COMPARISON PHOTOGRAPH OF AIRLINE INTERIORS

FLYING WITH EMIRATES IN 2009

The luxurious First Class interior of an Emirate Boeing 777-300ER

The author relaxes over a glass of Dom Perignon champagne while reading the menu in the luxurious First Class cabin of an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER.

We were upgraded from Business Class to First Class on the Dubai to Paris leg of our journey. We flew Emirates Business Class on our return to Australia in a Boeing 777-300, and found the seating and facilities could not be faulted. We will definitely fly Emirates again.

PHOTOGRAPHS DESCRIBED AS BUSINESS CLASS SEATING IN A SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRCRAFT IN 2010

A lady who flew with Singapore Airlines to cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest with Scenic Tours in 2010 was very disappointed by the shabby seating provided to them in the Business Class of a Boeing 777-300ER, and the following photographs were sent to me as evidence of falling standards on Singapore Airlines:

Emirates Business Class looks nothing like this!

The exposed and stained foam in Business Class seating.

Here is her own review of her travel with Singapore Airlines:

"I think it's pretty appalling that an airline as reputable as Singapore Airlines (SIA) should allow such a "naked" finish in its business class 777-300ER (seats are identical to the A380's). There were stains and tears on the narrow strip dividing the 2 seats! This section is where the tables are stored. See photos above. To me, this is indicative of a lack of effort on their part as their seats are selling anyway. The seat lies flat and is a comfortable enough bed. The food and on board service are good but nothing special. The whole experience was totally contrary to our expectations. SIA was no cheaper than Qantas whose A380 business class actually has a separate lounge area with a flat screen TV. Unfortunately, to get to Munich we had to fly to London first. As we did not fancy transiting in busy Heathrow we gave Qantas a miss.

We could have flown Emirates as I have heard good reports about them too but we wanted to try the A 380. I guess SIA is not what it used to be. My husband and I used to live in Singapore and often flew SIA business class (company account). It certainly was the "bees knees" in those days. Now that we are semi-retired, and pay our own way, we hate to be disappointed or feel we are not getting value for our money.

I did write to SIA bringing to their attention the shoddy finish in business class. Their reply, whilst apologetic, was what I would consider dismissive and patronizing, bordering on insulting. 'The foam material which you noticed was indeed the original covering. We agree that it looks unfinished and this was why it was replaced with leather overing since August 2010.'

They first offered my husband and me each $150 to spend on board in our next flight. I replied politely that as we do not plan ever to fly SIA by choice in future, we have no use for them. They then came back with an offer of 10,000 frequent flyer points for each of us as 'a gesture of goodwill'.

I feel that I should post the photos on the world wide web so that our fellow travelers know what to expect when they fly Singapore Airlines business class."

I was happy to oblige this lady by posting her review where it can be seen on a top rated Google web-site

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