Emirates Adds First Class Home Check-In: Cool Or Silly?

Emirates Adds First Class Home Check-In: Cool Or Silly?

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If you’re traveling in first class, Emirates will now send someone to your home to check you in at no extra cost. That probably sounds kind of awesome, and kind of like an April Fools’ joke.

Emirates home check-in service for first class travelers

Effective immediately, Emirates first class passengers have the option of being checked in without even leaving their home or hotel room, at no extra cost.

With this service, an agent will visit your home or hotel room in Dubai or Sharjah at a pre-booked time, and complete all check-in formalities. This includes document verification, checking in baggage, and issuing boarding passes. This must be booked at least 24 hours prior to departure, and the formalities can take place up to six hours prior to your flight’s departure.

Then you can use your pre-booked complimentary Emirates chauffeur service to get to the airport at your convenience, at least 90 minutes prior to departure. Once at the airport, you’ll be able to proceed directly to passport control and security, and can then head to the lounge. However, if you have extra baggage you still want to check-in, you can go to a dedicated counter for that.

For what it’s worth, Emirates first introduced home check-in a few years back as a paid service for all passengers. The airline is now rolling this out as a complimentary service for first class passengers.

Emirates will now check you in at home

This is a great concept, but very niche

Emirates is adding yet another feature for first class passengers without taking anything away, and that’s totally awesome. I’m trying to think of the circumstances under which something like this would be useful, though, given that:

  • Emirates already offers a chauffeur service, and the chauffeur drops you off at a dedicated premium check-in area with porters, so it’s not like you have to carry your luggage yourself at all
  • Most people are pretty last minute packers, and may not want their bags taken away six or more hours prior to departure; for that matter, they may be scrambling last minute to get ready for travel, so may not want to commit to being around at a certain time
  • With the existence of online check-in, and travel restrictions largely being eased, it’s not like document verification is a huge hurdle anymore, at least for most

I suppose this feature could be useful if you’re traveling as a large family, or if you have a ton of luggage, to the point that it won’t even fit in a chauffeur drive car. But short of that, I’m not sure what problem this is supposed to address.

Then again, I think it’s important to acknowledge that the local UAE crowd does often appreciate services that the rest of us wouldn’t expect or necessarily find useful. For example, just about every “automated” feature or machine in the UAE still has a human staffing it just in case anyone needs help, so…

Emirates’ first class check-in is already pretty seamless

Bottom line

Emirates first class passengers can now check-in from the comfort of their home or hotel room in Dubai or Sharjah at no extra cost. Essentially the check-in counter is brought directly to you, from having your boarding pass printed, to having your documents verified, to having your luggage checked.

This is an innovative feature, though I feel like the circumstances where this is useful are quite limited.

Could you see yourself using Emirates’ home check-in?

Conversations (24)
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  1. Pierre Guest

    Just tried to book it and apparently this service is not available to fly to USA for some reason.

  2. Alex Guest

    It's really silly that's not the way to promote.

  3. OliverBoliver Member

    I could imagine for someone with staff and/or a PA this could be good because they will basically handle the process. It take something out of their boss's hands and into their own which is basically their lob description.

  4. Tom Guest

    I find it hilarious how everyone here just looks for ways to tear any idea apart. This is ultimately why US airlines offer such a terrible passenger experience in combination with the obsession with costs.

    "I don't think I would ever want to announce to my neighborhood that I'm leaving the country EK first class."

    You already do when the EK CD car in Dubai turns up and says "Emirates First Class" on the side....

    I find it hilarious how everyone here just looks for ways to tear any idea apart. This is ultimately why US airlines offer such a terrible passenger experience in combination with the obsession with costs.

    "I don't think I would ever want to announce to my neighborhood that I'm leaving the country EK first class."

    You already do when the EK CD car in Dubai turns up and says "Emirates First Class" on the side. Also, you are probably leaving from a high-end area in Dubai, not from downtown Detroit.

