I have travelled emirates off and on since I was a kid and I don’t recall ever having too much of a problem, probably because I was too fascinated with the little tv screens for each seat ( a big deal at that time). But my most recent journey from Bombay to Dubai and then onwards to Heathrow has tainted my image of it, and this time not even a nifty little tv screen can redeem it.
Contrary to what i’ve read, I found the ground staff at bombay a lot more helpful than the not-so-helpful flight attendants. I don’t know if its just me, but I think i’ve been around a fair amount of whites to be able to detect a hint of racism when I see it and the Emirates flight attendants in their tight little beige skirts and self importance from hell, certainly seem to possess a lot of it.
I was truly appalled to see the kind of non-chalant attitude they had towards anyone who was not white or not seemingly rich. I witnessed a particularly shameful conversation between an arab woman and her son and a british flight attendant with overly red lipstick smeared over her caked with makeup face, and I was really disgusted. She spoke with utter disdain and condescension and seemed to be of the impression that the brits were still colonising the rest of the ’uncivilised’ world.
The Emirates flight attendants are so apparently snooty that one wonders how, considering the last I heard on the ’how-to-be-an-air-hostess’ girl-guide-column, was that the basic requirements were to be over a certain height and good-looking ( although that doesnt seem to be the case when you look at what emirates has to offer. it appears most flight attendants have been overusing their complimentary foundation and eyeliner..and that shade of red lipstick....an aesthetic disaster.give it up girls, the last woman who could carry THAT off, was marilyn monroe).
I mean no disrespect to women, and I for one dislike a generalisation, but what I dislike more is spending my hard earned money on travel expenses that involve having to interact with people who clearly are not the cream of society but apparently think they are.
This aside, the journey was not too bad, the food mediocre, the inflight entertainment a little stale, and the seating cramped as the airline was packed.
To Emirates’s credit, the flight was on time, there were no delays and although the seat upholstery was a passive pastel-bile-like-unimpressive kind of deal, everything else was pretty much OK.
I think as post-colonialism Indians, we possibly are more sensitive to the behaviour of goras, but having travelled several airlines, visiting several countries and interacting with a wide range of nationalities I have to say that the behaviour of the flight attendants on Emirates is the worst I have ever seen and if you value your self-respect I suggest you travel on another airline.
I would love to put those icy blondes in a Hitchcock film and wait for ghastly things to happen, except they dont have the class to be in a Hitchcock film.
so...basically I would advise you against emirates...atleast from india or dubai.unless you have diamonds to flash and patience to spare.
On a final note though, I have to say, my post emirates flight via Virgin Atlantic was like Heaven after purgatory. go figure.