[Dissatisfied Emirates]

Well, then explain to me these 2 things:

1) I checked the day after I landed with the local emirates office about this regulation regarding laptop bags--the staff there confirmed with me that there is no such regulation on charging excess baggage payment for laptop bags.

2) I referred to common practice because that is what their customer service staff used as a reason as to why I was charged. ergo, i refer to experiences of previous airlines of similar standing, and the common practice is that laptop bags are not included in the count. besides, i have taken emirates previously and they have never counted my laptop bag in the count--how am i supposed to predict their whimsicalities and inconsistent policy as a client?

3) on top of that the emirates staff referred to some vague uniform practices in the industry as agreed upon amongst them. yet, in fact, after surfing online, i found that emirates is a member of the international air transport association, and according to what is written on another airline's website explicitly (and mind you this airline's reputation, although not infallible, is significantly better than emirates'), members to this group have agreed not to include laptop bags in the baggage count.

oh, and regarding your FAQ point, i did search on their website thoroughly and the only point of yours i can concede is that they mention 1 piece. however, as i have said, this still doesn't cohere with all the other representations that they have made: from their own staff, their own allegations as to some internationally agreed upon standard practice (which actually goes directly against what they did), as well as previous experience flying with them. the FAQ says nothing about laptop bags explicitly.

tell me, going by a reasonable person's standards, what would one make of this inconsistency in internal standards and policies, and beyond that, COMPLETE FABRICATION OF LIES on the part of emirates' staff?