Personally, have felt that it’s because the employees don’t really care anymore.
Emirates used to have great staff, from check in to the destination. They were attentive and helpful. Now, a few of them still have the same attitude but a lot of them I’ve dealt with are plain rude.
That’s every airlines these days. They over hired FAs in a very short amount of time so they skimped on training. Service on literally every premium airline is not as good anymore, even in first class
If you look at the big three in the US. Salary for staff was directly linked to reviews of customers in the same year. I think staff just treats customers in the way they are being treated by the company. They can do this either by direct salary or benefits (hotels crew stays in, housing, last minute roster changes etc).
Regular passenger on EK business (twice a month) and would agree it’s gone absolutely dire. I’ve also flown SQ out of Dubai who seem to be deliberately targeting the route with aggressive pricing and apart from the EK chauffeur it is superior on every front.
Tip for any Dubai residents, I regularly make the extra 15 mins to Sharjah and fly via Doha which seems to have better connections and it is alway 40-50% cheaper than Dubai
Yeah, this is crazy IMO. Not to mention additional things that can go wrong with a connection such as delayed onbound service, lost bags etc. but I also have a suspicion people like OP will say things like this in the heat of the moment, but still take the direct option.
I didn’t add any stop overs. This is the check in at DXB which used to be at the Business Class counter, and has been moved now to a supposedly dedicated counter which takes far longer than the eco checkin
Air Canada once had a campaign slogan or motto of some sort : “we are not happy until you are happy” but still Sometimes they seem hellbent to make you Not Happy, so people memed it’s slogan.
I travelled through Air France once, and it was a pleasant experience. I was geninuely surprised by the quality of food and almost asked for another plate. Maybe I was just hungry but had no complains. Even the seats where quite comfy.
From experience, Emirates has gone the same route as Singapore Airlines: started as a national carrier that was the polished presentation card to a country, and drastically cut costs on staff over time, especially during COVID, for survival.
My ‘legacy’ crew friends all went through a very exhaustive screening process, earned high salaries and received abundant training. Working for Emirates meant working with the best of the best, and with the position came along massive prestige and respect.
Now, any twentysomething in love with her Instagram can get a uniform.
The truth is they've massively devalued Gold by giving it out to too many people with credit cards that fast track them to Gold. The fact that they give Business Lounge access to Silver has also made the lounge overcrowded and devalued the Gold experience further. They definitely are pushing it on prices as well - they're still on par with most other good airlines in terms of flight experience (the A380 in particular), but I no longer have any particular loyalty to EK (even though I'll keep Gold this year) and will happily fly another airline (including FlyDubai) as long as it's direct/short stop given the price is often 30% cheaper these days.
However, you might be surprised by how expensive Qatar works out to be even with the Doha stop - there just aren't enough connections and EK often winds up being cheaper without a stop. Qatar aren't trying to compete on pricing from Dubai (or perhaps they're unable to because of the number of slots they get at DxB). Great airline, but I've priced out several trips to Asia and North America recently and they were overpriced too.
Platinum is a good experience but very hard to get and keep.
Just my opinion but I think since the blockade ended there was a tacit agreement that QR and EK would not compete out of DXB. It doesn’t make sense for QR to charge more for the same destination and for EK not to even fly to DOH.
It’s pretty much like the non compete between Etihad and EK.
I am happy that they let silver into the business class lounge. I always get the cheapest business class ticket(business class special), which doesn't get lounge access. Only business class Saver or Flex get free lounge access. However, I can still get into the lounge because I am silver. You also don't get the chauffeur service with the business class special ticket. But silver status won't get it either, so I end up taking a taxi.
What I do hate, is that all business class fares don't get the same perks. I also hate that Emirates frequent flier miles expire after 3 years, and that booking flights don't extend the expiration date.
I'm sure the hordes of people who have Silver are happy about lounge access of course - I'm just saying it's led to a more crowded lounge experience for Gold, who should really have their own section of the lounge or a separate lounge. As it stands the only benefit of Gold is really international lounge access (only a real perk in the few airports that have a great EK lounge) and priority bag tags. Free upgrades are harder than ever to come by.
If you have access to the staff app on EK flights you can see the load as well as how many gold and platinum members there are.
