Champagne and Caviar: Emirates’ $2 Billion Customer Service Gives A New Age Spin To The Hollywood Glam of Airlines Past
As airlines cut costs and succumb to COVID’s impact on the travel industry, one brand is still willing to take risks and making a hefty investment in the customer service space.
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2022 has been a year of bounceback for the airline industry. Across the skies, companies have been competing to create a customer experience that puts the pandemic travel pause to shame. But by this point, many of us are willing to hop on a flight in sweatpants (or if we’re cutting it close, last night’s pajamas). And regardless of frequent flier status, all travelers cannot skirt the impact of delayed or canceled flights due to the pilot shortage. Impact of a global pandemic aside, the airline industry at large has simultaneously grown to be much less–and much more–flashy over the years. Financial circumstances across the board dictate that most airline passengers have not been able to enjoy the glitz and glam that the travel industry used to offer us. As airlines cut costs and succumb to COVID’s impact on the travel industry, one brand is still willing to take risks and making a hefty investment in the customer service space: Emirates.
Onboard meal options, entertainment and interior styling are all up for improvement across all cabin classes as part of the company’s new $2 billion program to overall over 120 aircraft beginning this year, reports CondéNaste Traveler. “Through the pandemic we’ve continued to launch new services and initiatives to ensure our customers travel with the assurance and ease, including digital initiatives to improve customer experiences on the ground,” Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, tells reporters. ”Now we’re rolling out a series of intensive programmes to take Emirates’ signature inflight experiences to the next level.”
This next level includes reupholstered seating and flooring for all cabins and seat types, a plant-based menu with everything from king oyster mushrooms to chocolate truffle cake, and even movie snacks like lobster rolls. Passengers of all types can look forward to changes at the hands of award-winning caterers and chefs, and Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, possibly the world’s best hospitality school. To match the changes rolling out throughout cabins, the Emirates in-flight crew has already started improving their service by undergoing training on everything from excellence and attentiveness to innovation and passion.
Two billion dollars may seem like a hefty investment for any business, but for an industry that has been underwhelming customers over time, the return the global airline sees could be immense. Divvying up the funds across not just First Class and Business cabins, and making a pointed effort to improve the customer experience for all passengers onboard, is one that speaks to Emirate’s ability to receive and implement customer feedback. In fact, such a move could imply the company values customer experience and feedback to such an extent that they are willing to invest in their company promise: “Flying Emirates means enjoying a better flying experience.”
