Emirates to Launch Fort Lauderdale Service in December
Update 11/23/16: Emirates is now offering 10,000 bonus miles for a round-trip flight booked in any (paid) class when you register here, book by January 15 and fly by March 31, 2017. Additionally, passengers booked in business or first class will get an upgrade to Gold status (Special, Saver and Cash+Miles fares are excluded).
Emirates will fly to a total of 11 US cities when it begins its just-announced daily service to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) on December 15, 2016. The outbound flight from Dubai (DXB) departs at 3am local time and arrives in FLL at 10:25am. The inbound flight departs FLL at 8:20pm and arrives in DXB at 7:40pm (+1 day). The airline will operate a Boeing 777-200LR equipped with 8 first-class suites, 42 business-class seats and 216 economy seats on this route.
While at first glance it seems that Emirates would serve the larger Miami International Airport (MIA), the airline has a partnership with JetBlue that would compel Emirates to opt for Fort Lauderdale instead. JetBlue has a large presence at FLL and provides many connection opportunities for Emirates passengers throughout the US as well as the Caribbean and Latin America.
As of this posting, it's not yet possible to book award flights through Emirates' site or that of its partner, Alaska Airlines. But once you're able to book awards, you can expect to redeem miles with Emirates' various airline partners at the following rates:
Redemption rates for flights between Fort Lauderdale and Dubai:
| Program | Economy (miles) | Business (miles) | First (miles) | Transfer Partners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | 85,000 | 165,000 | 300,000 | Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
| Emirates Skywards* | 72,500 | 145,000 | 217,500 | American Express Membership Rewards (1:1) Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
| Korean Air SkyPass | 70,000 | 140,000 | 210,000 | Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1) |
| JAL Mileage Bank | 60,000 | 100,000 | 155,000 | Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 96,000 | 144,000 | — | Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1) |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 90,000 | 192,000 | 288,000 | Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1) |
| Virgin America Elevate* | 45,000 | 100,000 | — | American Express Membership Rewards (2:1) Citi ThankYou Rewards (2:1) Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
*Award rates from Orlando (MCO) to Dubai.
Due to the newness of this route, Fort Lauderdale is not yet listed as an option online for either the Emirates' Skywards program or the Virgin America Elevate program. Alternatively, we've listed the award rates from Orlando, an Emirates destination about 200 miles away from FLL.
If you want to pay cash for these flights, we're seeing reasonable rates in economy in January, with prices between $800 and $900 round-trip.
Step up to business class, however, and prices become much less reasonable — it'll cost you just over $6,000 round-trip.
Prices for first-class tickets are truly out-of-this-world, approaching $20,000 for a round-trip flight. (Pay close attention to that award chart higher up the page!)
Are you excited about Emirates' new route?
H/T: One Mile At a Time