Emirates Releasing Last-Minute First Class Award Space for Its New 777 Suites
If there's one airline in the world that doesn't need to innovate further, it's Emirates, which won adoration from travelers worldwide with its gold-studded first class suites and onboard showers on its A380 aircraft. Yet innovate is exactly what Emirates did in 2017, with a complete redesign of the first class experience on select Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The stunning new cabins feature floor to ceiling closing doors and a host of technological improvements.
The middle seats are even outfitted with high-definition virtual windows that use exterior cameras to offer a crisp view of the outside world.
Emirates began by installing this product only on newly-delivered 777 aircraft and has been slow to roll it out to the rest of the fleet. You'll only find this revolutionary seat on a limited number of routes, from Dubai (DXB) to cities such as Brussels (BRU), Geneva (GVA) and Vienna (VIE). While Emirates first class awards have gotten much harder to book in recent years, for a long time Emirates was blocking all first class award space on planes featuring this new cabin.
It appears that this is changing, and Emirates has begun to release some first class award space for this new product. A TPG reader emailed to let us know that he successfully ticketed a flight through Japan Airlines Mileage Bank. However, this space is only showing up 24-48 hours before departure.
Thankfully ExpertFlyer makes it easy to set an alert in case space does become available. You'll also want to use ExpertFlyer to double-check the seat map before booking. If you see the six-seat configuration shown below you're good to go with the new suites, but if you see eight seats in a 1-2-1 layout you'll be on the "old" first class (which still features opulent suites with closing doors).
If you're booked on a business class Emirates award ticket on one of these new planes, you should definitely keep an eye on ExpertFlyer as your departure date approaches in case award space opens up in first class. Here are the fees to change your award ticket for a couple of popular programs for booking Emirates awards:
- Emirates Skywards: $25
- JAL Mileage Bank: 3,100 JPY (~$28)
Unfortunately, Alaska Airlines doesn't publish an award chart for Emirates between the Middle East and Europe, the only routes that currently use the updated suites. As a result, you can't use Mileage Plan miles for this first class product until the carrier expands to other regions.
And in the mean time, here are a few TPG reviews of Emirates first class to help pique your excitement:
- The Ultimate Guide to Emirates First Class
- Emirates' New 777 First-Class Suite From Dubai to Brussels
Pursuing Perfection: Emirates First Class on the A380 From New York to Dubai
H/T: TPG reader Oscar.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month