Monday, March 21, 2005

 

Just had to write this

Subject:
Just had to write this
Date:
Mon, 21 Mar 2005 21:56:26 +0400
From:
"Bill Blaschke" Add to Address Book
To:
jawad@alumni.washington.edu

#message st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/9653/emirates2.html

Greetings,
I’d like to make a few comments regarding the various complaints (and a few compliments) on the site.
I’ve been flying long haul routes around the world for over 20 years. I haven’t flown very often with Emirates (maybe 5 Europe/Dubai) R/T’s).
So very many of the complaints seem to have little to do with the Airline at all, but pertain more to the ground staff at numerous airports around the world. The most humorous complaints, however, were those that wondered why they didn’t get their milk, or chicken, etc. I am still chuckling over many of those.
A few points:
The reason we are all flying around the world so cheaply these days is that airline competition has made tickets so inexpensive. To continue to operate, this means the airlines cut costs as much as possible by not providing lavish meals, 100% contingency meals to suit all tastes, hundreds of extra pounds in cargo weight to supply your every baby/child/auntie’s needs, filling every single seat as much as possible, etc.
Now I hate flying in cattle car class as much as anybody, but you do it because it’s cheap. Don’t expect to get off the plane with 1st and business class passengers, because they paid for the preferential treatment …you get what you pay for. Don’t expect the cabin staff to be your personal waiter either. Get up and go get your water, or wait patiently until they can find some precious time to cater to your every need.
Do not begin to whine about excess baggage charges………I’ve seen your carry on baggage and it appears that some kind folks not only bring their household appliances with them on board wrapped in blankets and twine, but also 2 metric tons of duty free items. Then it’s me, with my single, regulation hand carry bag, that cannot find room in my overhead storage because I was the one polite enough to allow you first opportunity because of your family status on board.
As one commentator noted, planes get delayed…..weather, union strikes, wars, equipment failures…….build a bridge and get over it. Take enough cash to put yourself up in a hotel if you get stuck somewhere. It is not an obligation of any airline to do this, but if they do, be very thankful and courteous about it.
If anyone still thinks flying is glamorous and exciting, be prepared for a bit of culture shock when things do go wrong. There is an airplane landing or taking off every few seconds at any time of day or night around the world. It’s a hard, pressure packed business, and you are indeed lucky to get your baggage upon arrival. Have you ever given a moment’s thought as to how that baggage handling side of the business operates? If you are silly enough to pack valuables in checked baggage, I suggest you think this through very carefully. Then, read your ticket back………the airlines are NOT responsible for lost, stolen, destroyed baggage above certain limits ($150 US dollars I think).
I have flown hundreds of long haul routes to every imaginable airport location you can think of, and have never once been subject to having my ticket be invalidated. I will again suggest you read the restrictions applied to your double discounted tickets. Why do you think they were so cheap in the first place? These simple words may help you understand….Non-endorsable, non-re-routable, non-refundable, non-transferable. This means you are either there for the flight listed, or you pay the difference between “Y” class tickets and full fare, it’s as simple as that, and don’t expect the airline to cut you some special slack either….this is a business, and they are not going to hold your hand.
Flight crews do not generally have connecting flight information at their finger tips. When they do, don’t hold it against them when the ground staff changes something and they aren’t aware of it.
Airplanes are a very complex piece of engineering, and when they take off, fly thousands of miles, feed you a snack, and land again safely, be thankful. If it’s close to being on time, well that’s just gravy. If it’s late or cancelled, have enough money to buy another ticket if your schedule demands it, but if you don’t maybe you shouldn’t be flying after all.
To those who need this information, and I hope you know who you are, a few words of advice………under arm deodorant, regular bathing, and keep your shoes on.
To those who have never flown into and out of Dubai, it’s a busy place, and DNATA (Dubai National Air Transport Authority) is OK at moving people into and out of the skies. They are the ground staff, and they don’t work exclusively for Emirates. They make mistakes, and when you show up with those aforementioned cargoes that weigh hundreds of pounds and are bound up with twine, it is you who are causing the delays and animosity of your fellow passengers. No wonder they are rude!

In closing, my flights with Emirates have been excellent, with courteous service and excellent aircraft and staff. My absolute worst flights of all time have been on another Middle Eastern airline (Gulf Air, but I’ll have to find their nasty-gram website for that feedback), so watch what you wish for, or you may well get it. Better the devil you know versus the devil you don’t know.

So the next time you are in the back of the plane whining to the cabin staff about the mess you made in the lavatory, and wanting them to come clean it up so your family can use it and turn it into a small version of Hiroshima, get a grip, get a life, and get me another round of drinks while you’re back there.

A seasoned traveler.

Monday, March 14, 2005

 

Horrible airlines to fly

Date:
Mon, 14 Mar 2005 23:29:09 -0800 (PST)
From:
"SANKARAN SIVAKUMAR" Add to Address Book
Subject:
Horrible airlines to fly
To:
jawad@alumni.washington.edu

Gentlemen,

I am Sankaransivakumar, a frequent flier with Emirates. I hold a Gold card bearing number: EK 134619660. My current miles balance 169870 should speak of my frequent travel with Emirates.

Recently I was on my Return trip from Amsterdam to Mumbai (Date: 04/03/2005- 05/03/2005). I was holding Emirates fully paid Business class ticket bearing number 176 5106558310 0. My flight itinerary was Amsterdam - London Heathrow by KLM and onward journey to India by Emirates (London Heathrow- Dubai- Chennai). As the KLM flight got delayed, I had to take EK004 and EK3506 on 04, 05th March 05. On arriving Mumbai, I found my Baggage missing. I could understand the reason behind it. It has happened for 3 times earlier also. When my earlier baggage delay happened at Chennai, Emirates used to deliver it at my home address in Bangalore.

