I'm a long time advocate of SIA, but Emirates are seeming like a better option for service, product, and value. What do you think?

 

No. EK long haul Business is a terrible product. Narrow angled lie flat 2-3-2 seats on the 77W. Yuck. In First, the difference is much narrower. EK 77W closed door suites are more private but SQ seats are wider. Food, drink and service are reasonably comparable.

 

Agreewith SFO777, EK 777 in J is awful. However, the A380 upstairs has a signifcant advantage of the lounge (i.e. bar) at the rear for J&F, allowing you to get our of your seat and walk around in comfort. F has great shower room but the water ornament at the front hardly constitutes a rest area! The seats on A380 are also much better than 777. At a lower price and with limos included, the choice to me is around flying time.

I was also impressed with the redemption for EK reward seats. Be mindful now that some routes will be QF operated planes - an absolute no for me personally.

 

EK doesn't come close except in the F suites. I usually fly SQ but flew EK F CPT-DXB-AKL recently (77w/380) and was impressed. I particularly like the food selection and the ICE. Staff were a bit patchy but generally a bit more "human" than SQ.

 

The difference in Y is even greater. EK operates the 3-4-3 sardine can in coach. One of two reasons not to come close to EK for me.
Interesting. Food is one of the main reasons that keeps me from flying Middle Eastern carriers ... but then this is a purely cultural thing.

 

They had baked potatoes with a choice of fillings, including chilli con carne.. It was excellent. Not a choice you're likely to see on SQ.

 

I haven't flown Emirates for a couple of years, however I cant say there is much difference in Y product but when I was a gold member flying Y I would say I averaged an upgrade to business about 25% of the time. I think overall Emirates looks after the frequent flyers better than SIA.

 

another thing that makes me fly EK more often is the fact that they do not make such big fuzz about their suites, which in my opinion are en par with SQ's.
this whole "R" class thing is rubbish, and being asked for US$ 2.000.- surcharge i.e. on the LAX-NRT route when holding an A class ticket is plain insulting robbery...

 

Are you sure that is still the case? If I recall this has been changed and the pricing for suites and first are the same.

In general I think SQ is still a much more polished and better run airline than Emirates is. Emirates is quite inconsistent across the board and you can have great planes and also not so great planes. Still having a middle seat in business is an absolute no no for me (on 777 aircrafts). Also I just cannot get warm with having to transit in Dubai as the airport is just not great. I prefer Changi airport anyday. Also having to sacrifice a nights sleep because I have to change planes in the middle of the night is just a pain.

I do have to agree though that on the pricing side Emirates offers good value for its product usually but even then they are getting more and more expensive. I think Qatar and Oman are better priced with a better product at the moment. The only negative with them is that their network is not as big as EK.

However given the choice I would take SQ anyday over EK.

 

... i am sure, since i was given this "generous" offer when making a booking for this route just 2 weeks ago.

other than that, however, i fully agree, SQ is a more consistend carrier.

 

(highly contextual but...)

Between an SQ non-stop or one-stop direct and Emirates, why would anyone want to stopover in Dubai?

That being said, if flying to a non-SQ city, Emirates' one-stop Dubai (ugh) hub does make some sense.

Comfort-wise Emirates offers narrower seats in the 77W across the board while SQ kept 3-3-3 in its 77WN.

 

SQ wins in having their Suites, First, Biz seats so wide. Emirates and SQ suites are comparable but I don't like how EK stuffs the bedding right behind the seat.

Also the minibar is a cool idea but the drinks are warm and usually have been there awhile unless you get a similar passenger who went around helping themselves to all the Voss waters and stuffing them in their bag.

 

I have never got impressed with flying EK even in F or J. However, SQ F and J are very impressive for me.

 

... del.

 

EK Suites are great, but sadly can't compare to SQ Suites - especially when you have the middle row. Waking up in a double bed all to yourself is nothing short of spectacular.

I find the SQ suites mattress more comfortable than EK Suite's. Somehow with that chair it is not 100% flat as it is still 3 sections (the mattress on top helps a bit).

SQ crew definitely have a lot more experience in the F cabin. Perhaps that's why it's said that SQ service can be a bit more robotic. At EK you can be a purser in 5+ years due to the rapid growth of the airline.