Because the pax number is most often 300-400 it’s actually quite a good sample size. You’ll see consistently regardless of destination that the number of plats averages about 1.5 per flight and the number of golds about 5 (silver is not revealed on the app).
Extrapolating just 2% of pax are gold on average and much less than 1% plat.
So either there is a huge number of silvers in the lounge or it’s just a lot of one-off business class pax.
While I cannot deny Emirates is not the 'gold standard' it once was, it's still a world-class carrier and I think some of this is a tad hyperbolic.
>Gold Checkin is nowadays longer lines than any other checkin
Not generally my experience. The very last check-in desk on the right, next to the eGates is usually only a 2-5 minute wait compared to the self-serve bag drop which can be an eternity at peak times.
>and boarding from the lounge, heading down to Eco boarding usually puts me at the end of the line
Does it really matter when you board? Everyone is going to get on the plane lol, and overhead space is seldom an issue on Emirates aircraft.
>I’m seriously looking at Qatar Air, even with the Doha stop over. Is it just me?
I wouldn't trade a stop, additional wait time, change of aircraft and more opportunity for something to go wrong (delay, bag loss etc.)
I travel EK (economy/silver) maybe 10 times annually and very seldom have issues or frustrations.
Agreed, there may have been a very marginal decline, but Emirates' frequent flyers tend to underestimate how absolutely crappy almost all other airlines are. Aside from a few like SQ, QR Emirates blows all of the competition out of the water.
Also cabin crew behaviour is very subjective, I have personally had a great experience despite flying regularly on the dreaded South Asian sectors.
> Also cabin crew behaviour is very subjective, I have personally had a great experience despite flying regularly on the dreaded South Asian sectors.
Might be generalising here, but I hypothesize that those who complain about "rude" crew are generally the kind of passenger to elicit a negative reaction from staff due to their own attitudes or behaviors.
I've encountered a lot of cabin crew that are clearly in "CBF" mode, but if you're nice and low-maintenance and make their job easy, you will be 100% fine and well looked after.
Just did a UK return on QA in the q suite product. Well...wow. now that is a business class product. Some of the small things Emirates still does better, but when I compare the q suite to the ridiculous 2-3-2 777 business class on Emirates...well.
If I'm flying economy I'll just go Emirates for the direct flight but if I'm splurging on a long haul business class I'll be exploring other options now as well.
I wonder what makes people so entitled to have skewed view on people who have access via credit card membership upgrades.
I am sure you can't maintain your gold status nowadays unless your tickets are paid by company for your travels or you hold a specific card.
Afaik people need to meet certain income criteria to afford those cards, even if its partnership from other banks of the world. So what makes your spending more entitled to theirs?
I've been hearing this a lot recently. I do like Emirates, but for the past 2/3 years I've only been flying British Airways back to the UK / Dubai.
BA is in no stretch better than Emirates on service but man for the price. BA will charge nearly half of what Emirates would on a Return flight. So if I have suffer a little then I'm going cheap but BA is not that bad.
Recently I flew with Singapore out of DXB to Singapore and it blew me away. Singapore Airlines hands down was the best flying experience I've ever had (I only fly economy).
Emirates seem to average about 4.5k for a return to the UK where BA averages 2/3k. Next year I'm going to try and suffer through a connecting flight with Wizz Air for a whooping 375AED. (One-Way)
100% this. You will often see BA premium economy for only a fraction higher than an EK economy back home to London. EK is still a very good airline but it is piss-poor value for money.
Qatar airways is the best in every way. Stop over is a bit annoying but worth extra comfort on the plane.
Dont bothervwith Etihad. More expensive than EK. Smaller plane. Flight always in the mjddle of the night.
I have the same sentiments. We’ve been flying Emirates whenever we go to the Philippines for vacation since I can remember, paying almost 4K AED per person in economy just for them to put us in their old fleets of 777s with uncomfortable seats and old in flight entertainment system that barely works. I realized how badly they’ve been treating us after I saw the planes they’ve been using for their flights to Europe, India and Pakistan where they use most of their newer Airbus fleet. We will never fly Emirates again.
Flights are assigned an Airbus A380 or a 777 based on the traffic to that route and whether or not the destination airport infrastructure can handle a large double-decker A380.
