Emirates bumped me off my reserved seat - bawstards!

[Gsxrnz]

I always book 49G on the Emirates flight to/from Sydney and Christchurch.

It's my favourite seat for many reasons - it's in the aisle with my right arm free which alleviates pain from a broken shoulder. It's at the very rear near the galley and more spacious to your right as there's only two (not three) seats to your right where they can interchange food trolleys etc. There's nobody behind you so you can recline in comfort knowing you're not causing any grief and nobody to heave on your seat as they stand up.

Children are rarely there because they're usually seated near the front of cattle class. You're close to the galley so can stand and have a natter to the staff easily while stretching your legs. No queuing for the bog as you're right there and know when it's vacant. Nobody behind you to be pushing the LCD screens with 200 n m of force right in the middle of your back. Easy to score numerous JD & cokes straight from the galley without having to push the steward light and your fellow passengers thinking (correctly) that you're an old soak.

It's in Zone C and always boards first (after the kids and invalids etc.) so the overhead lockers are always empty and also less time hanging around departures and fighting through all the prats in D, E and F that insist on loitering around the entry point even though they have 15 more minutes before their zone is called - why do they do that? What part of "called up by zones" don't they understand?

And you're last off the plane so can leisurely collect your gear and usually get to the carousel just as my case pops off the chute.

Anyway, the other day I got re-seated to 41D. This despite me booking and reserving the seat two months in advance, plus confirming the seat by checking in online literally 23 hours and 59 minutes prior to departure, being one minute inside the permitted 24 hours allowed for online check-in.

I asked why I'd been re-seated when I checked my bag. Dunno was the answer from the Aussie Emirates check in chick. Told her I'd booked and checked in online and not happy I'd been bumped. Told her I wanted a right hand aisle at least because of my shoulder. Go see the Service staff at the end counter. Ok, did that and the best I got (after 10 minutes of her punching buttons) was 19G.

My worst fears came to fruition. There were four kids and four babies within two rows of me. Two of the babies were that young I suspect they were actually born in the departure lounge. The four older kids spent the 9 hour journey climbing over three rows of seats. The babies cried incessantly.

Behind me was a 19ish year old with ADS that kept punching the LCD screen incessantly and with brute force. Most annoying. And if he heaved on my seat once, he did it 30 times during the flight to go to the toilet. ADS with an incontinence issue - just my luck. I gave him the evils a few times over my shoulder and then asked him to please stop punching the buttons so hard - he deferred for 5 minutes and then carried on worse than before. Shame that I timed a rapid full recline of my seat as he was handed a glass of OJ He got the message after that.

I'm going to complain to Emirates and see what their response is. The check in chick said maybe they bumped me to seat a family, but I cruised back there for a look and they appeared to be random people and not a family of four. They didn't even look associated with each other judging by appearance. A hippie backpacker, a middle aged Chinese woman, a Middle eastern gentleman and what appeared to be a Pom who looked surprisingly like Reginald Perrin.

What's the point of reserving a seat and then confirming the seat at check-in, to be told you've been moved? Yeah I'm sure the small print says they can do this but that's not the point. Those that book online and check-in online should get preference to a family or group that rock up to the counter and then ask to be seated together. If they're too ignorant and/or too lazy to do it online well in advance of the flight, they deserve to be seated separately and regular customers should not be bumped. It's even worse because they bumped me for some random unassociated bunch of passengers.

Rant over.

By the way fellow TVers, don't take my rant too seriously. This was a practice letter for Emirates, I'll do a bit of cut/paste/edit later. Maybe I'll get bumped up to Poser Class (Business Class) on my next booking - I won't complain too much about that. In fact I probably should have done more of a song and dance at check in now that I think about it. Maybe they would have bumped me up a class if I'd really had a go at them.

[realfunster]

Glad you got that off your chest.

Didn't read it all but did relate to your touch screen experience- really ill-conceived piece of design in my mind, not much fun having someone constantly poking the back of your headrest.

[Gsxrnz]

Glad you got that off your chest.

Didn't read it all but did relate to your touch screen experience- really ill-conceived piece of design in my mind, not much fun having someone constantly poking the back of your headrest.

Shame you didn't read it all.

Personally I think it's one of my better efforts. Not worthy of publishing, but I'm sure my old English Master would have given me a B+ at the very least.

[Crossy]

I do agree on the 'touch' screen issue, they are the cheapest, nastiest, most insensitive devices ever developed, more of the 'thump' screen to get them to do anything useful

[tifino]

ahem!! now that you've told us all about the benefits of 49G, you'll never be able to get it again, because everyone else will want to Reserve it too

although, brownie points to you for not revealing the Aircraft Model & Mark, but your Flight's description will reveal the missing link...

of course, if you can read the fineprint, there will be a no-guarantee the Reservation has to be met, and can be changed at short notice

Edited May 30, 2015 by tifino

[konying]

Wow and they call me grumpy ,

Some 7-8 years ago I had a shoulder surgery and had a letter from hospital asking to provide appropriate sit.

Showed the letter at the check in and was given middle sit between an overweight woman and a slightly overweight man.

Spent 4 weeks in physio after that flight .

