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  • EK enhancements

    A press release from our EK intranet. Ive seen the latest inflight IFE booklet. The number of choices is amazing, its such a thick book and thats just for the IFE !


    DUBAI, UAE, 14th June 2007 – Emirates, the innovative Dubai-based airline, today announced a multi-million dollar programme that will cement its leadership in providing “best in the air” travel experiences in all classes.

    This massive investment will see Emirates introduce an enhanced version of its First Class private suites; lie-flat massage seats in Business Class with more personal space; Economy Class seats with extra legroom; and the industry’s largest personal TV screens in all classes; across its rapidly-expanding long-haul Boeing 777 fleet.

    The new onboard product will make its first appearance on Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER ULR (Ultra Long Range) aircraft being delivered this month, and its 777-200LRs – the first of which will be delivered in August 2007.

    Over the next 18 months, Emirates will receive 24 new aircraft fitted with this new product. It will also be implementing an aggressive programme to retrofit its existing Boeing 777 long-haul fleet.

    Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: "This massive investment firmly positions Emirates’ inflight product at the zenith, and widens our competitive edge in long-haul travel. Our premium customers tell us they want more personal space, particularly on long-haul travel, and these considerations have been key in the development and refinement of our product.

    “To put the scale of our investment into perspective – in the next 18 months, we will spend about AED 180 million just to install our enhanced First Class product onboard the brand new aircraft we are receiving – this figure does not include the enhancements in other classes of travel, or the retrofit programme.

    “We are also close to announcing another multi-million dollar enhancement to our hugely-popular ‘ice’ inflight entertainment system. All these investments illustrate why Emirates continues to be world-class.”

    Interior harmony and maximising personal space have been central to the design of Emirates’ new premium products in First Class and Business Class.

    Emirates’ First Class private suites have set the benchmark for truly luxurious travel since it was first introduced in 2003. Amongst the suite’s key features are: a fully-flat bed with in-seat massage, dine-on-demand room service, in-suite personal mini bar, and sliding doors for the ultimate in privacy.

    The airline has now worked closely with aircraft and seat manufacturers to provide a "corporate jet quality” feel to the First Class cabin. The enhanced Emirates First Class private suites are larger with extended floor space, more stowage room for hand baggage and a bigger personal wardrobe within the suite. It also features fine leather upholstery and a luxurious honey walnut finish. A high cabin ceiling (sans overhead bins) adds to the sense of space, and travellers can also relax at the new communal First Class bar area.

    On Emirates Business Class, the multi-zone massage seats recline to a 78” long lie-flat bed, providing ample room for taller passengers. The seats ensure maximum personal space with high privacy dividers, and allow all passengers to recline fully without encroaching on the space of the traveller seated in the row behind.

    In Economy Class, Emirates’ new generation seats are designed to provide more legroom and comfort. The seats come with a fully adjustable winged headrest, wide flat footrest and articulated seat bottom pan for greater comfort. The introduction of the latest inflight entertainment system onboard also removes the need for boxes underneath seats, thus increasing legroom in Economy.

    Emirates’ signature ‘ice’ inflight entertainment will be available in all classes, allowing passengers to tune into over 600 channels of entertainment-on-demand. The latest movies and music albums will be dished up on digital wide-screen LCD touch screens which are amongst the largest in the skies - 23” in First Class; 17” in Business Class; and 10.6” in Economy.

    In a three-class configuration, Emirates’ new Boeing 777-300ERs (ULR) will offer eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business, and 304 seats in Economy; and its 777-200LRs will have eight First Class private suites, 42 lie-flat seats in Business, and 216 seats in Economy.

    Dubai-based Emirates is amongst the fast-growing international airlines in the world. It flies a modern fleet of 103 aircraft to over 80 cities around the globe, and has a US$30 billion order book for 110 more wide-bodied aircraft that includes 51 Boeing 777s and 47 Airbus A380s.

  • #2
    I like EK for putting the pressure on SQ to keep on top of the airline service and product game.

    Nonetheless, my desire to try them between LHR and points in Southeast Asia has been considerably dampened by reports of:
    • The dense economy class seat configuration (still seems true of the 77W);
    • The experience of transiting in DBX; and
    • The sometimes palpable divisions among the cabin crew (apologies, EKrew, I've had no first-hand experience myself, but trusted friends of mine have)
    Last edited by jjpb3; 15 June 2007, 08:44 AM.
    ‘Lean into the sharp points’

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by jjpb3 View Post
      [*]The sometimes palpable divisions among the cabin crew (apologies, EKrew, I've had no first-hand experience myself, but trusted friends of mine have)
      I can certainly attest to this observation. You do notice even on short hops like MEL-AKL.
      All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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      • #4
        This just shows EK's problem a huge investment into their hard product but no mention of investment in their soft product. This is why I come away from every EK flight feeling they are rather cheap and nasty.