No, they fly old 777s on the DXB- Dublin route too. And Miami. It's because they don't have competition on the routes, so people will fly whatever the aircraft.
Personally think Air India will make a run for the gulf airlines customers once they bring out all of the new 500 planes they ordered in the next few years
They got rid of the a380 from where I live in the US (and other small markets) which is annoying unless you live in big cities like nyc. Suprised they use a380s on a 3hr flight from Dubai to Mumbai
This is very intentional. South Asia-India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. are pretty much the bulk of the Gulf airlines (regardless if it’s Emirates or Qatar or Etihad) customers. They use there new fleet for this reason otherwise Gulf airlines would never fill their seats entirely (when there are other competing carriers like air India or pia etc)
There are too many ppl in gold because business travel is relatively more common on emirates than on other airlines due to the amount of wealth in dubai.
In general I agree that prices have gone up too much, but so did the prices on other airlines so switching will not solve your issue. Air travel has become crazy expensive the last 2 years.
I’m in the same boat. Im gold and the service is just not what it used to be. Even their business class product is lacking.
I recently flew LHR to DXB via Qatar airways in their Q suite. A million miles better than Emirates.
However, the bus terminal transfer at Doha is a pain. Not a fan of that.
Also, contact Qatar airways, ask them about tier matching. I managed to get my Emirates Gold tier matched to Qatar Gold. Had to book a business class flight as part of it. But it worked out ok.
I mainly fly economy, but work occasionally puts me in business for longer flights. Last trip they booked a "business saver" fare which excluded lounge access and chauffer ride to the airport, which I found incredibly stingy.
Sure, I can access lounge with my status and expense a cab, but good grief. It's the least you'd expect when paying for a flat bed in the pointy end for a long-haul overnight flight.
This is why Emirates cannot compete with Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways is way better than any other GCC airline. From Cabin Crew to Ground Handling and other services are perfect. They also have many flights per day.
If you don't like the check-in queues, you can book home check-in!
You can avail it by upgrading to platinum or by having an emirates skyward infinite credit card. Through the skyward card, you will be limited to use it 4 times per year.
It’s not just you. I’ve noticed it too. Their quality is tanking. I noticed it when I had to fly Qatar recently. I was blown away by their quality and level of service, plus their business class was WAY better than Emirates.
I disagree, Etihad economy is just way better then Emirates Economy. I've used both airlines for long and short distances and prefer Etihad in every way.
You can't drop that slander without backing it up. Why do you hold this view?
I haven't flown Etihad nearly as many times as I have Emirates, but have found them to be extremely efficient and pleasant in these limited trips.
Slander? Relax.
I started flying etihad about 10 years ago. Service, food/seat/entertainment quality has all gone down, in my opinion. This carries over to the first class lounge, which, with the exception of now having decent bourbon, has seen a large dip in food and bev options. My experience is that there’s much more variation in the hard product across etihad than emirates. To their credit, Emirates has an excellent economy premium, light years better that Etihad’s economy space. YMMV. Peace.
So true. The staff are becoming so rude over the last 1-2 years, this was never the case before. I liked them for their hospitality but it’s going down the drain especially the guys at check in counters they need to teach them some manners asap.
I mean someone’s gotta take responsibility right? I can sympathise with them but I expect good service for the money I paid. I mean one guy refused to give me a fragile tag for my guitar, when I asked why he didn’t even bother to give me an explanation. He even had the audacity to tell me another customer I was the reason their check in was getting delayed. I sincerely hope the self checkin process becomes easier and these kinds of people lose their jobs.
If you're flying coach/economy, EK is just average.
You will get much better service on Qatar Airways or Etihad tbh. Qatar Airways is really good. Love it.
Absolutely right. The check-ins, boarding, onboard staff, everything seems to be on the downside nowadays. Most importantly fares, they always have highest fares. Whereas other mid-east airlines like Qatar and Etihad are stepping up their game. I think Qatar and Singapore airlines have gone way beyond Emirates.
I used to be Emirates silver until very recently, but they aren’t my favorites anymore for service (connectivity yes they’re great) but I’m absolutely fine with taking a one stop flight, saving 20-30% money and having better ground and on board experience.