From now on will always ask for 49G

[smokie36]

I prefer 1A.

[Gsxrnz]

I prefer 1A.

Cessna?

[samuibeachcomber]

The joys of air travel!...1st class, business class,economy class.May i suggest a 2 new classes..............family class(with all that it implies) and bogan class or chav class!

[samuibeachcomber]

I prefer 1A.

Cessna?

no i think 1A is in the toilet

[EmptyHead]

This is hardly Thailand related and nobody cares.

[sipi]

The only Emirates flight we have done is Sydney-Bangkok return. The seats were rock hard and the air vents were all screwed shut. When we opened the vents the steward closed them again. Weird. The plane stunk like a sewer by the time we landed. Never again.

[Aussieroaming]

Crap when they do that.

Reminds me of the time I had a business class ticket on SAA and was flying from Zambia to SA to get a connecting flight back to Sydney. I got to the check in counter and the woman handed me an economy class seat and when I gave her the <deleted> she ended up telling me that business class was overbooked.

When I got on board surprise surprise business class was completely empty and I had to then beg the stewardess to get reallocated into a business class seat. Just after she moved me the original check in girl arrived on board for a con flab with the flight staff and I gave her an absolute earful. She just smirked back and walked off....that's SAA for you and why she did it I'll never know as I'd never even seen her before.

Emirates on the other hand do try to look after customers and hence I always try to stay loyal with them.

[steven100]

Sorry I don't sit out with the circus .... always first class .. even on Emirates.

You should try it sometime ... the screens are not on the headrest & it's quite and peaceful. I get my limo driver to collect me at the airport and it's straight to the Sheraton or Marriot.

[Banzai99]

I pay for Business Class, it's expensive, but i have a reasonable experience.

Go Cattle class, expect the worse.

[steven100]

you get what you pay for .....

[sipi]

The Christchurch-Sydney-Bangkok service is shared with Qantas. We paid for Qantas and got Emirates, and it wasn't a budget fare. Never again..

[samuibeachcomber]

Sorry I don't sit out with the circus .... always first class .. even on Emirates.

You should try it sometime ... the screens are not on the headrest & it's quite and peaceful. I get my limo driver to collect me at the airport and it's straight to the Sheraton or Marriot.

your lucky............i go cattle class and get picked up by a licensed bandit in a taxi

[weegee]

Same same with Singapore Airlines...last time

[smokie36]

In First on Emirates you get your own personal cabin....huge TV...6 and a half foot fully reclining bed and a pop up thing full of snacks and soft drinks.

The Dom Perignon is a button away too.....

Just to keep y'all informed hehe.

[Thongkorn]

i Have flow Emirates dozens of times, Never had any problems , I was once asked if i would move, I agreed as all i could thing about is that i will be in Thailand soon. so it was not a big deal

[faraday]

Quite like Emirates always seem to have decent veggie food, which I always have when flying.

I went to LHR about 5 mos ago, & although can't complain about anything, I found a couple of the female cabin staff a bit haughty in their attitude, as if serving Economy passengers was beneath them.

I suppose I could make a comment about how I would have liked one of them to be physicaly beneath me, but I won't...coz that's rude.

[smokie36]

Quite like Emirates always seem to have decent veggie food, which I always have when flying.

I went to LHR about 5 mos ago, & although can't complain about anything, I found a couple of the female cabin staff a bit haughty in their attitude, as if serving Economy passengers was beneath them.

I suppose I could make a comment about how I would have liked one of them to be physicaly beneath me, but I won't...coz that's rude.

They are not so keen on drooling blokes in first class either.

[samuibeachcomber]

In First on Emirates you get your own personal cabin....huge TV...6 and a half foot fully reclining bed and a pop up thing full of snacks and soft drinks.

The Dom Perignon is a button away too.....

Just to keep y'all informed hehe.

next you'll be telling me a lady is supplied free of charge(pen pal,only of course)

[smokie36]

In First on Emirates you get your own personal cabin....huge TV...6 and a half foot fully reclining bed and a pop up thing full of snacks and soft drinks.

The Dom Perignon is a button away too.....

Just to keep y'all informed hehe.

next you'll be telling me a lady is supplied free of charge(pen pal,only of course)

The food isn't that great SBC so don't be too concerned.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I doubt you get anything from Emirates apart from an apology. They held up their end of the bargain. They got you from A to B on a seat. They reserve the right to reseat, retime, chang the aircraft type, reroute for operational reasons. Best outcome is possibly some Skywards miles so make sure you quote your number in your letter. If you are going to complain best to write a letter not an email.

[Jdiddy]

Was it the Syd to Christchurch leg?

If it was it was because when people checkin at Dubai all the way to Auckland or Christchurch sometimes your seat gets released due to overbooking, ive had it happen to me on the SYD-AKL leg

[Asiantravel]

How can discussing your experience on a flight between Australia and New Zealand on an airline totally unconnected to Thailand have any relevance on this forum?

[Lukecan]

Fly with Turkish Airlines from now on, its much better

[kannot]

I prefer 1A.

Depends what plane you're on for the 777-300 er two class I like 6k or 6 a its a very small cabin on its own, on the A 380 23k is nice........economy? whats that?