Emirates! Where do I go next?

[SeanMcgee]

Dear all,

I am sorry to write on here about this but I have no other option to get an answer.

I was checking into Bangkok 2nd November 2014 EK 373 a 20.40 flight.

I was in the departure gate area Zone E waiting near the boarding gate in a free internet zone around 8 pm.

I looked at the departure board at 8.05. It stated a delay of 50 minutes. Flight will depart now at 9.30 pm.

I read the Emirates tickets stating boarding gate will close 20 minutes before departure.

So I went to a nearby duty free store to get some tobacco.

AS I was talking to a Japanese guy the time was going onto 8.50, the departure board still said "go to gate"

I just drank a soft drink off and the board at 9pm stated still goto gate, so I did.

9.10 Pm the gate was closed already and the flight was gone taxied off.

I was denied entry. Even though after 9.20 the boards will still stating goto gate, I was escorted back outside to immigration and took to an Emirates check in desk.

I was not called near the gate nor did the departure update a final call or even a boarding sign.

I told the staff this, and they said we will put you on the next flight.

I was then taken to a ticket office and the next flight was organised.

But the Thai ticket office woman would not let be have the ticket unless I paid £165 on my card.

I said It is not my fault the airline is to blame.

I complained to the cabin crew on the flights home and they said they would investigate this and put it onto the system.

When I got home I was going to pursue legal action after the verbal abuse I got into extorting this money out of me.

I wrote a letter the the CAA . Emirate head office, online over the phone, by post. Not one response.

I am absolutely disgusted with this airline.

I have been to Thailand 21 times and 7 times or more with fantastic experiences with Emirates.

I have never missed a flight in 130 flights.

The departure board was not working and I was there 20 minutes before the official delay take off time.

I am going back to Bangkok next week. And I want to fly Emirates again, but I have had to block them.

Why should I fly back with them after this.

Where is my £165 ? I want this money back. And I will pursue legal action.

My first intention in Bangkok is to get a report on the ground staff and the handling that night.

I am having to go with another Airline after my confidence in Emirates has gone.

The cabin crew were fantastic but the customer service after for a refund has never come to light.

I feel let down by an airline that claims to be the best 4 star job, when really they are not.

What do I do next, I am not writing this off.

I am not at fault. If I was, I would have wrote it off by now.

Sean

[angsta]

I doubt you'll be getting any money back. Good luck.

[SeanMcgee]

I doubt you'll be getting any money back. Good luck.

I will get it back pal. ABTA, ATOL, whoever are going to have to. Or Emirates are in big trouble.

[wooloomooloo]

Put it down to experience, Sean. I'd see £165 as a good result.

You can't blame the boards in all honesty.

Edited January 16, 2015 by wooloomooloo

[SeanMcgee]

Put it down to experience, Sean. I'd see £165 as a good result.

You can't blame the boards in all honesty.

No, I blame Emirates, because they never even called my name out on the tannoy.

And I will next week in Bangkok get a record of all that night to take this further in t he Uk with the IATA.

£165???

I could have changed the ticket for this and stayed another two weeks not 4 hours..

I don't care about the money. The principle is everything.

[ukrules]

You're lucky they didn't cancel your ticket and make you buy a new one at the full walk in retail on the day price.

You should never rely on what those airport boards say, especially if a flight is delayed - that delay could disappear at a moments notice and it will depart without you as you found out.

[SeanMcgee]

Put it down to experience, Sean. I'd see £165 as a good result.

You can't blame the boards in all honesty.

No, I blame Emirates, because they never even called my name out on the tannoy.

And I will next week in Bangkok get a record of all that night to take this further in t he Uk with the IATA.

£165???

I could have changed the ticket for this and stayed another two weeks not 4 hours..

I don't care about the money. The principle is everything.

It makes me sick when I have paid this and I was genuine. And some fat person in economy on the trip of a life time gets upgraded to business class cos they complain they are two fat and don't pay a penny for it.

Genuine not fake.

[swampdonkey]

You're lucky they didn't cancel your ticket and make you buy a new one at the full walk in retail on the day price.

You should never rely on what those airport boards say, especially if a flight is delayed - that delay could disappear at a moments notice and it will depart without you as you found out.

Correct, It is no ones fault only his own

[neverdie]

Sean,

Emirates won't return your fee nor will they be concerned with your idle threats.

You are required to present yourself at the gate as per the time on the ticket and boarding pass. There is no onus on the airline to call you via the airport PA.

You are at fault and should appreciate the fact you original ticket wasn't cancelled.

Try to look at this situation without emotion. EK isn't a charity, they charge fees because people that work for them earn wages and you've created considerable work for them by not presenting yourself at the gate on time for boarding. Not to mention, the plane left with another spare seat, that costs money too.

[SeanMcgee]

Sean,

Emirates won't return your fee nor will they be concerned with your idle threats.

You are required to present yourself at the gate as per the time on the ticket and boarding pass. There is no onus on the airline to call you via the airport PA.

You are at fault and should appreciate the fact you original ticket wasn't cancelled.

Try to look at this situation without emotion. EK isn't a charity, they charge fees because people that work for them earn wages and you've created considerable work for them by not presenting yourself at the gate on time for boarding. Not to mention, the plane left with another spare seat, that costs money too.

I shut down thaiand not fare, I do it now.

[swampdonkey]

Sean,

Emirates won't return your fee nor will they be concerned with your idle threats.

You are required to present yourself at the gate as per the time on the ticket and boarding pass. There is no onus on the airline to call you via the airport PA.

You are at fault and should appreciate the fact you original ticket wasn't cancelled.

