | Sydney to London via Dubai. Excellent lounge in Sydney with great choice of good breakfast food. Private window seat which forms a comfortable bed with mattress topper and big pillow. Crew pretty friendly and very attentive. Food excellent and lots of it. The bar at the back is good for stretching your legs and yet more food. Similar from Dubai to London, though crew less friendly.

✅ Trip Verified | Newcastle to Bangkok via Dubai. I had a very favourable experience flying with Emirates. The cabin crew were hardworking and friendly, planes clean and modern, entertainment was top notch, food high quality and you aren't made to feel guilty for pressing the call button to ask for more drinks. The only negatives were the fact they ran out of the beef option on the Newcastle to Dubai leg and then the fact we departed Dubai almost an hour late, although this was due to passengers not showing up and needing their baggage offloaded. I would recommend Emirates.

✅ Trip Verified | Los Angeles to Mumbai via Dubai. Food service on flight from Los Angeles to Dubai and return was one meal in second hour of flight and one pizza slice 2 hours before landing. This is what we were served on a 16 hour flight - they served soft drinks/juice and wine and alcohol 45 minutes after the first meal was served. Alcohol/wine is generally served 30 minutes prior to food service. The Dubai terminal was resembling a fish market. There were approx 120 seats near the gate. They are using A380-800 which is 475 to 500 passengers on a flight. The number of seats were totally inadequate. The staff serves food and drinks - but when you ask for something they dont have like Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi they say 'sir I have apple juice/orange juice' - They want passenger to believe they do not have Diet coke/diet pepsi. They are not willing to walk a bit and get the diet coke from the pantry for the passenger. Movies/TV shows were in large quantity but lacked quality. The staff do not clean the toilets on a 16 hour flight. This is not a premium airline - this resembles a budget airline.

✅ Trip Verified | Paris to Dubai return. Cabin crew wasn't really attentive on both flights. I'm used to fly with companies such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines or Korean Air which provide an excellent service on board and I had similar expectations with Emirates - but I've been pretty disappointed. Regarding flight EK075 DXB-CDG, one of the boarding crew had a really aggressive behavior.

✅ Trip Verified | Barcelona to Melbourne via Dubai. At the recommendation of the cruise company we booked with, who said they receive a very good deal with Emirates we had them book our flights. Prior to leaving we phoned Emirates to arrange seat allocations, after this was done we were informed that we were to be charged an extra $200AUD for this booking. After complaining to the cruise company they did pay this cost. This is the first time we have ever had to pay for booking seat allocations on any airline we have travelled on overseas. As my wife has a medical condition that prevents her from eating anything spicy we checked out the food options with Emirates and their representative was very understanding and recommended that the best option was a Western Vegan Meal, this was confirmed in a email from them. On the flight to Dubai/ Rome WHAT happens, my wife's meal arrives and if not the sauces then whether the fish,chicken,beef or pork all come out with curry in it. Regardless of complaints no other option available, no spare standard meal either. However, on the Dubai to Rome section when the same meal problem arose the cabin crew supervisor asked us for our flight details and said she would arrange to cancel this "vegan" meal option and it would mean my wife would have the choice of the regular meals on our return flights home from Barcelona. Somewhere in cyberspace this arrangement still lingers, for on our flight from Barcelona history repeated itself. Once again, No spare meals available so as before my wife had a whatever I could give her off mine, likewise the same issue came up on the flight from Dubai to Melbourne. Just to add insult to injury, as we were seated near the galley we saw meal trays dropped on the floor and the noise coming from there was loud to say the least, also we feel the toilets could have been more regularly checked as the basins needed cleaning and toilet rolls replaced as well as refuse bins emptied. Seated next to me was a young man with a liking for gin and tonics, He was seen ordering "doubles " e.g. two bottles at a time and also helping himself to the bar which was parked behind our seats. Added to this he decided it was more comfortable to squat on the seat with his posterior almost on the headrest of the seat. Of course what happened next was predictable, a full drink spilled all over me, so with using our blankets to clean up this mess and dry me off we needed two clean blankets. Request for same met with the reply that no spare blankets available, which meant we spent the rest of the flight cold no thanks to the air-con. However, just before arrival a flight attendant was seen collecting unused blankets and passed us with a large bag three quarters full of unused blankets, two of which I am sure could have been found with a little effort so we didn't go cold. Needless to say we will never fly Emirates again nor recommend them to anyone.

✅ Trip Verified | Booked ticket to try out Emirates on a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong to try them out. As a solo traveler I tried to check in online to secure a seat next to a window or a aisle. The online check in did not work, I showed up at the airport to check in 3 hrs before departure. No other seat than in the middle available. Disappointed, but it’s my first time and last to allow Emirates to disappoint me. Non-returning customer.

✅ Trip Verified | Dubai to Paris. The service in economy class has gone down. There could be not enough staff but they seem to be in a rush to go at the back and chat together. they don't seem dedicated to their work. Breakfast served 3 hours before arrival, which for a night flight, means no sleep. Could be again a question of understaffed if not training in customer service.

Not Verified | Dubai to New York JFK. My mother, family, and friends decided to pick Emirates as our choice of airline having hearing great reviews. We were all beyond disappointed at the service we received both going to Dubai and coming back to JFK, New York. When coming onboard we found our seats filled with about 10-15 blankets and 6 headseats and 5 pillows. This was the first image we encountered of Emirates. The flight attendant gave us the excuse that other people probably put them there, but never apologized (Aranza). We understand that we did not pay for “first class”, but that does not mean we should be treated any less. How does an airline not pack enough food for a 12 hour and 45 minute flight? Please help me understand. It has taken years for a company to build its reputation, but seconds to destroy it! We were highly disappointed and I will be sure to never fly with Emirates ever again and will never recommend your airline! They do not project themselves to what they make it seem.