When you fly a luxury airline, you might expect impeccable service and flight attendants who are knowledgeable about everything from table-settings to wine pairings.
Behind all of those details is weeks of work and training for cabin crew. To build on this important part of the passenger experience, Emirates has just opened an opulent new building in Dubai that’s focused on training its cabin crew for in-flight fine-dining. The swanky new training facility will be a dedicated space where flight attendants will learn all of the ins and outs of the airline’s exacting seven-star service standards.
The new building, called The Emirates Centre of Hospitality Excellence, cost $8 million USD to build and features a large restaurant and lounge, presentation kitchens, and eight classrooms. The airline expects to train 10,000 cabin crew members at the new facility by the end of 2025.
“We have invested in the highest levels of luxury hospitality training for our cabin crew, enabling them to really relate to the customers they serve and create unforgettable signature moments,” said Thomas Ney, Emirates' DSVP of service delivery. “We are delighted to provide our crew with immersive training, allowing them to personally sample the cuisine, the beverages, the ambiance and ultimately, the hospitality Emirates is renowned for.”
As part of their training at the gleaming new facility, Emirates flight attendants will be able to experience a gourmet four-course lunch as guests at the building’s fine-dining restaurant. The cabin crew will sample meals from the airline’s first and business class menus and are served by Emirates’ training team, who model the best hospitality practices for new airline staff.
Another step in flight attendants’ training includes learning how to plate gourmet meals in the facility’s new purpose-built training kitchen, which is a mix between a restaurant kitchen and airline galley. A crew of chef trainers teach the crew how to balance “textures, colours and shape,” and “learn how to produce dishes that look like works of art on the plate, adding to the sensory exploration of dining with Emirates,” according to the airline.
Flight attendants will also undergo wine training at the hospitality facility, tasting and learning about each of the fine wines the airline serves, which includes some impressively rare vintages in business and first class.
This year, the Dubai-based carrier has been focused on making its flights feel even more luxurious, especially in first class. In the spring, Emirates began elegant white-glove meal service in first class and also launched new dining items like a cloche cover for its caviar course and a keepsake wine menu.
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