Try to look at this situation without emotion. EK isn't a charity, they charge fees because people that work for them earn wages and you've created considerable work for them by not presenting yourself at the gate on time for boarding. Not to mention, the plane left with another spare seat, that costs money too.

I shut down thaiand not fare, I do it now.

[neverdie]

Sean,

Emirates won't return your fee nor will they be concerned with your idle threats.

You are required to present yourself at the gate as per the time on the ticket and boarding pass. There is no onus on the airline to call you via the airport PA.

You are at fault and should appreciate the fact you original ticket wasn't cancelled.

Try to look at this situation without emotion. EK isn't a charity, they charge fees because people that work for them earn wages and you've created considerable work for them by not presenting yourself at the gate on time for boarding. Not to mention, the plane left with another spare seat, that costs money too.

I shut down thaiand not fare, I do it now.

What does he mean?

[tw25rw]

When did you first notice it said go to gate?

I sympathise, but I think your case is weak tbh.

[cornishcarlos]

1st class chump...

You left it to the very last minute, casually chatting with a Japanese guy and finishing your soft drink, 100% your fault buddy...

[NE1]

Does it not tell you on your ticket to be at the boarding gate an hour before your flight ?

I have not flown for a year , but this I remember.

[KittenKong]

The airline is not responsible for the information on the departure boards; the airport is. Good luck getting any money back from them.

If someone announced my name 20 times over a public address system in Thailand I doubt that I would understand a single word of it.

The traveller is responsible for getting himself to the right place at the right time, and I make sure that I do so.

All in all I would say you are lucky that they changed your flight for GBP165; with many airlines you would have just had to buy a new ticket at full price.

[endure]

Which part of "go to gate" was difficult to understand?

[Briggsy]

I very much doubt you will succeed in getting your money back. You took a big risk and it did not pay off. I think you were lucky to have had to pay only an extra £165.

[SoiBiker]

So it said 'go to gate', and you didn't?

Hard to see how that's anyone's fault but your own.

[samsensam]

when flights are delayed i always hang around the departure gate as experience tells me that while most delays are longer than estimated they can be shorter...

as for other airlines i gave up on emirates a few years ago and now use quatar or my favourite etihad both have newer fleets and better food.

[steve187]

I would have thought that '' go to gate'' was a clue for you to go to gate, not ''drink my drink''

Qatar are better but we don't want passengers that hold up the plane

[BLACKJACK2]

You've got no chance of getting your money.

I think Emirates has gone downhill, next time I'm booked with Qatar.

steve187 are you a member of there privilege club, if so is it any good.

Edited January 17, 2015 by BLACKJACK2

[steve187]

I don't do enough paid flights to take advantage of the privilege club, as i fly one world staff ticket sometimes, but out of the middle east airlines i prefer Qatar more so since they joined the one world alliance,

[Jay Sata]

As others have said it is what is printed on your boarding card that is correct.

If there is blame anywhere it is with the airport and it's information board.

You made a decision to loiter and it has cost you money.

Put it down to experience.

Incidentally having watched dozens of those Airport programmes in the UK I am always amused that people,who miss their flights by being late think the airline is to blame.

Every episode seems to have a couple who arrive at check in too late and then have a tantrum when told the gate is closed.

[MichaelJohn]

I can never understand people who don't go to the gate when asked. They insist on hanging around the lounge till the last possible minute, one last drink, buying duty free; they're invariable the last one on the plane, the plane misses it's take off slot and everyone else is inconvenienced.

When it says "Go To Gate" it means go to gate; it does not mean hang around till it says Boarding. Just imagine the chaos if everyone didn't go to the gate till it said Boarding.

Emirates would have been totally withing their right to charge a full fare.

So, book with another airline ...... oh, Emirates are cheap at the moment ...... well ................

[tolsti]

I'm not sure what he thinks the CAA, ABTA or ATOL are going to do about a flight originating in Thailand.

Sounds like he knows he made a mistake but cannot accept it so he blames anyone else other than himself.

Pathetic twonk.

[oxo1947]

I had a dispute with Eva Air some 3-4 years ago Sean, I got the money back in the end--I think you will.

But it did take some leg work & a lot of headache< & my case was a little stronger than yours in as much as the plane was not even there--they cancelled it.

You can read the thread below, the amazing part was the lack of belief when I explained to the readers of TV.--as you can see I got posts saying, "well I have flown with them & they were always OK"--&--"are you sure the plane wasn't there?"--yer go figure , I might have walked past it, it was only a Jumbo Jet..

I did get a friend who is somewhat of a scribe to pen a personal handwritten letter to the Head of EVA in Taiwan.

I bombarded the social media outlets (travel blogs etc) with complaints about it.

Then I wrote to EVA under different names asking if this persons complaints on the travel blogs were correct

I complain to every organization I could possibly think off in the UK,

I constantly phoned & harassed their representative in Thailand (Siam.Air)

I don't really know which one paid off for me, I just got a letter from Siam.air with a chque for 1 way of the fare, an apology was not with it, & I was still out of pocket, as I had to get a Thai Air plane that night, which cost more.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/382486-eva-air-no-show/

[The Fat Controller]

Got to agree with the majority, completely the fault of the OP.

His actions would have delayed the fight for everybody else if he had checked bags as these would need to be offloaded, which was probably the case.

ABTA, ATOL and the CAA are not there to protect the general public from individual stupidity.

If he does bombard Emirates on social media, I hope someone directs them to this thread and his board name is the same one he used on his ticket

[SinCityGr8One]

Let it go. Just be at the gate at least 1/2 hour ahead of Departure Time for any Airline you fly.

[moojar]

Sounds like he knows he made a mistake but cannot accept it so he blames anyone else other than himself.

Sounds a lot like my wife. But then, she is Thai.