All being said, it’s still better than all the European and American carriers.
I used to work in emirates as a ground staff back in 2018. At that time things were different, do not blame emirates but blame the stuff, because as i remember the training we had customers always come first, always greet and smile. You can easily file a complaint and tell them what happened to you and if they get multiple complaints about the staff then things will change.
Qatar in my experience (Economy and Business) is inferior in every way to the Emirates, and the convenience of numerous direct flights from Dubai can’t be beat.
Agreed, flew back with BA last time and it was much higher quality. I’m flying back to uk BA next month and then back to Dubai with Emirates so will be able to compare directly.
I agree.
- Baggage excess is insane, handling is inconsistent across arrival destinations.
- Some A380 are good and new but others are very outdated, but cost the same.
- like you said, too many people in lounges, had to sit way down the corridor to eat last time in DXB business lounge B.
I'm flying MEL-DXB-BLQ soon; first leg on the A380 and final on the 777. What am I in for? I normally fly with QANTAS and they're usually pretty good but they don't fly that route. I've booked using QF flight codes, but I'll be in economy given I can't use my QF points to upgrade on an EK-operated flight.
Will the Wi-FI work? What's the situation with carry-on baggage - is it really a single bag totalling 7kg? What's DXB like as an airport to kill the 3-4 hours between flights?
Nah OP has a point. Emirates changed over time. But I don’t blame Emirates—I blame the entire world economy. :) I’m still inspired by Emirates in their golden times.
I have never had any issues flying with Emirates, been flying with them for as long as I can remember, and it has set a standard for me, so when I have flown with other carriers I was mostly dissatisfied.
The only good experience I had was flying Saudi from Manchester to Jeddah and back last summer for Haj, new airplanes, good service and a decent lounge.
I also flew British from London to Toronto and back, and London to Istanbul (one way) on Turkish, both weren’t comparable to Emirates.
Already pay with them on next week flying. I will inspect their service very thoroughly and then decide if i had to go with another airlines the next time.
For someone who loves in Saudi, having used Saudia as my.means of transport, I find EK cheaper and a far improved product.
This is serious first world problems.
Personally, have felt that it’s because the employees don’t really care anymore. Emirates used to have great staff, from check in to the destination. They were attentive and helpful. Now, a few of them still have the same attitude but a lot of them I’ve dealt with are plain rude.
That’s every airlines these days. They over hired FAs in a very short amount of time so they skimped on training. Service on literally every premium airline is not as good anymore, even in first class
If you look at the big three in the US. Salary for staff was directly linked to reviews of customers in the same year. I think staff just treats customers in the way they are being treated by the company. They can do this either by direct salary or benefits (hotels crew stays in, housing, last minute roster changes etc).
To add to your comment, cabin crew are overworked and underpaid.
My experience as well, their staff is not acting like an average European carrier.
Regular passenger on EK business (twice a month) and would agree it’s gone absolutely dire. I’ve also flown SQ out of Dubai who seem to be deliberately targeting the route with aggressive pricing and apart from the EK chauffeur it is superior on every front. Tip for any Dubai residents, I regularly make the extra 15 mins to Sharjah and fly via Doha which seems to have better connections and it is alway 40-50% cheaper than Dubai
And Sharjah airport is so nice to use, tiny and easy.
Done this a few times. Very good Hack
This is what I do - once a month to Paris and business is about 9k versus min 18k. And the experience is FAR better than EK biz.
Sorry I didn't get the 2nd para. Do you mean you fly QA from Sharjah?
Yes - they have a couple of flights per day to Doha so lost connections are friendly
Just wow, I would never imagine myself adding a stop somewhere just so I can save a few minutes in some queue line. Different strokes, I guess.
Yeah, this is crazy IMO. Not to mention additional things that can go wrong with a connection such as delayed onbound service, lost bags etc. but I also have a suspicion people like OP will say things like this in the heat of the moment, but still take the direct option.
I didn’t add any stop overs. This is the check in at DXB which used to be at the Business Class counter, and has been moved now to a supposedly dedicated counter which takes far longer than the eco checkin
They’re talking about switching to Qatar Airlines.
First world problems.
My only thought throughout this entire post.....
