Emirates Airline gets tough on late passengers

Posted by:
27 Nov 2011
Hmmm...perhaps Emirates wouldn't have to reduce the convenience of its passengers, especially those who are Gold members of their frequent flyer program (Skywards), if, for example it kept its promise that all Emirates flights depart and arrive at brand new terminal 3 in Dubai. Emirates website proudly states that " All Emirates flights are now arriving at and departing from our brand new, exclusive terminal at Dubai International Airport", yet flights such as EK77 to Nice, France depart from gate 133 at terminal 1 located 25 walking distance from the center of terminal 3. Or, maybe, just maybe, the passengers wouldn't have to take a hit on extended check-in times if the aircraft would actually be parked at the gate as opposed to another 20 minute bus ride to the far end of the airport parking spots. Even low-cost carriers at terminal 2 are much closer to the gate than this. And we are talking national carrier here... not just any obscure airline from far-away foreign land. December 1 you say? Hmm... looks to me like Emirates has started to crack down already in November. Upon my rushed yet timely check-in at the business and first class terminal during which I was politely invited to make use of the Emirates business class lounge, I proceeded to gate 133 to board my flight. Knowing that the gates close 15 minutes prior to departure (as indicated on Emirates websites and on the brightly colored warning signs on each table at business class lounge) I arrived at the gate with 21 minutes to spare. To my very deep surprised the gate was already closed and I was denied boarding. The supervisor arrogantly announced that there is nothing she could do because the flight was already closed and I was declared a so-called "no show". "Even if you were a First Class passenger it would not matter" she added. No amount of begging seemed to help... Not even a tearful plea about a birthday of a dear friend who just passed away suddenly. "If it was so important, where were you all this time ??? I saw you clearing the immigration 40 minutes ago", she exclaimed with no signs of compassion. So, knowing that one of your most valuable customers, whose suitcase you had checked-in and loaded on the flight, is walking towards the gate to board the plane, you chose to close the gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule?? Then you had the audacity to deny him boarding and be rude about it ?? Whatever happened to the pillars of Emirates' customer service such as 'personal' and 'considerate'? Is this just another marketing gimmick of empty promises or does Emirates truly believe in its own values ? When I contacted "Customer Affairs" division of Emirates by phone, the lines were so busy that the callers are prompted to leave a message. That was nearly 2 weeks ago and I am yet to hear from Emirates. The same goes for e-mails. All I get are automated replies to say that they do not work on weekends. OK, but there have been at least 7 normal working days in the meantime. Loyal Emirates customers such as me and my business partners often choose to pay double the price for a ticket (comparing to the competing airlines) in order to enjoy the service and convenience of flying the national carrier without cumbersome connections at European hub airports. Perhaps it's time to re-think that strategy.... The next morning I presented myself for the same flight (after Emirates charged me a penalty for being a 'no-show'!!!). The same flight. The same gate. The same lounge invitation. When I asked the check-in agent why she does not inform the passengers about the distant location of the gate nor about the even more distant location of the aircraft from the gate, she replied she didn't know she had to and pointed me towards her supervisor to discuss further. I did and the supervisor naturally assured me that the agents do warn the passenger at check-in. After it was quickly established that it is not at all the case (I just checked in for the flight and no such information was offered), she reassured me that this will be the case for the next time. Yeah, right.... You want to read something really ironic? That EK77 flight left with a 56 minute delay that day (as per Emirates on-line flight status page) Do you know why? That's long it took them to off-load my suitcase. So, whoever chose to close that flight ahead of schedule in a rush to depart on time didn't quite consider how much of a delay it would cause in the end. Not to mention inconvenience, pain and sorrow caused to the customer who did nothing but obeyed the rules by arriving for boarding in time. So, how exactly do you intend to depart on time if you close the gate 15 minutes prior to departure and it takes 20 minutes to get to the aircraft from the gate?? Oh, I see.... you close the gate earlier, deny boarding to the unlucky passengers like me, then spend an hour off-loading their baggage and then blame passengers lack of punctuality for paying hefty fines at foreign airports for late arrivals and departures. No wonder the tickets get more and more expensive. Extremely unsatisfied and deeply disappointed Emirates passenger

Posted by: Chris
3 Aug 2012
Well, I voted with my feet, decided to drop EK off my list and opted for the likes of EY, QR, or Asian airlines instead. Apparently, I am not the only one who feels that EK is becoming a victim of its own success.