Ever since I was a kid, I had always heard about the fantastic service and the modernity of Emirates. (there was even a rumor that they gave away free PSP's) So when I traveled with them for the first time this summer I experienced something close to my expectations . I took two flights in four days, so I can say that I have pretty comprehensive experience to review from.
Let's go in an orderly fashion, starting with the check-in. The check-in staff are generally appointed by the airport and not the airline. However at Dubai where the check-in crew were Emirates employees, I didn't find a single acknowledgement or smile. The employee was least bothered and felt more like a robot than a human being. They did not have 4 seats together so we were given 2+2. But even then 2 of us were separated by the aisle. That disappointed me and I really felt cheated.
The Boarding was smooth and punctual but yet again ....... No Smiles :O
The real image of an airline actually starts to build up when someone boards the aircraft. So after I boarded, I was guided to my seat by an air-hostess who too was suffering from the Smile Deficiency Disease. The seats in the economy class were surprisingly comfortable and our seats already contained the blanket, pillow and headsets. On one of the flights we were served lemonade but nothing on the other. Once the plane took off, the beverage trolley took rounds and I was happy to see a wide variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The small 100ml coke cans were really cute and helped save the air-hostess' time. The food was average as it had that particular flavor of pre-cooked meals but the desert (chocolate mousse) was great. On my second flight (which was a long one) we were also served snacks and nuts. To my surprise, there were no vegetarian meals on flights between countries which are predominantly non-vegetarian (altough it did not concern me, it really affected my Dad who is a strict-vegetarian).
The in-flight entertainment known as I.C.E had a great collection of movies but my experience was marred by technical glitches. On my second flight, the system shut down completely and we had to wait for around 90min before it began again. Also, on both my journeys the touch screen was unresponsive and regularly required hard knocks. One thing that I did like were the Do-not-Disturb stickers. By pasting them on the seats, passengers could intimate the crew whether they would like to be woken up for the meals or not. Many passengers used it and it was something unique that I encountered.
The biggest factor that contributes to my outlook of an airline are the acknowledgements and the smiles. Even if an airline has broken and cramped seats and no entertainment system, a smiling air-hostess can still make it a pleasant journey. It is really important to make a passenger feel welcome but Alas this was not the case with the Emirates crew. None of the stewardess' in both of my flights smiled or welcomed my group. They looked tired and lethargic and I really felt as if they were not happy with their jobs. This is one of the main reasons why Emirates did not go to the top of my list despite many other good qualities.
If they can deal with the crew-situation, I feel Emirates can easily climb the top ranking charts. But for now, it remains an average airline with many small glitches. Go for Swiss Air, Qatar or Singapore Airlines instead.
Star Rating :
★★★1/2 (3.5)
No comments:
Post a Comment