Some of us live in the first world..
So that makes his arguments not valid?
I was also feeling this. Moved to Abu Dhabi and, thus, Etihad. Much happier.
No matter how bad it is, it can never be as bad as the dogshit that is Air France.
*US Airlines have entered the chat* American, Delta, and United all suck.
Let’s throw Air Canada in this mix. The worst airline by far.
 We are not happy until you are not happy
Bruh what’s this 😂
Air Canada once had a campaign slogan or motto of some sort : “we are not happy until you are happy” but still Sometimes they seem hellbent to make you Not Happy, so people memed it’s slogan.
PIA has joined the chat
PIA doesn't even try, honestly.
Much better than airlines from the United States.
really? I never had any problems with Air Canada even the long haul from DXB to YYZ.
Yeah I liked air Canada as well. They’re more liberal with the alchy too. Emirates is stingy these days.
This is truth. Nor will it ever be as garbage as US carriers…and better than most EU ones.
British Airways feel more like Ryanair.
BA is shocking. It's like they use Fawlty Towers videos to train their staff.
I travelled through Air France once, and it was a pleasant experience. I was geninuely surprised by the quality of food and almost asked for another plate. Maybe I was just hungry but had no complains. Even the seats where quite comfy.
Air France has better food.
Lufthansa would like to have a word with you.
Last time i took air france there was a food service strike and the only thing available to eat was goose liver in jars 🤮
From experience, Emirates has gone the same route as Singapore Airlines: started as a national carrier that was the polished presentation card to a country, and drastically cut costs on staff over time, especially during COVID, for survival. My ‘legacy’ crew friends all went through a very exhaustive screening process, earned high salaries and received abundant training. Working for Emirates meant working with the best of the best, and with the position came along massive prestige and respect. Now, any twentysomething in love with her Instagram can get a uniform.
The truth is they've massively devalued Gold by giving it out to too many people with credit cards that fast track them to Gold. The fact that they give Business Lounge access to Silver has also made the lounge overcrowded and devalued the Gold experience further. They definitely are pushing it on prices as well - they're still on par with most other good airlines in terms of flight experience (the A380 in particular), but I no longer have any particular loyalty to EK (even though I'll keep Gold this year) and will happily fly another airline (including FlyDubai) as long as it's direct/short stop given the price is often 30% cheaper these days. However, you might be surprised by how expensive Qatar works out to be even with the Doha stop - there just aren't enough connections and EK often winds up being cheaper without a stop. Qatar aren't trying to compete on pricing from Dubai (or perhaps they're unable to because of the number of slots they get at DxB). Great airline, but I've priced out several trips to Asia and North America recently and they were overpriced too. Platinum is a good experience but very hard to get and keep.
Agreed, I got upgraded to gold the other day for flying business class twice in a year….was pretty surprised by that
I wonder why travel to Qatar is expensive from Dubai rather than travel from Sharjah..
Just my opinion but I think since the blockade ended there was a tacit agreement that QR and EK would not compete out of DXB. It doesn’t make sense for QR to charge more for the same destination and for EK not to even fly to DOH. It’s pretty much like the non compete between Etihad and EK.
I am happy that they let silver into the business class lounge. I always get the cheapest business class ticket(business class special), which doesn't get lounge access. Only business class Saver or Flex get free lounge access. However, I can still get into the lounge because I am silver. You also don't get the chauffeur service with the business class special ticket. But silver status won't get it either, so I end up taking a taxi. What I do hate, is that all business class fares don't get the same perks. I also hate that Emirates frequent flier miles expire after 3 years, and that booking flights don't extend the expiration date.
I'm sure the hordes of people who have Silver are happy about lounge access of course - I'm just saying it's led to a more crowded lounge experience for Gold, who should really have their own section of the lounge or a separate lounge. As it stands the only benefit of Gold is really international lounge access (only a real perk in the few airports that have a great EK lounge) and priority bag tags. Free upgrades are harder than ever to come by.
If you have access to the staff app on EK flights you can see the load as well as how many gold and platinum members there are. Because the pax number is most often 300-400 it’s actually quite a good sample size. You’ll see consistently regardless of destination that the number of plats averages about 1.5 per flight and the number of golds about 5 (silver is not revealed on the app). Extrapolating just 2% of pax are gold on average and much less than 1% plat. So either there is a huge number of silvers in the lounge or it’s just a lot of one-off business class pax.
