Emirates

LGW-DXB-BKK-DXB-LHR. LGW-DXB B777. I had forgotten how bad the Emirates 777 were the decision to have 4 across the middle makes the aircraft feel cramped and the one I used felt in need of a refit. The good selection of movies and TV can be let down with many faults only the left side audio worked in my seat after trying 3 different head sets I gave up and the seat next to me had to be rebooted several times before it would work. All other legs on A380 had the feeling of space and room and after the 777 was excellent but still several cabin issues either with the IFE or the seat not being able to recline fixed by a male member of the cabin crew putting all his weight on it and forcing it back. I sat it up for the meal and it would not go back again so the rest of the flight was spent upright. Meals came at odd times and the drinks came much later than the meals. As for the cabin staff they are a very mixed group so you are never sure of the level of service you will get I went on one flight to ask for a toothbrush and it was met with a look of what do you expect in economy class then the curtain was pulled shut and I was left wondering if there was one or not a minute or so later a hand comes out of the side of the curtain holding 2 toothbrushes.

Manchester (MAN) to Dubai A380 and then on to Christchurch (via BKK and SYD) on B777. Return from Auckland to Dubai (via BNE) and Dubai to Manchester all on A380. My first time with Emirates (lots of KLM/AF in last 5 years) and overall a good experience. A380 seats slightly wider so feel more roomy but what gave most space is that with exception of one leg (BNE to DXB) seat next to me was empty. Food mostly OK (one meal was cold) but Emirates choice of meal and times seems odd. (So 10pm flight out of MAN serves eve meal but no breakfast before landing at 7am local time) next flight leaves 9am local time and then serves lunch almost immediately. On the longer legs I miss the 'help yourself buffet' cart that KLM/AF have in the galley. Cabin crew vary a lot huge range of nationalities means considerable variety in service. In A380 it takes a while to get served so your meal is eaten (or left to go cold) long before you get offered a drink. Inflight entertainment is excellent once you've got used to having adverts at the start! Overall was happy with Emirates but didn't love it. I suspect the reason they were cheapest flights is because they do everything to a tight budget and the economy experience reflects this.

Flight EK008 from London Heathrow to Dubai 16 April 2015 Business Class. The seat I was assigned 10D did not recline and was broken. The system was rebooted 3-4 times from the shoe holder from the rack alongside the seat from the control area of the aircraft and separately by another to physically try and push it down each one extending for up to 15 minutes and me forced out of the seat for the majority of this period and this went on for about 3.5 hours of the 7 hour flight. Until then I was not moved to any other seat with the rebooting I couldn't use the entertainment options for a couple of hours as well. After the Chief Purser heard about this she immediately took action and moved me to another seat. I was for approximately 2.5 hours of the flight moved to seat 4K on the flight thereafter. The electronic console handset which is connected to the seat did not power on and didn't work. There was water clogging in the shower in the bathroom on the right side of the aircraft. I had a vegetarian oriental meal requested and instead it was an Asian Vegetarian Meal that got loaded. Once again we are now in the 21st century and still Emirates Business Class does not have a single (out of four) main course meal options in the menu which are vegetarian. Often last minute travel options have to be ticketed and this means I will not have any assurance of a vegetarian meal option on Emirates. Seems odd and not befitting an airline such as Emirates which has fantastic infrastructure and options available to it as well as world renowned chefs. Overall as you can imagine this was disappointing for me as a Platinum member flying Emirates.

CDG-DXB-KIX NRT-DXB-CDG. A380 / B777-300ER. First time with Emirates with high expectations. In terms of aircraft's themselves not disappointed at all. Great seats (especially on the A380) with space enough to bear long flights and extremely wide selection of entertainment. What disappointed me was first of all the service. In all 4 legs almost all crew members were almost bothered to give service. No smiles at all. When you asked them something basic like a glass of water you almost felt you were bothering them. Another disappointment was food quality and quantity. Continental breakfast from DXB left me hungry for few hours. The rest of meals acceptable but not good as other European Airlines (AF or KLM for example). Overall really not in line with my expectations and not same overall level as other airlines as SQ or QF. Anyway prices keep being competitive so at the end fair value for money.

