Sincere apologies

I have been in the hospitality business (hotels) for more than 30 years and would like to respond to the subscriber’s letter titled “Emirates Flight Failings” (Feb. ’12, pg. 26).

While it does sound like the subscriber received very poor service during her flight on Emirates, and the picture of the toilet says it all, I would note that she states she wrote to the airline on June 6 and that when she hadn’t received a reply by the 10th, she wrote to the Department of Transportation. She couldn’t give the airline even one week to reply?

I know from experience that when investigating guests’ complaints, it is not always easy to get the facts “right this minute”; the people I need to speak to may be off duty, on vacation, etc. Actually, Emirates’ letter to her was very good and, I think, very sincere.

We in the hospitality business DO want our passengers, guests and clients to have good experiences, and we ARE truly sorry when this is not the case. Still, this passenger wouldn’t accept an attempt by the airline to make things right.

Name withheld by request