@karen-seager. I have a friend in Dubai, and would love to break my journey for a few days to catch up with her. 
To miss a flight is one thing but what happens when the flight is cancelled by the operator oh thatâs right the customer is screwed again seems all to be in favour of airline no compensation in Australia
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Donât worry @dieseldon61 - weâre working on the compensation issue, youâre right its totally unfair when weâre at the mercy of the airline and thereâs no compensation at all!
Watch this space for more on that! For those interested in our work on this issue, check out www.choice.com.au/fareplay.
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Weâve similarly sworn off Emirates but for a different reason. Emirates economy class slogan is âExpect the exceptionalââexceptionally bad that is! Flying from Bangkok to Adelaide overnight, the plane was almost an hour late (no explanation) and freezing (too cold to sleep), many passengers soon asking for extra blankets. The in-flight service was appalling; attendants hurtled past with trolleys without offering anything - you had to be quick to stop them. Our aisle seats got rammed with the trolley every time they rushed past. By the time they got to the first row in economy there was no longer a choice of meals for dinner and they seemed to constantly run out of things from thereon. Food quality was average at best. I saw several passengers make two or three requests for drinks or other service before they actually got anything. By breakfast I was desperate for hot tea but when it finally came the attendant had run out of milk. She promised everyone to return shortly with milk but never came back.
Immigration forms werenât handed out until just as we began descent, making it almost impossible to fill them in with no tray down. An elderly passenger who politely objected was told very sharply she would just have to wait until she got into the terminal. From where we were seated (row 25) we could see that all the service was focused on business and first classes. To crown it all, when I called Emirates customer service to complain (the complaints form wouldnât send online), the young man told me I could only make a complaint online because âeveryone has a computer these daysâ, I must be doing it wrong, and I should go get some help at my local library! Iâve been using a computer since 1987 - probably before he was born. Emirates economy class slogan is âExpect the exceptionalââexceptionally bad that is!
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My wife and I are flying Emirates as a Qantas code share later this year. It doesnât bode well!!
I agree. Emirates has some very poor customer care practices on some flights and especially on economy.
We wonât be using them again if there is any alternative.
Thank you to everyone who has posted. My partner and I had been quite keen to try Emirates on our next trip to London but we now add them to our âonly if there is no alternativeâ list.
As an end note, if you find yourself on Emirates as part of a Qantas trip and all does not go well, Qantas has an option on its feedback page that allows you to submit comments on its partner airlines. I ended up using that option and a very pleasant customer service person got back to me, by phone, within just a few days. I doubt if it achieved anything but I felt better!
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At least someone got back to you even if it was to salve you with platitudes!
I have taken Emirates to task on their Facebook page to try to shame them into reimbursing at least part of the airfare they extorted from us . .
They promised to look into it on their Facebook reply a week ago .
Guess what?
Not heard a thing!
Cheers and do not fly Emirates!
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We used to fly Quantas, SIA or BA from Adelaide or Melbourne to London and from there another flight to Dublin, the final destination. From departure to Dublin arrival was about 35hrs. Since Emirates has operated from Adelaide weâve been able to get to Dublin, through Dubai, in about 25hrs. On a recent trip one of us peeled off in Dubai for a flight to London which boarded 1hr to 1-1/2hrs of the flight from Australia landing. In our experience Emirates has not been exceptional in any way - except getting us to our destination in less times than the other airlines which went through Singapore and London.
Just thought Iâd jump in an add to the discussion here. Itâs always interesting to hear feedback on the customer service of each of the airlines - the middle eastern airlines tend to boast about their reputation for excellent customer service. Iâm flying Etihad to Europe at the end of the year for the first time and Iâm hoping they will be good.
Recently Iâve flown a few of the Chinese carriers and I was particularly impressed with China Southern. I first flew them in 2012 from SYD-New Dehli and it wasnât great, but having recently flown them to China and back I was very impressed with their polite staff and brand new aircraft (A380). China Eastern, however, wasnât a great experienceâŠ
I find that most airlines are competing on price these days, rather than service. There are amazing deals at the moment so itâs worthwhile shopping around for a deal rather than sticking with a) who you know or b) who you have loyalty points with (unless youâre looking to keep/upgrade status). Depends what sort of experience youâre looking for!
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