Emirates is opening its cabin crew hospitality training to other companies. Businesses in the UAE can now book courses at the airline’s Centre of Hospitality Excellence in Dubai. The programs are based on the same service standards Emirates uses on board its aircraft.
The USD 8 million facility is part of the Emirates Crew Training Centre. It includes a restaurant and lounge that can seat up to 170 people, demonstration kitchens and eight classrooms equipped with training technology. Government bodies, universities and major regional companies have already sent teams there since Emirates started offering programs to outside organizations.
“Delivering exceptional hospitality requires more than technical training, it demands a deep understanding of people, culture and service excellence,” said Thomas Ney, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president of service delivery. “By opening the Centre of Hospitality Excellence to organisations across the UAE, we are proud to share this expertise and help inspire the next generation of hospitality professionals.”
What companies can book
Programs last between one and five days and are built around each client’s needs. Organizations can pick from a range of modules:
- Hospitality Excellence: an introduction to Emirates’ “House of Hospitality” approach, starting with an analysis of the team’s training gaps
- 7-Star Dining Experience: table settings, etiquette, presentation and interacting with guests
- L’Art du Vin: wine theory, tasting and food pairing, taught by WSET Level 3-certified trainers
- Gastronomy: a hands-on workshop with Emirates chefs covering cooking techniques, flavor and plating
- Team building: custom challenges and cooking activities
- Leadership at Emirates: talks by Emirates executives on how the airline runs its operations and service strategy
- Behind-the-scenes tours: access to aircraft simulators and the culinary training areas, with catering, photography and video available as extras
Emirates can also combine these modules into fully customized programs that include assessments and dining experiences. Courses are booked by email through the centre.
Where Emirates crew learn to serve
The centre is a key part of how Emirates trains its more than 25,000 cabin crew, who come from over 140 countries and speak more than 70 languages. New recruits complete an eight-week course in Dubai that covers safety, security, first aid, service and grooming standards, and includes training in full-motion aircraft simulators.
Part of that training puts crew in the passenger’s seat. Crew members eat a four-course lunch made up of signature First and Business Class dishes, prepared by Emirates’ chefs, while trainers demonstrate how the service should be done. The centre’s training kitchen is designed as a cross between a restaurant kitchen and an aircraft galley, and that is where crew learn plating.
The L’Art du Vin wine program, launched in 2024, has three levels and teaches crew about the wines Emirates serves on board and which dishes they pair with.
The centre builds on a hospitality strategy Emirates developed in 2020 with the École hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland. That strategy rests on four pillars: excellence, attentiveness, innovation and passion.