    "with all the other options available this is the dumbest thing ever.

    why wouldn't they check in your bags this way as well? having "home check in" only to have to schlep bags to the airport is dumb."

    Ermm, they do check in your bags, did you actually read this?

    "Why don't they kill 2 birds with one stone and just make the chauffeur that picks you up to takes you to the airport also your check-in person?"

    Because then Emirates would have to train 1,000 drivers in Dubai as check-in agents, get them whatever security clearance is required etc, rather than just being able to hire cheap drivers?

  5. Carrie Gold

    I have a policy of not checking in until I have reached the airport .... just in cases (with apologies to Love Actually).

  6. Hobbs Guest

    I don't think I would ever want to announce to my neighborhood that I'm leaving the country EK first class.

  7. dnfinity New Member

    This is what I love about EK: They always think outside the box and strive to exceed your expectations! That's what a real First Class should be after all! I frequently fly EK First and will definitely use this service on my future trips. Keep being the best in the sky, EK!

  8. henare Diamond

    with all the other options available this is the dumbest thing ever.

    why wouldn't they check in your bags this way as well? having "home check in" only to have to schlep bags to the airport is dumb.

    1. dnfinity New Member

      That's what ex. Delta CEO Richard Anderson would say! :)

    2. Icarus Guest

      If you read it, home check in includes the staff taking the bags ahead of the customer.

      In fact this isn’t a first : American , BA and Swiss offer it to everyone from
      London albeit at a fee https://airportr.com/en/

  9. John Guest

    This is certainly over the top, but I would use it. Now, I'm in the "family with two small kids" camp. So if an airline offers to come collect my bags (and travel stroller) at my home and I just head to the airport with carry on and the fam, sign me up. Now if only they could get all my stuff home for me at the end.

  10. Petri Diamond

    Just what the doctor ordered. When travelling as a family we always seem to have 11 pieces of checked luggage. This truly makes the process so much easier.

  11. Eskimo Guest

    This is useless for most people.
    Now if they will drive me straight to my plane with a short few minute stop to get through security and immigration at a private dedicated facility. That I'm going to pay for.

    Have a car on tarmac waiting upon arrival and drive straight to my hotel (short detour to customs and immigration of course), that I'm going to pay for.

    Give a true private jet ground experience, I don't mind sharing the plane.

  12. NYGuy24 Diamond

    I can certainly see the value in something like this. Maybe you have a late day flight and have to check out of your hotel. Sure most hotels will store your luggage for you, but that requires a trip back to your hotel. With CX Hong Kong I was able to check my luggage in while in the city and then go tour the city all day without having to waste time heading back to...

    I can certainly see the value in something like this. Maybe you have a late day flight and have to check out of your hotel. Sure most hotels will store your luggage for you, but that requires a trip back to your hotel. With CX Hong Kong I was able to check my luggage in while in the city and then go tour the city all day without having to waste time heading back to the hotel to collect my luggage before going to airport.

    Another scenario I ran into specifically with Emirates. I was flying F out of Dubai and got to the airport too early. The people at the counter wouldn't check me in and said I had to wait for the counter for that particular flight to open up and I had to sit in the waiting area next to the check in instead of heading to the lounge.

    So while this is hardly an essential service I do see benefits.

    1. Stuart Guest

      Very good points. It's useful to those who see the need and have the circumstances. They do exist. And not silly at all in this case.

      Well, until a blogger tries to do this and requests that the bags be checked through on four connections on separate carriers and with separate tickets, lol.

  13. Phillip Diamond

    Is it just me - for the past 7 days Emirates’ site and app have been throwing up a technical error every time I try to look up award availability?!?

  14. RCB Guest

    Why don't they kill 2 birds with one stone and just make the chauffeur that picks you up to takes you to the airport also your check-in person? They arrive to take you to the airport, check all your documents, give you your boarding passes, and then take you and your luggage to the airport and once you get to the airport your luggage is taken away for you and you just go directly to...

