emirates.com

Avoid - Terrible Experience from Start to Finish

Terrible experience from start to finish. Initially, I was enticed to book directly due to a promised price match that was never honored, to absolute chaos whilst trying to board, to a 2.5 hour wait time for food and drinks, along with a 40-minute delay leaving the plane at our connecting flight, leaving us with less than 10 minutes to make our connection, with no assistance provided by the airline staff.Boarding the plane, both in Manchester, Dubai, and Manilla: they divide the queues into different zones, which in theory is a great idea, but poorly executed due to signs for each zone being right at the front of each queue at chest level; hence until you're almost at the front, you have no idea what's happening from behind.The flight from Manchester to Dubai, and coming back from Dubai to Manchester on their A380 (2 floors) - staff are incredibly friendly and genuinely trying their best, but ridiculously understaffed. 2-hour wait for food/drinks on the outward flight. Return flight 2.5 hours: not acceptable.On arrival in Dubai, we landed late, with a further wait on the tarmac for a parking bay. Resulting in an overall 40-minute delay; leaving less than 15 minutes to connect to the next Emirates flight at the other side of Dubai airport. Again, poor service given there was nobody to help us get to the next gate despite a less than 15-minute gap. Luckily, I'm a fast runner, and the connecting Emirates flight was also delayed.Based on this experience, which ranks as one of my worst in over 50 international flights, I would not recommend flying with them again. Recommendations for anyone who must book with them: book via a 3rd party site: it's cheaper. Avoid flying their A380 at all costs, but if you have no option, make sure to book a seat situated middle of the plane where food and drinks are initially served - avoid the very front or back unless you're okay waiting +2 hours for food/drink service.

Date of experience: Jan 20, 2024