Today to check the baggage status I made telephonic enquiry with Emirates, Mumbai. I was highly disppointed with the Grievance handling rep Mrs. Gokhale, Mumbai. Her language not only brought disrespect for me, but also explicitly displayed the complacency growing at Emirates Mumbai. It basically lacked the Etiquettes a travel industry rep must be showing to the customers. She has proposed that in the future I need not have to travel thro Emirates but thro KLM. When an enquiry was made about the expenses incurred for collecting the baggage, she replied it will be sent by Money order. I had to pinch myself whether Iam in the current world. In India Money order sort of things were in place 10 years handled by burecrautic postal authorities. In a nutshell, her handling of the case was totally arrogant. However I have collected my baggage after incurring an expense of US$ 25.

I am scripting this mail with a faith that it will be directed to Proper authorities. I would prefer to have a reply from your end. If not, Iam seriously thinking of changing the airlines from Emirates to KLM as suggested by Mrs. Gokhale, Emirates Mumbai.

Regards,

Sivakumar

Sunday, March 13, 2005

 

complain emirates

Date:
Sun, 13 Mar 2005 08:00:05 +0000 (GMT Standard Time)
From:
"ths_hms" Add to Address Book
To:
jawad@alumni.washington.edu
Subject:
complain emirates

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While I admit Emirates Airlines is indeed convenient to travel especially if one has connections in Dubai and India and hence I have to use it. I travel with them out of compulsion rather than choice.

But I have always maintained that it is the most arrogant and -"taking-its-passengers-for-granted" attitude airlines. Their airport staff are rude, while their cabin crew are absolutely rubbish - except a handful. Without sounding racial, the Asian (not middle eastern) crew talk and treat passengers well, but the East European and Middle Eastern staff give us the impression that they are obliging us by serving us and we are given a free ride. The fact of the matter is that Emirates is generally the most expensive airline on their routes.

Recently I travelled with my ailing mother to London from Mumbai and once again had a bad experience with their ground staff. This time I made it a point to fill their customer service complain form twice - once enroute Mumbai-Dubai and another Dubai- London. Since the past 6 months I am still waiting for a response.
I was lied and given wrong information by their ground staff in Mumbai and Dubai. The ground staff know very well that anything they say or confirm is not going to make a difference as once a passenger is in the flight, he has no way to revert back to them when he is not given what he has been told at the time of check in. The flight crew in turn care a damn.

I. I have recently started flying in Etihad and although it is via Abu Dhabi and slightly inconvenient, but I would prefer to use them more often and drive from Abu Dhabi, than use Emirates. Etihad is cheaper and so far their customer service both on ground and in flight are fantastic. Keep it up Etihad and dont let success get to your head.

Hasnain
www.geocities.com/excerpts_hq
Tel: + 44 - 207 - 6245153, Fax: + 44 870 1352131
Mob: 07915 383537
Email: intlworkpart@hotmail.com

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

 

emirates airlines

From:
"frank oneill" Add to Address Book
To:
jawad@alumni.washington.edu
Subject:
emirates airlines
Date:
Tue, 01 Mar 2005 19:56:16 +0000

I have just returned from India flying via Dubai on emirates. On arrival at
Hyderbad I found that not only my Luggage but 20 lots of luggage had not
arrived on the flight even though there was a 2 hour transfer time. On
reporting the loss we were told just to return the next day and the luggage
may have arrived, this was advised by India baggage handler. We insisted on
speaking to an emirates agent after 15 minutes an employee of emirates
turned up and was completely unhelpful only advising us the same our bags
would possible arrive the next day and it was only 24 hours to wait. When
you have been travelling for 18 hours in the same cloths the idea of a
further 24 hours did not appeal to me. They refused any compensation as the
supervisor was not available to authorise this. Several people had
connecting flights and were told they would have to return to collect their
bags. In the baggage area was a locked room containing several hundred bags
many with emirates labels and a separate area containing 50 – 60 bags which
were all emirates. On returning the following day only 1 bag had arrived. To
obtain this took 1 hour of paperwork with emirates and customs. The emirates
book of lost luggage which I examined during signing for my bag contained a
full a4 page for every day and most days were full, on average emirates were
misplacing 20 – 30 bags per day. On collecting my bag from customs area the
latest emirates flight had arrived with again 8 bags missing. I understand
bags do go missing but this amount every day is not good customer service
and emirates staff are very uncooperative when you complain to the extent of
being rude. The second bag finally turned up 2 days later after we had
chased emirates with numerous phone calls. Each time we were assured they
were looking at the problem and would ring us back, which they never did. We
were lucky that we were only 30 minutes from the airport. If we had been
travelling we would have never seen our bags again. Emirates may have won
several awards but certainly not for customer service. I would advise people
to carry some cloths in hand luggage as on average emirates mishandle 10% of
passenger’s luggage from the records I saw. As a company director I know the
effect customer service has on a business and if this is typical of emirates
and reading some of the reports it is they deserve to be the world’s worst
airline not the best. I like may others have been searching for an address
to complaint to emirates and as per others have had no success which I
believe is because they do not wish to receive complaints and can then
claim their customers are satisfied. I for one will be avoiding emirates in
the future

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