Unhappy Emirates Passenger Writes Open Letter To Share His Experience

by Vaishnavi Venkataraman
Unhappy Emirates Passenger Writes Open Letter To Share His Experience

We’ve all had that flight experience- haven’t we? From bad food to poor customer service and stinky toilets, flight travel is not as rosy as it is always portrayed. And with Covid in the air, things have only become more difficult. British entrepreneur and traveller James Asquith – founder and CEO of Holiday Swap, took to social media to share his horrendous experience. This time, the airline under fire was one of the world’s biggest- Emirates. Here’s what happened.

Meanwhile, Here Are The Travel & Testing Rules For Those Travelling Abroad This Summer.

The Horrendous In-Flight Experience

James Asquith is the youngest person to have visited every sovereign country in the world. He is no stranger to the skies and also holds a Guinness record for his accomplishment. However, during one of his recent flights, the globe trooper managed to find faults with Emirates airlines. Click here to find out more about the rules and guidelines for expats returning to UAE. 

Emirates, which had won accolades for Airline with the Best First Class, Airline with the Best Economy Class, Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Program and Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East, was thrown under the fire by an unhappy passenger. James accused the airline for poor service, lack of response, false advertising and inadequate Business Class amenities. He wrote an open letter, to the President of Emirates, Tim Clark. The letter read:

“Dear Emirates Management,

I would like to take this opportunity to write you an open letter regarding my recent four Emirates flights…”

View this post on Instagram

?✈️? For the second time ever, after the “infamous” Air Canada incident, I have written an open letter to an airline – no surprises for guessing who, it’s @emirates – you can swipe ?? this post to get a clearer picture of what has happened and what they’ve done, and how it’s a dangerous and unhealthy precedent not only in aviation, but in business. I know a bunch of the Emirates PR team are stalking me on here too, so here’s a Lil’ wave for you guys too ?- even airlines I don’t like have the decency to listen to feedback and Male is better, not just delete the problem. But the many thousands of inbox messages I have received illustrate just how many people are clearly unhappy with your company and PR machine. Check back to my stories to see what’s hopefully a funny take as well ?❌ If you’re wondering when this will stop? It will continue until they are more transparent with customers, feedback, and use criticism to be a better company, airline and representation of the people that work there #openletter #emirates

A post shared by James Asquith (@jamesasquith) on

James’ in his post mentioned the harsh reality of what flying business class in Emirates looks like. On his flight from Indonesia to Riyadh, the frequent traveller had to experience a terrible flight. An airline known for serving delish in-flight meals made by top chefs was now shot down for serving sloppy food. When James raised the complaint with the customer care, it was left unattended until he finally forgot about it.

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??✈️?? Yo @emirates – can I invoice you wages $$$ for that time I worked for you for free behind the onboard bar (oh, and my air miles that you stole). ?? Swipe to see the harsh reality of what flying on Emirates “business class” looks like (a far cry from the business class Emirates promote everywhere, the reality is you are more likely to fly on a 777 with Emirates. ❌ A $5k return ticket to Riyadh (I didn’t pay, I would never pay that for Emirates business class ?) from Indonesia got me: Food that looks like baby slop, A bread roll more comparable to a moon rock, and just wow – that solid block is meant to be a “mezze dip sauce” – just wow! When I told the airline about this, as always, customer service just wait for you to give up and the problem to go away ❌ 7-across dormitory-style Seats that (wait for it)…aren’t even lay-flat. (Almost not business class competition in the world is now not lay-flat, let alone has a middle seat! Imagine paying $5k and getting a middle seat!!) I have flown many economy flights and don’t come from money, so work hard to justify where I spend my money and everything is relative – this, for the cost is shocking, but you’ll rarely see people posting about the REALITY and most COMMON seats/features on Emirates, just the robot fan club (and then any negatives are deleted by PR).#emirates #reality #businessclass #emiratesairline

A post shared by James Asquith (@jamesasquith) on

In addition, the seats were not comfortable as he was allotted a middle seat, which did not allow him to lay flat- a feature that most Business Class services provide. The frustration led to him questioning the airline where travellers were speeding their money as the cost attached to this kind of service simply did not justify.

View this post on Instagram

??✈️?? Yo @emirates – can I invoice you wages $$$ for that time I worked for you for free behind the onboard bar (oh, and my air miles that you stole). ?? Swipe to see the harsh reality of what flying on Emirates “business class” looks like (a far cry from the business class Emirates promote everywhere, the reality is you are more likely to fly on a 777 with Emirates. ❌ A $5k return ticket to Riyadh (I didn’t pay, I would never pay that for Emirates business class ?) from Indonesia got me: Food that looks like baby slop, A bread roll more comparable to a moon rock, and just wow – that solid block is meant to be a “mezze dip sauce” – just wow! When I told the airline about this, as always, customer service just wait for you to give up and the problem to go away ❌ 7-across dormitory-style Seats that (wait for it)…aren’t even lay-flat. (Almost not business class competition in the world is now not lay-flat, let alone has a middle seat! Imagine paying $5k and getting a middle seat!!) I have flown many economy flights and don’t come from money, so work hard to justify where I spend my money and everything is relative – this, for the cost is shocking, but you’ll rarely see people posting about the REALITY and most COMMON seats/features on Emirates, just the robot fan club (and then any negatives are deleted by PR).#emirates #reality #businessclass #emiratesairline

A post shared by James Asquith (@jamesasquith) on

The Infamous Air Canada Incident

Earlier in January, James take a dig at the cost of headphones, the veal served as an in-flight meal and the exorbitant cost of upgrading to business class. By way of apology, James insisted Air Canada should donate $1000 to help koala bears who are threatened by Australia’s wildfires. Asquith also said he would match the donation. The airline obliged to his request and offered some money for the bushfires.

In his recent emirates incident, James also mentioned that he had a lot of respect and regard for Air Canada’s PR department as they donated towards Australia’s bushfires. This says a lot about the company and its image especially when they fall short. On the other hand, James mentioned that Emirates delayed refunds, and responses to customers requests. James ended his letter requesting for a public apology as he did for Air Canada back in January. On that note, Emirates Refunded AED 1.9 Billion To Passengers In Two Months