Emirates

Emirates are getting worse. My latest flight started in Beirut. Check-in was horrible, four different lines of people, no one knew which line is what. Business/First class and economy ticket holders were lining up in the same lines. The check-in staff was shouting instructions and people in the back could not hear a word. The flight took off almost 45 minutes late, the crew was professional and very pleasant, but that is the only thing positive to say about the whole trip. We landed in Dubai far away from the terminal. Emirates is running out of terminals and gates, so they land their planes some where in the massive DXB airport and then herd you in a bus. We actually got stuck inside the plane for another 20 minutes before disembarking to a bus. The bus trip to the terminal took another 25 minutes with frequent stops all over the airport. By the time the bus reached the terminal, everyone was cursing the airline. Come on Emirates, you were much better than this. What is happening?

The A380 was on my route on both sections between Perth and London via Dubai. Great customer service, IFE is great and comfort onboard isn't lacking. I suggest selecting seats towards the rear main deck of the A380 if you are travelling economy. Dubai is a breeze of a connection. WiFi on board for free (limited amount, enough for some WhatsApp coversations) and the meals are great.

I really want to like Emirates, the whole concept of their strategy is excellent but the execution is another story. The product on 2 flights with 2 very different stories. Check in at HKG was simple, fast and friendly. The A380 was a nice plane with kind and helpful staff. Comfortable plane with decent food out of Hong Kong and kind crew. Only gripe is that I had to wait 30 mins from being served my dinner to then waiting for the drinks trolley on our side - the result left me wanting to eat with wine but in the end had a cold meal with wine, but the wine selection in Economy is pretty good. Flight on a Boeing 777-300 from Dubai to Gatwick was not so nice, weird food as the flight was early morning, and a crew like they could not be bothered excepting one Korean staff. Asking for an eyeshade as the flight departed at 02:30 from 2 crew members got me okay I will get one, to we don’t carry them but I will look - in the end no come came to help or answer and I had no eyeshade. The Boeing 777 was not comfortable, not as bad as I was expecting but a far cry from Korean Air 777-300 I flew a few weeks earlier. The mileage points, after London to Seoul and Hong Kong to London, all I earned was 4400 air points! And the endless annoying pointless announcements in at least 2 languages but more if you are flying to a country with a differing language. I also found it quite arrogant how when you watch the flight map you must listen to the ramblings from the CEO on how amazing they are and the merits of the Emirates Ideals. Connecting in Dubai can add a lot of time to your trip, in this case about 5 hours compared with direct. I will try to go with Qatar Airways or Korean Air as a first choice, but not that Emirates will care as their flights are always full.

I changed my Emirates flight to a late flight departing Athens at 22.20 and arriving into Dubai at 03.50, because there was First Class offered on this extra service and according to my reservation the aircraft was a Boeing 777LR with closed suites. The morning of my departure I was disappointed to find that the aircraft had been changed to an A330 with only sleeper seats. I have never traveled on an Emirates A330, so I had no idea what the seats would be like. On boarding the aircraft I was horrified to find that the seats were not even angle lie flat seats, in fact the seats could hardly recline more than a business class seat on a domestic route. Whilst I understand that airlines can and do change aircraft types on a route, how Emirates could change from private suites to a seat with limited recline and very small leg rest on an overnight services is beyond what I expect when paying a First Class fare. On top of that whilst there was many empty gates on arrival at DXB we were places on a stand far away from the terminal. Again another sign that Emirates have no consideration for the comfort of their passengers.

Amsterdam-Dubai-Bangkok with Emirates. A380 airplanes are impressive, although the services at both the airport and onboard flights leave room for improvement. The staff did not really provide personal attention. The IFE system was the best I have seen in an airplane, and the Wi-Fi service, only 1USD for 500mb, was usable most of the time (for services as Whatsapp, not for general browsing or videostreaming). The food was average to good, but on all flights the crew already ran out of one menu before reaching us.

I was upgraded from business to first on both my Emirates flights SYD-DXB and DXB-AMS. Excellent private suite, great seat, superb wines, and very professional and friendly crew. IFE selection huge. Business and First passengers enjoy excellent service on the ground also, in Sydney and Dubai.

Copenhagen to Melbourne via Dubai. CPH-DXB was operated by one of Emirates oldest B777-300ER. Friendly checkin at CPH but flight delayed by 2hrs. Got a call in the morning from skyward desk informing of delay. Shared Lounge at CPH not bad but crowded. Cabin crew good but not excellent. After arriving into DXB 2 hrs late, was taken to remote stand which was at far end of airport. Thereafter a much dreaded 20-30 minute bus journey to terminal. This felt like we were driving back to CPH. Baggage was already there before us. Dubai to Melbourne left on time, which is rare with heavy traffic out of DXB during morning rush time. Service onboard again not bad. Newer A380 aircraft with better IFE, but food was terrible. Early arrival into MEL and was out in 20 minutes of landing.

Emirates flight Manchester to Bangkok via Dubai, and seats have ample leg room, I suggest you choose your seat wisely. We got a two at the rear, which meant no stranger next to us. The flights were almost full. The service attentive and fast enough considering it was nearly full. Free drinks throughout the flights. Food was lovely, I am a big fan of Middle Eastern food and it is suitable for most Western palates. The in-flight entertainment system is miles better than British Airways, who I flew last time. The channel Relax TV was a nice new addition which I don't think they had last time. The screens aren't great in daylight (they never are), but they are fine at night. The headphones and other bits you get are also a step up from other airlines.

Melbourne to Moscow Domodedovo via Dubai. Checkin in MEL handled by Dnata, staff aloof and unfriendly with attitude. Lounge good and good selection of food. First Flight on an older A380 showing signs of ageing. Eventhough Emirates boast that they have a multinational and multilingual cabin crew, most are more keen on how they look than be of service. IFE is excellent as always. Food is another story and is pretty bad now. A far cry from what is said in menu. The second leg the Purser was rude and made impression he would rather be somewhere else. All this said, Emirates is not bad and does fly out to many places and with seamless connections via DXB.

I enjoyed Emirates inflight entertainment system. Flight attendants were polite and nice, food was excellent and tasty and seats were very comfortable. However I found that many lavatories had waste or even used papers and garbage on the floors and the flight attendants failed to clean it.