Emirates has unveiled a new training facility in Dubai to provide advanced hospitality instruction for nearly 25,000 cabin crew.
The US$8 million Emirates Centre of Hospitality Excellence includes a restaurant and lounge for up to 170 guests, presentation kitchens and eight classrooms. More than 10,000 cabin crew are expected to train there by the end of the year.
The centre focuses on service standards modelled on Michelin-star protocols, covering fine dining procedures, guest engagement and table service. It follows a partnership formed in 2020 between Emirates and the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland to develop a new hospitality strategy.
New recruits and experienced crew will receive training at the facility, which allows participants to dine as guests and experience a four-course lunch prepared by Emirates’ culinary team. The centre also includes a training kitchen where cabin crew learn plating techniques and presentation, as well as The Art of Service course, which focuses on communication, emotional intelligence and fine dining etiquette.
The centre will also host L’art du vin, Emirates’ wine education programme for cabin crew, launched in 2024. The programme offers three levels of wine training – Introduction, Business Class and First Class – covering tasting, wine heritage and food pairing.
The Emirates Centre of Hospitality Excellence adds to the airline’s existing training infrastructure, including the Crew Zone opened earlier this year at Emirates Group Headquarters, which provides workshops, wellbeing services and staff support. Emirates currently employs almost 25,000 cabin crew from over 140 countries, all trained at the Emirates Crew Training Centre in Dubai through an initial eight-week course covering safety, service and hospitality.
Thomas Ney, deputy senior vice president of service delivery, Emirates remarked: “Emirates continues to uplift the ‘fly better’ experience for our valued customers. 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.”
