Well, Emirates nor Qatar upgrades, apparently even their own employees can't upgrade. BUT......I did something I'd never done before: resorted to bribery lol! I bought 2 boxes of Biscotti in Rome, gave them to the flight attendants as I boarded. I made sure my employee ID was visible as I did that.

As boarding was finished, they all dropped by my seat to thank me! Come mealtime, I was served before anyone else in Coach, and my tray was piled so high I had no room to eat lol! They kept bring snacks, pouring drinks, etc. They also gave me a Fast Track exit card, so I didn't have to wait with the huddled masses to get thru passport control!!

I was a bit surprised at the aircraft though, it was a 777-300ER. Seat pockets were torn/springs showing, carpet was pretty dirty, seat monitors were in poor repair, etc. Just little things that you wouldn't expect to find on a world class airline like EK. That being said, i thoroughly enjoyed the flight!

Flight was at 1435, I had to wait until 1230 before they would clear me at the ticket counter. Flight was fuller than I expected, and leaving out of Terminal 3 in FCO was a nightmare!!!! It took an hour 45 to clear passport and security!!! I DO NOT recommend anyone doing that lol!