Shower Time? Emirates Resumes A380 Service to Houston

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Houston, we have a solution. Emirates is bringing back its A380 to Houston starting June 1. The superjumbo was taken off the Houston (IAH) - Dubai (DXB) route in 2016, and replaced by the Boeing 777-300ER.

Why does it matter? The A380 is equipped with Emirates famous onboard shower, while the 777 flew without it.

Plus, it means a whole lot more first and business class seats up for grabs. The A380 features 516 seats, with 14 in first, 76 in business and a whole 426 economy — a 160-passenger increase from the 777. The double decker aircraft is so large that Emirates even installed a full blown bar and lounge.

Although Alaska significantly devalued its award redemptions on Emirates flights, there are still plenty of ways to book the flight with points — and more seats usually means more award availability.

Houston and Dubai are known for their large oil sectors, and Emirates says that due to the "recovering" energy sector, it decided to upgrade the route with an A380. Service between the two cities will continue to operate daily. The same day the A380 comes back into service on the Houston route, Emirates will also launch nonstop 777-300ER flights between Newark (EWR) and Dubai.

Photo by Alberto Riva / The Points Guy.

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