Man sues Emirates over ‘disgusting’ $3240 business class seat

A man from Perth says he is suing Dubai-based airline Emirates over an “absolutely disgusting” business class experience.

A man is allegedly suing Emirates over a business class seat he claims was ‘absolutely disgusting’. Pictures: Emirates; NCA NewsWire

A 20-year-old passenger has accused Emirates of an “absolutely disgusting” business class experience.

Brodie Chapman, who lives between Perth and the UK, told Daily Mail Australia he was suing the airline and was hoping to win back almost $5000.

“They advertise this fancy product – the 777 or the A380 – and this plane I got on was absolutely disgusting,” he told the publication of the flight he took from Oslo to Dubai on March 28, for which he paid $3240 for a business class ticket.

“It’s a plane they don’t advertise – it was around 23 years old. None of the services they advertise or offer were available.

“The seats were grubby, there were socks stuck down the side of my chair, it didn’t recline properly, one of the screens didn’t work, there were stains on the seat.”

Brodie Chapman claimed the seat he had was not the same as advertised. Pictured here is Emirates’ business class on its Boeing 777-200LR. Picture: Emirates

Mr Chapman, who runs his own wholesale energy firm, was reported to be taking the Dubai-based airline to a small claims court in the UK over the matter, claiming he had been “mis-sold” the product.

Emirates told news.com.au it was aware of the case but would not provide further comment as it was “pending litigation”.

“Emirates stands by its high-quality products and services, and we are currently delivering a multibillion-dollar retrofit program on our Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, as part of our commitment to ensure that customers ‘Fly Better’ for years to come,” a statement said.

“Our Customer Affairs and Service Audit team takes all feedback seriously and has been diligently handling this case.

“The team has since been in touch with the customer, however as this case is now pending litigation, we will not be offering any additional comment.”

Mr Chapman’s case comes after a passenger from New Zealand was awarded $NZ13,555 ($A12,500) in March over a falsely advertised Emirates business class seat.

Mark Morgan, 57, won his compensation battle after the Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand found he and his wife’s business class experience from Auckland to London was nothing like what the airline had advertised.

A New Zealand surgeon was awarded $12,500 in March over a falsely advertised Emirates business class seat. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

He bought the ticket imagining he would be settling down to a mini bar, a flat bed and an updated entertainment system – however, he allegedly received nothing of the sort.

Mr Morgan’s wife flew out a week before him from Auckland on an older plane than the updated Boeing 777-300 that had featured in adverts.

Concerned that he would also be put on an older aircraft, he got reassurance from the airline it would be running the updated version of the plane.

But that wasn’t the case, according to Mr Morgan, who ended up on an older version of the 777.

Adam Glezer, founder of Consumer Champion, told news.com.au at the time it was extremely important for passengers to fight for what’s right.

“Airlines need to be called out for this type of behaviour,” he said.

“The great thing about what Mark did, not only did he take it further but he showed them they can’t get away with it.”

Emirates was ranked the world’s fourth best business class airline in the 2022 Skytrax World Airline Awards, dubbed the “Oscars of Aviation”.