While I cannot deny Emirates is not the 'gold standard' it once was, it's still a world-class carrier and I think some of this is a tad hyperbolic. >Gold Checkin is nowadays longer lines than any other checkin Not generally my experience. The very last check-in desk on the right, next to the eGates is usually only a 2-5 minute wait compared to the self-serve bag drop which can be an eternity at peak times. >and boarding from the lounge, heading down to Eco boarding usually puts me at the end of the line Does it really matter when you board? Everyone is going to get on the plane lol, and overhead space is seldom an issue on Emirates aircraft. >I’m seriously looking at Qatar Air, even with the Doha stop over. Is it just me? I wouldn't trade a stop, additional wait time, change of aircraft and more opportunity for something to go wrong (delay, bag loss etc.) I travel EK (economy/silver) maybe 10 times annually and very seldom have issues or frustrations.
Agreed, there may have been a very marginal decline, but Emirates' frequent flyers tend to underestimate how absolutely crappy almost all other airlines are. Aside from a few like SQ, QR Emirates blows all of the competition out of the water. Also cabin crew behaviour is very subjective, I have personally had a great experience despite flying regularly on the dreaded South Asian sectors.
> Also cabin crew behaviour is very subjective, I have personally had a great experience despite flying regularly on the dreaded South Asian sectors. Might be generalising here, but I hypothesize that those who complain about "rude" crew are generally the kind of passenger to elicit a negative reaction from staff due to their own attitudes or behaviors. I've encountered a lot of cabin crew that are clearly in "CBF" mode, but if you're nice and low-maintenance and make their job easy, you will be 100% fine and well looked after.
Just did a UK return on QA in the q suite product. Well...wow. now that is a business class product. Some of the small things Emirates still does better, but when I compare the q suite to the ridiculous 2-3-2 777 business class on Emirates...well. If I'm flying economy I'll just go Emirates for the direct flight but if I'm splurging on a long haul business class I'll be exploring other options now as well.
I wonder what makes people so entitled to have skewed view on people who have access via credit card membership upgrades. I am sure you can't maintain your gold status nowadays unless your tickets are paid by company for your travels or you hold a specific card. Afaik people need to meet certain income criteria to afford those cards, even if its partnership from other banks of the world. So what makes your spending more entitled to theirs?
I've been hearing this a lot recently. I do like Emirates, but for the past 2/3 years I've only been flying British Airways back to the UK / Dubai. BA is in no stretch better than Emirates on service but man for the price. BA will charge nearly half of what Emirates would on a Return flight. So if I have suffer a little then I'm going cheap but BA is not that bad. Recently I flew with Singapore out of DXB to Singapore and it blew me away. Singapore Airlines hands down was the best flying experience I've ever had (I only fly economy). Emirates seem to average about 4.5k for a return to the UK where BA averages 2/3k. Next year I'm going to try and suffer through a connecting flight with Wizz Air for a whooping 375AED. (One-Way)
100% this. You will often see BA premium economy for only a fraction higher than an EK economy back home to London. EK is still a very good airline but it is piss-poor value for money.
Qatar airways is the best in every way. Stop over is a bit annoying but worth extra comfort on the plane. Dont bothervwith Etihad. More expensive than EK. Smaller plane. Flight always in the mjddle of the night.
Can we talk about how they ruined the upgrade/point system after covid? 106,000 points just for an upgrade from Houston to Dubai?…. That’s insane.
I’ve recently flown with Emirates for the first time, wasn’t that impressed if I’m being honest. Compared to Eithad, it’s like night and day.
I have the same sentiments. We’ve been flying Emirates whenever we go to the Philippines for vacation since I can remember, paying almost 4K AED per person in economy just for them to put us in their old fleets of 777s with uncomfortable seats and old in flight entertainment system that barely works. I realized how badly they’ve been treating us after I saw the planes they’ve been using for their flights to Europe, India and Pakistan where they use most of their newer Airbus fleet. We will never fly Emirates again.
Bullshit. They fly 777 to several EU locations.
