Emirates v BA

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    Ah,Mr.Bond
    Participant

    I have just returned from MRU [as it happens this was booked after a cancelled trip from a QR flight to the Far east due to their unacceptable aircraft changes – another story!]
    Outbound LHR-MRU on EK was in Y class. A380 on both sectors. No lounge at LHR obviously, but went to the caviar place in T3 for some oysters and wine before departure. Far more relaxed and civilised than the BA lounge at LHR.
    Seat, entertainment , food in the Y cabin was far superior to BA , even in premium economy, in just about all aspects, especially the old WTP product they use on this route ex LGW.
    Inbound was in Business class. Again A380 on both sectors. Plenty of space and storage that completely lacks on BA, and the bar area at the end was great. A delight.
    Both inbound sectors were day flights with a stop in DXB for 2 nights, No washbag was offered on either sectors and I was refused one on asking due to being day flights. This was poor and the washrooms were not stocked appropriately to compensate.
    Service could be tweaked a bit to offer dining on demand instead of chucking it all out 1 hour after take off. In addition, wines were slow to come out – I had finished my starter before the white wine came, and I had finished my main before the red came. That would be the only nit picking negative comments.
    Stop over in DXB was seamless with limo transfer and good lounges excelling those offered by BA.
    This trip actually cost me my Silver status renewal [as I was supposed to be on QR!] Am I actually bothered?….. not in the slightest, I have rebooked EK to BKK next year.
    EK was actually cheaper than BA on this route [and many others] Why anyone choses BA heading east is quite simply baffling, and this is coming from an Ex fan. Their product no longer warrants chasing a Silver card.


    Charles-P
    Participant

    I have used Emirates a lot this past year and if anything their service seems to be improving from an already high baseline. That being said I did fly BA (A380 in Business Class) from Heathrow to J’burg and was overall pleased with the seat and service.

    In my view the biggest differences between the two are a) the better seat with Emirates and b) the friendliness of the Emirates staff.


    SwissExPat
    Participant

    @ CharlesP

    Not to mention the very decent Emirates lounges in LHR and LGW

    And the Limo transfers!


    Travellator
    Participant

    And the less dense business seating


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Agree with all the above.


    Drsimon
    Participant

    AhMrBond i totally agree with the wine issue – my biggest bug bear re emirates – although once it does arrive it flows nicely – i always ask for my predinner drink to be wine and then i get topped up before dinner too which then lasts – a nice trick (although one you shouldnt have to do!) – personally i do like BA seats but the emirates service wins hands down over BA and as i usually travel with my partner the 2 seats together works well for us (but not the stupid middle 3)


    stevescoots
    Participant

    Having flown both BA and EK from UK to HKG (BA 380, EK 777 & 380) I can agree 100% with the comments. EK is far superior in every aspect, even the BHX lounge is better than the galleries Imho. I am a bit disappointed they have stopped doing the washbags on day flights, my friends look forward to me bringing the Bulgari freebie home! Even so the BA just isn’t even worth the effort of opening.
    I also agree why fly BA when you can go EK for usually much cheaper, in my case I am taking advantage of Ex-EU for BA which is making them on average £500 cheaper than EK and travel time similar


    JohnHarper
    Participant

    Oh come on, it’s not fair to compare BA to Emirates, one is a top notch carrier with a modern fleet and excellent standards in all classes. The other operates a run down fleet with overly dense seating and inedible food!

    BA have long ago given up any aspiration to be world class or world beating though there was a day when they were. If you want a comparison to BA look to United or someone, even AA are a lot better these days.


    Charles-P
    Participant

    JohnHarper – I must disagree. I am by no means the biggest fan of BA and their short haul service in Europe I am not a fan off but the A380 service I enjoyed in Business was professional, pleasant and comfortable. On balance I prefer Emirates but the differences are not that wide.


    AnthonyDunn
    Participant

    EDITED to pacify John Harper – reciprocity please.

    It is also a straightforward fact (from their own published figures) that EK has a level of gearing that NO listed airline could sustain. As was confirmed to me by a friend heading up the investment management side of one of the largest (and most successful of) Wall Street investment banks (and who happily travels in J with both BA and EK BTW), it is entirely understood that EK operates under the implicit state guarantee of its host government. Which is why, together with the superb management team put in place by Tim Clark, it can afford the borrowings (and on very keen terms) for all of those shiny new A380s and B773s as evidenced by:

    http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/102350/emirates-to-welcome-36-new-aircraft-in-2016

    EDITED to add: From the annual investor day presentation, IAG/BA is pitching at obtaining an investment grade rating – which would permit it to borrow on terms almost as good as those enjoyed by EK.

    As someone who travels on BA not irregularly across Europe, I find them to be generally fine and sometimes very good. On long-haul, I really do enjoy CX for my trips to the Asia-Pac region and I recognise that BA clearly does have some issues with its hard product. I also have no faith whatsoever in the IAG/BA bean counters being at all bothered with the onboard passenger experience as long as the numbers align with what was is required to keep the shareholders off their back. But BA has public investors to satisfy whereas EK has just the government of Dubai/the Al-Maktoum family to deal with. A fundamentally different set of investor relationships methinks.


    JohnHarper
    Participant

    Edited as AnthonyDunn has now removed his personalised and inappropriate attack on me.


    Charles-P
    Participant

    AnthonyDunn – you comments above the funding model of Emirates are entirely fair and I would also throw into the mix the desire of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s personal pride in seeing Emirates rated as a high quality airline. Don’t underestimate the inter Sheikh rivalry with Abu Dhabi !


    Charles-P
    Participant

    Re AnthonyDunn and Anthony Dunn

    Wow that escalated quickly !

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONN-0uoTHI


    AnthonyDunn
    Participant

    @ Charles-P – 09/12/2015 11:48 GMT

    There is some history here! Some can take criticism (or comments on their postings) others cannot.

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