The Wandering Salesman

This was the worst I’ve seen. Wait until you hear this…

I flew to MEL last weekend on the regular Emirates EK404 shuttle. It wasn’t a full flight so I asked the staff at the lounge to find me a seat which had an empty seat beside me. Call me old fashioned – but I just value my space, especially flying on EK with the 3-4-3 configuration down the back.

About 10-minutes later, the lounge receptionist came running up to me like an excited school kid. She had a new boarding pass and had found me an exit row and had blocked off the other seats.

Excellent. Now I could relax. Well, as much as possible, sitting upright in an economy seat for 7-hours.

Anyway.

The loads to MEL have been up and down lately and this was one of those flights that was around 90% full. No op-up today. Bugger.

(more…)

I had the misfortune of travelling with my folks the other day.

As we were getting ready to head out the door, my mother turned to me and said.

“Are you wearing that on the plane…?”

“Yes” I said defiantly.

Then I remembered I was 43 and my heart sank, realising that my mother was still breaking my balls about what I was wearing.

She is of the opinion that if you dress well, then you will be upgraded to First from economy, be met at the airport by 3 virgins who will walk ahead of you sprinkling the ground with rose petals, have your bags carried for you by English butlers and be whisked off to a private room in the airport for VIP’s.

Or something like that.

Which is complete bullshit. I asked my mother if she had been drinking again that morning. She said something along the lines of no, but it wasn’t her fault that the cork fell out of the Chardonnay bottle when she was tidying up the fridge.

I kid. She doesn’t drink Chardonnay. (more…)

As far as airline relationships goes, my bond with EK has been more like a one night stand rather than a marriage. But I am seriously impressed.

Firstly, they’re one of the few airlines with money. And it shows. They’re aircraft are new. They have the world’s best IFE. And on the routes I fly (predominantly between Australia and Singapore), the aircraft have the latest fit-out. None of this regional J class configuration for me thanks.

My only gripe is that their frequent flyer program – Skywards, is limiting. Their top tier (Gold) only requires you to fly 50,000 tier miles. Silver is 25,000 and Blue is entry level.

50,000 tier/status miles on any other carrier would only get you mid-way (ie on UA and most of the other US carriers).

Emirates made a song and dance about how they had overhauled the Skywards program beginning 2010, with the introduction of Flex and Saver fares. Rumour has it that they are working on a 4th tier (ie Platinum), which is long overdue.

The EK passenger make up is probably more diverse that most other carriers. On one hand, and depending on the route you fly, you can find some very, very competitive fares. This brings out all the leisure travellers. Then, on the other hand, you have some seriously hard-core premium cabin passengers (ie out of DXB to the US).

On the routes I fly, I’m blessed because there’s not that many Silver or Gold members. And if you’re talking about Op-Ups (that elusive operational upgrade), then EK has been by far, the most generous carrier I have ever flown on.

I just wish EK would articulate their actual upgrade criteria…no one knows.

As far as the Real McCoy airline goes, EK are nearly here. I said nearly.