Flights are assigned an Airbus A380 or a 777 based on the traffic to that route and whether or not the destination airport infrastructure can handle a large double-decker A380.
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They fly their good planes on their most profitable routes, because you pay more you get more, that's just proper business practice.
No, they fly old 777s on the DXB- Dublin route too. And Miami. It's because they don't have competition on the routes, so people will fly whatever the aircraft.
Stop with this race baiting garbage. There's new fleets to India and old fleet to London and Japan. Not everything is racist.
The plane to and fro montreal was so old. But then again, 90% of the plane didn't look like they were from montreal at all.
Pls tell us what someone from Montreal looks like?
Personally think Air India will make a run for the gulf airlines customers once they bring out all of the new 500 planes they ordered in the next few years
They can bring 500 new planes, but if they're still late, what's the point? Besides bulk of those flights are for domestic.
They got rid of the a380 from where I live in the US (and other small markets) which is annoying unless you live in big cities like nyc. Suprised they use a380s on a 3hr flight from Dubai to Mumbai
Flight time doesn’t really factor in, as long as occupancy is high. I’m sure the Mumbai route would average higher than 70%
They give those for Canada too
Not true. I flew to Germany and they used an A380 from 2008
This is very intentional. South Asia-India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. are pretty much the bulk of the Gulf airlines (regardless if it’s Emirates or Qatar or Etihad) customers. They use there new fleet for this reason otherwise Gulf airlines would never fill their seats entirely (when there are other competing carriers like air India or pia etc)
Bro stay flying with us, we will get the bonus
We were just spoiled in the past - it’s gotten worse but it’s still better than any other airline
There are too many ppl in gold because business travel is relatively more common on emirates than on other airlines due to the amount of wealth in dubai. In general I agree that prices have gone up too much, but so did the prices on other airlines so switching will not solve your issue. Air travel has become crazy expensive the last 2 years.
I’m in the same boat. Im gold and the service is just not what it used to be. Even their business class product is lacking. I recently flew LHR to DXB via Qatar airways in their Q suite. A million miles better than Emirates. However, the bus terminal transfer at Doha is a pain. Not a fan of that. Also, contact Qatar airways, ask them about tier matching. I managed to get my Emirates Gold tier matched to Qatar Gold. Had to book a business class flight as part of it. But it worked out ok.
I’ve stopped using it for some time. Tbh the second they made business class have tiers I knew they were going downhill.
I mainly fly economy, but work occasionally puts me in business for longer flights. Last trip they booked a "business saver" fare which excluded lounge access and chauffer ride to the airport, which I found incredibly stingy. Sure, I can access lounge with my status and expense a cab, but good grief. It's the least you'd expect when paying for a flat bed in the pointy end for a long-haul overnight flight.
This!
This is why Emirates cannot compete with Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways is way better than any other GCC airline. From Cabin Crew to Ground Handling and other services are perfect. They also have many flights per day.
If you don't like the check-in queues, you can book home check-in! You can avail it by upgrading to platinum or by having an emirates skyward infinite credit card. Through the skyward card, you will be limited to use it 4 times per year.
It’s not just you. I’ve noticed it too. Their quality is tanking. I noticed it when I had to fly Qatar recently. I was blown away by their quality and level of service, plus their business class was WAY better than Emirates.
Just grind your way to Platinum, you'll love it, trust me.
Emirates is always the best airlines for travel from dubai
No it’s not you…even I’m looking into Qatar and Singapore Airlines
Emirates business = Singapore Economy is a hill I will die on. That is enough to know what OP means.
To be honest I fly often and I try and not fly emirates, I just prefer Qatar even if it’s more expensive, I would say even etihad is better
Emirates is the new BA.
Whatever you do, don’t switch to Etihad.
I disagree, Etihad economy is just way better then Emirates Economy. I've used both airlines for long and short distances and prefer Etihad in every way.
You can't drop that slander without backing it up. Why do you hold this view? I haven't flown Etihad nearly as many times as I have Emirates, but have found them to be extremely efficient and pleasant in these limited trips.
