EK – Good n Bad on same ticket

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Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

  • AllOverTheGaff
    Participant

    Hello All,

    Not been around for a wee while, started another business (not travel related) and have been focused on this as it is an FMCG thing, now on top of it and find myself with a little more time to contribute. Hope all are well and traveling in fine fettle!

    As you might recall (or not) I fly EK quite a lot, easy for me to say they are my preferred airline. So, I am in Singapore and have to change my flight back, it looks easier for me to fly back from KUL so I go online and do so, I am on a First Flexi-ticket and make the change. When it asks me which cabin I want to fly in, I select “first” and look at the most suitable times, pay my £300.00 change fee and as far as I am concerned I am now sorted.

    I go about my business, then look at my ticket 24 hours later to discover I am in business class from KUL to DXB. I call EK immediately and realistically, there are no suitable options from KUL, I tell them I need 24 hours to look at my other options and I’ll revert. So, I decide the best option I have is to go back to Singapore and fly 1st class from SIN – DXB / DXB – GLA (which is back to my original booking). I had booked a return SIN – MAS flight and still have the return portion so should be no problem thinks I, however, dear old EK stiff me £300 to make the change again, albeit I am changing back to my original flight and only doing so because they can’t provide me the service I had initially paid for.

    I get to KUL to get my short hop to SIN with MAS to connect with my 1st class flight to DXB, only for the MAS flight to be over an hour delayed meaning I miss my SIN – DXB flight, so I go to EK’s desk and after explaining my plight, the agent on the desk changes me onto the KUL – DXB flight no charge – no problem. This flight also connects no problem in DXB to GLA. (As an aside, this was after encountering the rudest MAS member of staff, I actually had to tell her to not raise her voice at me…..in between her farting about with her mobile phone! Anyhoos….I digress….)

    I get home and email EK’s ‘customer services’, an oxymoron I accept, to be told “tough luck” and that the website told me it was a business class fare. I emailed back again stating this was not the case, I selected “first” but it allocated me a business class seat, I also indicated I’d be taking the matter to the Small Claims, and I got another reply indicating “tough luck mate, you made the change, you take the pain”.

    So, two cases, one getting it right, one getting it wrong – badly wrong too. The cost to EK is nil to change me, yet I was humped out of £600.00 to change back to my original flight, they tell me it is in-keeping with their T&C’s. I swear, for any customer services agent to revert to “our T&C’s” they’ve lost the plot…..drives me up the wall.

    So, next phase is I am taking them to Small Claims for charging me for a product I didn’t want to buy but misleading me on their ‘site as to what it was I was buying. And now I am thinking….why are they my preferred airline? They are excellent in the air, and their on-the-ground staff are excellent, they’ve never let me down, but their call-centre has truly irked me to the point of taking them to court. And a lot of it is to do with the tone of the email than the content….

    So, all the glitters and all that eh? I’ve had other dealings with EK’s customer services and maybe my expectation was a little higher on this occasion that they’d “see me alright”…a great pity.

    Regards.
    AOTG.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    They are clearly an airline that don’t value customers. They are too big, too smug, too well funded, and too complacent.

    I suspect that given the latest ruling over EU261, which went against them, the courts will, when you sue the airline, take a less sympathetic view. I hope so, and good luck. And if it were me, I’d stop flying EK, I’d sooner fly Ryanair.


    Ah,Mr.Bond
    Participant

    Look forward to the outcome of the small claims…. keep us posted!


    SimonS1
    Participant

    [quote quote=832669]They are clearly an airline that don’t value customers. They are too big, too smug, too well funded, and too complacent.
    I suspect that given the latest ruling over EU261, which went against them, the courts will, when you sue the airline, take a less sympathetic view. I hope so, and good luck. And if it were me, I’d stop flying EK, I’d sooner fly Ryanair.
    [/quote]

    Seriously, what is wrong with Emirates. Top notch airline with high quality shareholders.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    Simon, you read my posting on another thread, so I’m not going to repeat myself.

    You know my view. I don’t expect you, or others, to agree, but I am entitled to express my view.


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Another bite.


    K1ngston
    Participant

    AOTG I am more interested in the rudeness of the MH member of staff, I too have encountered this, on one occasion not so long ago which I reported whereby MH cancelled two flights to KUL from SIN and when I told her that I want to change airline so there is a better chance of arriving at my destination she went off on one!!

    Before I could explode with anger it appeared that a Malaysian lady also suffering from their terrible service jumped to my defence… I know your post is all about EK, but you have me started on MH in my opinion the worst airline flying today …..


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    It’s not what actually goes wrong, but the way in which it is handled that I find so very important in business and, in a lot of cases, a bad situation can be turned around if handled with understanding, grace and authority – it certainly is in my business.

    Problem is that the airlines (all the one’s I have dealt with) have so many customers, no matter what level of status, that they simply don’t give a toss if they loose a dozen or so – makes NO difference to them at all.
    I’ve had many unresolved issues with BA (my main carrier) and so have many others but, their flights are always full so, why care?
    I find car rental companies to be the same.

    It’s not good enough but, I fear we are stuck with it.


    Cleancabinair
    Participant

    Your lack of satisfaction with Emirates Customer Services is of no surprise to me having crossed swords with them many times!

    Whilst enjoy flying on Emirates services (when the undercarriage comes up!) their management and customers service groups are arrogant, evasive and disingenuous!
    If they(EK Management) can avoid admitting that they have a problem they will!

    Issues with their website Emirates.com which has in the past quoted incorrect information and prices and contrary to their claims cannot handle online changes to bookings. Instead in my experience I have had to interrupt business meetings to visit a sales office get changes done to itineraries completed as their reservations groups are not empowered to do the changes over the phone !

    Getting a refund on a First class ticket as the airline changed to the equipment to an aircraft without first class, with out informing the passengers of the change, turned out to be an arduous process where the airline kept throwing up objections to the claims!!

    Unfortunately this comes from the top where the management will not release their decision making responsibilities to the lower levels for the customer facing staff to use their initiative, especially when there are revenue implications however small!

    Emirates in common with other Gulf carriers is in trouble with its current pay-loads and strategy so it will only get more intransigent hiding behind their T&C’s rather than solving the issues for their passengers ! They will lose the loyalty of their valued high spending customer base if this attitude continues!

    Its a shame that the fine EK service in the air is spoilt by their crystal tower retentive, navel reflective, myopic management!!


    traveldoc1
    Participant

    I fly regularly with EK (Platinum cardholder) and in the air they’re great. Customer service is, as you say, an oxymoron however. As I have posted in a separate thread, their fares ex-BKK have become massively less competitive, and so I’m increasingly using Finnair for my flights back to UK or Ireland. Good service, and often an A350 – though I miss the limo service!


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    Welcome back, AOTG!

    I never was an EK fan but had to admit the service was good. But they are facing something new for them: the tough reality to have not to loose too much money… So they are cutting costs everywhere, with the results we can witness. And I guess this trend will continue…

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