Flight EK207 Dubai-New York May 14th 2015. We boarded the plane with 400 people and no air conditioning on time with no delays. When we were moving towards the runway the plane stopped and after an hour the captain realized there was a technical issue. We were kept onside the plane for 2.5 hours with no food or water. The flight crew were most inconsiderate. It was a madhouse! People were frustrated and angry without any details on what was going on. They finally let us out from the plane into a tiny lounge (at least it had AC). Forget about food or water at this point. 1.5 hours later they boarded the same plane all over again and with total of 4 hours delay we finally took off. We were in Dubai home country to Emirates and the company couldn't expedite the problem with providing us with the new pane? It was my first and my last time with Emirates!

I just used Emirates for the trans-Tasman trip from Auckland to Melbourne so benefited from being in a big plane. It was the first time in many years that I actually enjoyed the trans-Tasman flight. Comfortable seat tasty food (real cutlery!) and polite service. Lots of movies and TV programmes to choose from and you had the option of viewing one of three plane cameras which made it interesting. The only downside was having to return the headphones 20 minutes before landing and I hadn't finished watching the movie. A tip to take your own headphones. I would highly recommend Emirates for Aus/NZ flights.

Flew from Manchester (UK) to Dubai on EK20 and then from Dubai to Christchurch (NZ) on EK419 (this flight stops at Bangkok and Sydney on the way. Returned from Auckland via Brisbane to Dubai on EK 435 and then to Manchester on EK17. EK419 is on a B777 with the remained on A380's. Cabin crew are variable but mostly good I suspect the multinational nature of crews contributes to this variability. The connection time in Dubai for the outward leg was 90 mins but there was someone at the gate who met me and other transfer passengers with shorter connections and escorted us to transfer buses. On most legs the food was reasonable (except for the hot meal from Auckland which was nearly cold by the time I got it) though the decisions about when and what to serve seem bizarre. For example the flight leaving at 7:30am served lunch 2 hours into flight and on the return I got two evening meals served 3 hours apart. Unlike KLM/AF who I've flown with lots in last 5 years there is not a self service buffet mid flight on the long haul legs. Entertainment system is excellent though it's unusual to have adverts on aircraft. Seats were OK a bit wider on A380. Overall it feels rather formulaic: fine when it all works but with no margin for error.

EK722 NBO-DXB business class Seat 9J. 777-200. NBO airport a total nightmare. Why EK even bothers inviting passengers to its lounge there when it is standing room only is beyond me. I couldn't get out of it fast enough. The terminal was painful particularly the gate area. Once on board not overly impressed with the seat. Crummy selection of newspapers. I was chatting with my seatmate but the privacy divider would not retract which made conversing awkward. We were in the air for well over an hour before I had anything to drink something that would never happen on QR SQ or CX. The lead FA for the business cabin came around asking people how their experience was so far and seemed to be aware of the horrors of NBO airport.

I travelled from Heathrow to Dubai and then onto Singapore. On my return it was from Tokyo to Dubai and then onto Heathrow. As far as I am concerned it has been the best airline that I have travelled with. Seating and leg room was more than enough (I'm 6 foot). The food was adequate but how many breakfasts and lunches can you eat? Mine was a total of 8. One consideration which I was very pleased with is the fact that I am asthmatic and every time without exception I have ended up with a cold or infection. Not this time on all of the above flights. This must mean that Emirates change the air filters more often than others.

I have not taken an international flight for many years but before then I travelled overseas all the time often with 2 small children (by myself). This trip I flew Sydney - Dubai - Dublin for Christmas 2014. Then returned Manchester - Dubai - Sydney in Jan 2015. I found on all flights that the cabin crew were fighting amongst themselves and were not interested in the passengers at all. I felt that it was an imposition to ask for anything. I went to the galley and asked for something to eat when most were sleeping and was told that food would be coming soon. It came 2 hours later. The cabin crew were sitting/drinking/eating and arguing. The meal thing surprised me as I had never been hungry on an international flight before. We were fed twice in 14 hours. Otherwise it was as you expect.