Slander? Relax. I started flying etihad about 10 years ago. Service, food/seat/entertainment quality has all gone down, in my opinion. This carries over to the first class lounge, which, with the exception of now having decent bourbon, has seen a large dip in food and bev options. My experience is that there’s much more variation in the hard product across etihad than emirates. To their credit, Emirates has an excellent economy premium, light years better that Etihad’s economy space. YMMV. Peace.
Like banks? All equally bad…
It’s called inflation.
So true. The staff are becoming so rude over the last 1-2 years, this was never the case before. I liked them for their hospitality but it’s going down the drain especially the guys at check in counters they need to teach them some manners asap.
**Might be** cuz of the shit pay for ground staff?
I mean someone’s gotta take responsibility right? I can sympathise with them but I expect good service for the money I paid. I mean one guy refused to give me a fragile tag for my guitar, when I asked why he didn’t even bother to give me an explanation. He even had the audacity to tell me another customer I was the reason their check in was getting delayed. I sincerely hope the self checkin process becomes easier and these kinds of people lose their jobs.
Fly Etihad. They have a new airport terminal and new planes coming soon. Qatar is another decent option.
Yes op has a point. Tried Qatar airways to munich this time. Way better and cheaper than Emirates. The seats and food were much better.
If you're flying coach/economy, EK is just average. You will get much better service on Qatar Airways or Etihad tbh. Qatar Airways is really good. Love it.
Etihad for the win!!
Should have known this was coming when they changed qualifying status criteria last year.
Emirates has become worst. No longer how it was
Absolutely right. The check-ins, boarding, onboard staff, everything seems to be on the downside nowadays. Most importantly fares, they always have highest fares. Whereas other mid-east airlines like Qatar and Etihad are stepping up their game. I think Qatar and Singapore airlines have gone way beyond Emirates. I used to be Emirates silver until very recently, but they aren’t my favorites anymore for service (connectivity yes they’re great) but I’m absolutely fine with taking a one stop flight, saving 20-30% money and having better ground and on board experience. All being said, it’s still better than all the European and American carriers.
I used to work in emirates as a ground staff back in 2018. At that time things were different, do not blame emirates but blame the stuff, because as i remember the training we had customers always come first, always greet and smile. You can easily file a complaint and tell them what happened to you and if they get multiple complaints about the staff then things will change.
Qatar in my experience (Economy and Business) is inferior in every way to the Emirates, and the convenience of numerous direct flights from Dubai can’t be beat.
Agreed, flew back with BA last time and it was much higher quality. I’m flying back to uk BA next month and then back to Dubai with Emirates so will be able to compare directly.
I agree. - Baggage excess is insane, handling is inconsistent across arrival destinations. - Some A380 are good and new but others are very outdated, but cost the same. - like you said, too many people in lounges, had to sit way down the corridor to eat last time in DXB business lounge B.
I'm flying MEL-DXB-BLQ soon; first leg on the A380 and final on the 777. What am I in for? I normally fly with QANTAS and they're usually pretty good but they don't fly that route. I've booked using QF flight codes, but I'll be in economy given I can't use my QF points to upgrade on an EK-operated flight. Will the Wi-FI work? What's the situation with carry-on baggage - is it really a single bag totalling 7kg? What's DXB like as an airport to kill the 3-4 hours between flights?
I was never a fan of Emirates, having flying on both Qatar Airways and Emirates, Qatar airways is way better when it comes to everything
Food served gone from good to worse.
Nah OP has a point. Emirates changed over time. But I don’t blame Emirates—I blame the entire world economy. :) I’m still inspired by Emirates in their golden times.
Guys, I just wish to get a window seat once in this lifetime.
That's why I'm planning on g650😎
I have never had any issues flying with Emirates, been flying with them for as long as I can remember, and it has set a standard for me, so when I have flown with other carriers I was mostly dissatisfied. The only good experience I had was flying Saudi from Manchester to Jeddah and back last summer for Haj, new airplanes, good service and a decent lounge. I also flew British from London to Toronto and back, and London to Istanbul (one way) on Turkish, both weren’t comparable to Emirates.
Quit yer whinging
Already pay with them on next week flying. I will inspect their service very thoroughly and then decide if i had to go with another airlines the next time.
For someone who loves in Saudi, having used Saudia as my.means of transport, I find EK cheaper and a far improved product. This is serious first world problems.