Could Emirates be the next 5 star airline?

Also some of the two class 777 and all the flights that still have first class seats, rather than suites have poor business.

Really have to use http://www.seatguru.com when booking emirates to see what you will get.

I think they have four different long haul business class seats ranging from excellent to really very poor.

With all the new aircraft they order, you would think they could hold off on a new route for a little while and send an older plane for retro fitting, while using the new aircraft to replace it.

That for me is emirates main problem. Consistancy of product.

EK can be five star or three star, both in cabin fit and crew.

I have some of my best flights ever on Emirates and some very poor ones.

Even if I bought into the concept of five star airlines (and I don’t believe that the airline industry is generally sophisticated enough to deliver consistently at this level), EK would not count amongst them in my experience.

Having said that, EK would never expect you to endure 6 hours in a short haul business class seat, unlike one European operator – according to reports on a nother thread.

IME EK do consistently deliver a five star experience in F, the suite is second only to SQ even if it is a bit plastic. It’s equal to EY but exceeds all other F products by a significant margin. The food and service are generally top notch and the lounges and limos are excellent too. C can be good or not both in terms of hard and soft product and the crew can be variable. I have no idea about Y.

I think the challenge of such rapid expansion is keeping consistency and they don’t manage that anything like as well as QR, my sense is EY are beginning to slip a little on consistency too. I’ve just had an excellent trip on WY too and I think they are one to watch.

All good points, I think that one about 10 abreast 777s is a knock-out. Also, come to think of it, Emirates used to be five star but was downgraded.

By the looks of the reviews submitted on Skytrax, BA will never be 5 star again either.

Oh well, I just wish airlines would treat their customers like guests not money bags.

Back top StephenLondon about voting with your business, I flew EK 10 abreast, service was shocking and the 10 seats across in Y was awful, and that was just on 7 hours LHR-DXB. Not “voted” EK or indeed any 10 abreast airline on a 777 since.

My weekly commute is LHR-DXB and almost always on EK unless I need to go to FRA or ZRH on the way in which case I use LH or LX. My EK travel is almost exclusively in F but very occasionally C if there is no availability and the wait list doesn’t clear.

F really is a five star product from a point of view of limo, check in, lounge and on board product. Food is some of the very best, I think only LH is better, crew are consistently excellent in F and of course ICE is up there with the best IFE.

C is variable, the lounges are generally OK but overcrowded in DXB, on board product is less consistent and the crews are less polished. Food is still very good but service can be slow. Another crew member on the 773 or two on the A380 would be a good thing and would improve service, they seem to use a higher number in Y than some companies so it may be a matter of redistribution.

I’ve never travelled in Y and don’t intend to but I hear mostly positive things about service and food but complaints about the seats on the 777.

All in all, they lag behind SQ, QR and so on. Their offering is good but not five star – no particular reference to Skytrax rating but in more common parlance five star is the top grade.

Senator – thanks.

I think the new offerings on LH & LX are excellent, the best of any European airline by far. It’s different to EK, the suite is nice and the IFE excellent and the food good. I still rate LH above all others for food and LX for crew so I would say LH, LX and EK are equal but different. If I could have the EK suite styled by LH with EK IFE, LH food and LX crew then I would be very happy!