    Why don't they kill 2 birds with one stone and just make the chauffeur that picks you up to takes you to the airport also your check-in person? They arrive to take you to the airport, check all your documents, give you your boarding passes, and then take you and your luggage to the airport and once you get to the airport your luggage is taken away for you and you just go directly to security, no need to have 2 different services come to you ahead of time, especially in a place as inefficient as the UAE, it seems like it would be herding cats waiting for your check-in person to arrive on time and then later your chauffeur, too much of a hassle.

    1. JB Guest

      Many people using this service will probably have many bags, which may not fit into the trunk of one of the chauffeur sedans EK uses. Like many people in the comments have shown, many of the circumstances people would use this service for involves having many bags to check in.

  15. DenB Diamond

    I love walking past the things others queue for. I can see myself using this service, if I ever decided to check a bag.

  16. Brian G. Diamond

    Lucky, we need a trip report where you fly to DXB to test out "home" check-in. :-)

  17. Sean M. Diamond

    Not a new feature. Just newly included in the ticket price.

  18. Melissa Guest

    As someone who often travels with their kids, I'd definitely use this service. Anything to make the process easier/smoother and allow us to get to the airport a bit later is a win in my book. During our last Dubai trip (a few months ago) having to drop off the rental car at the airport with 8 suitcases, 3 kids and a swarm of people, I would have paid a hefty price for this service. We were in J on Qatar so unfortunately was not an option.

  19. Chandan Bhat Gold

    If I'm not wrong, this has been a thing in the UAE for a while (Since 2018 for emirates, and since the start of the pandemic for Etihad), Etihad has home check-in too, with all passengers being eligible, the caveat being everyone has to pay for it.

    https://www.etihad.com/en-ae/manage/check-in/home-check-in

    https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-introduces-home-check-in-in-dubai/

    They also have a land and leave program where you can clear immigration and skip baggage claim and the bags will be delivered to you later....

    If I'm not wrong, this has been a thing in the UAE for a while (Since 2018 for emirates, and since the start of the pandemic for Etihad), Etihad has home check-in too, with all passengers being eligible, the caveat being everyone has to pay for it.

    https://www.etihad.com/en-ae/manage/check-in/home-check-in

    https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-introduces-home-check-in-in-dubai/

    They also have a land and leave program where you can clear immigration and skip baggage claim and the bags will be delivered to you later. This is offered by Dubz, which is a Dnata company. The parent company of Dnata being Emirates itself.

    https://dubz.com/

    1. JTC Guest

      We just took EK in J from Nairobi to SFO with kids on Sunday. Chauffeur Drive took us home to Lake Tahoe with kids in an Escalade and with our 12 bags. So nice to have everything taken care of all the way home on a three hour drive I didn’t have to do. Bags dropped inside our house.

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Sean M. Diamond

Not a new feature. Just newly included in the ticket price.

3
Chandan Bhat Gold

If I'm not wrong, this has been a thing in the UAE for a while (Since 2018 for emirates, and since the start of the pandemic for Etihad), Etihad has home check-in too, with all passengers being eligible, the caveat being everyone has to pay for it. https://www.etihad.com/en-ae/manage/check-in/home-check-in https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-introduces-home-check-in-in-dubai/ They also have a land and leave program where you can clear immigration and skip baggage claim and the bags will be delivered to you later. This is offered by Dubz, which is a Dnata company. The parent company of Dnata being Emirates itself. https://dubz.com/

3
Melissa Guest

As someone who often travels with their kids, I'd definitely use this service. Anything to make the process easier/smoother and allow us to get to the airport a bit later is a win in my book. During our last Dubai trip (a few months ago) having to drop off the rental car at the airport with 8 suitcases, 3 kids and a swarm of people, I would have paid a hefty price for this service. We were in J on Qatar so unfortunately was not an option.

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