Emi-rates ***1/2. Review on Emirates

I took this flight on my way back home from the US. I arrived two hours ahead of schedule at 6pm to get get there in time since it took me about an hour to get to JFK, New York. Imagine my surprise when I saw baggage check-in nearly packed. This was a strange experience but Emirates was looking for volunteers who could stay back for a day as there were so many people there. They were ready to give a one-way free ticket that day for someone who could stay back for a day. As for the baggage, I had called their 800 number to find out about the baggage allowance and they told that only three bags(2+1) were allowed. I left some of my stuff back only to find at the airport that pretty much everyone had 4 bags with them!!

After an hour or so into the hourney, the food was being served. I ordered lamb and wasn't very happy with it. But the wine was pretty good- a red one at that. One of the most impressive features is the entertainment option. They have a small screen but a good assembly of channels lined up for you. One of them shows you the path of the flight and the time remaining for the journey. The crew is pretty cosmopolitan. I saw a couple of desis, quite a few number of brits(guess Emirates pays them well) and I found that they were pretty helpful.

I had a halt for one and a half hour in Dubai, guess that is why I picked this flight. I did some shopping at the Duty free shops there. One thing I noticed was that the help desk crew in the airport was sort of rude. Now for the second part of the journey from Dubai to Hyderabad was short but not sweet. Most of the crew consists of orientals who ain't upto the mark. As far as the punctuality was concerned they didn't fare badly. But they definetely need to improve the service on the Dubai-India sector. It's like those movies which are engrossing till the interval and then you lose interest in the later half.