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        • #5
          wow
          no different from thier current first. Hope the new SQ will be better

          http://www.emirates.com/uae/AboutEmi...p?yr=2007&St=2

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          • #6
            I am not a fan of EK but can't help but admire they way they've progressed. I think this re-launch of products is in response to the excellent new products EY, QR & SQ are launching and are about to launch. They've probably got wind of SQ's new F for the 380.

            I haven't flown in that F suite on EK but most of the reviews say it's excellent, so it must be. The problem is a lot of the rest of their products (I'm talking mainly seats here, ICE is fantastic) are light years away from it.

            Having said that, if the growing competition pushes them to offer more newer and better products then we'll all be better off.

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            • #7
              I'm not an EK fan, too. But i know they are among the best airlines in the world. Probably i don't love them because of some past experiences... i've been diverted to Muscat 2 times of 4....
              a nightmare... No one from EK Staff informed us for several hours. We went around the terminal the whole night without any information... It was not a Biz-class experience....
              There's only One way to fly.... SINGAPORE AIRLINES!
              If SQ is too expensive, the other way to fly is Qatar Airways

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              • #8
                It looks like the C Class product will be just the Spacebed type lie-flat seats - so nothing special there. However, the screen is huge at 19 inch.

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                • #9
                  Wow .. i guess if i do enter the lions den of the opposition then i will get attacked

                  Im sorry to read about your perceptions of EK.

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                  • #10
                    I don't really like EK, but I don't mind flying with them at all. To compare QR and EK, I will choose the latter. Why? Look at QR, not all their aircraft has IFE and their list of destinations are not as good as EK. However, EK's first class seats may be good. What about those flying cattle (Y) class? No change in the products? Giving us very cramp and not too comfortable seats. Please, I wouldn't like a 3-4-3 configuration of seats on a 777, it will just be too cramp. I will not comment on their C products. The other airlines should give more pressure on the good airlines so that they will keep on improving their cabin products. The more competition, the better. I will start flying other airlines if SQ lags behind.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by WSSS View Post
                      I don't really like EK, but I don't mind flying with them at all. To compare QR and EK, I will choose the latter. Why? Look at QR, not all their aircraft has IFE and their list of destinations are not as good as EK.
                      As a matter of interest how many times have you flown on EK and QR?.

                      As long as they are flying where you need to go it's irrelevant as to how many other destinations they fly to.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by EKrew View Post
                        Wow .. i guess if i do enter the lions den of the opposition then i will get attacked

                        Im sorry to read about your perceptions of EK.
                        Don't get me wrong - I don't dislike EK and I don't think there's much of EK that's bad or anything (well apart from the J class seats and 777 Y class). But on the flipside, there's no incentive for me to fly them either, when 1) EK isn't part of a major alliance and so there's a lack of FF mileage accrual opportunity; 2) Other airlines fly to where I want to go; 3) I can get a similar or better product on many other airlines.

                        I think you'll find that most people here support EK's ambitions even if we do not personally fly EK - because competition can only be good for consumers. I am definitely happy that EK is an aggressive competitor on the trans tasman market because it now means I can get reasonable fares on QF or NZ.

                        Also - I'm sorry if you feel personally attacked but I do not think that was the intention. I believe many of us were just critiquing EK itself than attacking you personally.
                        Last edited by KeithMEL; 15 June 2007, 09:22 PM.
                        All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
                          As a matter of interest how many times have you flown on EK and QR?.

                          As long as they are flying where you need to go it's irrelevant as to how many other destinations they fly to.
                          True. I've never personally flown with them but I've friends who actually flown with them and told me about their experiences with the following two airlines.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by WSSS View Post
                            True. I've never personally flown with them
                            Just a thought, but maybe you should try them out first before deciding you dislike them or prefer one over the other. Then you will know from experience and be in a much better postition to offer decent advice.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
                              Just a thought, but maybe you should try them out first before deciding you dislike them or prefer one over the other. Then you will know from experience and be in a much better postition to offer decent advice.
                              When I have the chance to... Why would I fly EK or QR in the first place. if SQ is so good? I will fly SQ also because I want to earn KF miles. You are right. I will try trying them out. Maybe within Middle East or to Africa.

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