Many travelers’ bucket lists include a spot in Emirates First Class. It’s not an error, either. Nothing compares to it, especially if you’re traveling in one of the brand-new, revolutionary first-class suites. Enjoy bottomless caviar and Dom Perignon, as well as the onboard bar and showering at 40,000 feet. It truly epitomizes what it means to be “extra” in every sense.
Booking these first-class apartments, however, can also be extra—that is, extra expensive and extra difficult. Emirates recently devalued it, making it even more expensive. Making the most of this amazing flight and saving a significant amount of money and points requires careful planning when booking Emirates First Class. I think there’s one certain path that jumps out.
Look to Europe Not to Dubai
In aviation, the greatest things are not given away. However, using the proper routes when booking Emirates First Class can save you a ton of points and money. Flying from the United States to Emirates’ hub in Dubai (DXB) or return is probably the first thing that comes to mind. A thirteen-plus-hour flight to the Middle East seems like the perfect way to appreciate it.
But it’s not cheap: after a devaluation late last year, first-class flights from the East Coast to Dubai cost 163,500 miles each way. It starts in a West Coast city and climbs to 186,000 miles, Los Angeles (LAX). Earning Emirates Skywards is simple because you can transfer them from all the big banks, including Chase, American Express, Capital One, and Citi. However, that’s still a substantial amount of points.
Worse, it now costs an additional $836 in taxes and fees (or even more if you connect anywhere beyond Dubai) following a series of fuel surcharge rises earlier this year. First class on a flight from Dubai to the United States costs USD 882 in cash. I hurt.
It’s on these quirky fifth-freedom routes between the United States and Europe that Emirates excels. Additionally, Emirates offers nonstop service between Newark (EWR) Athens (ATH), and Milan (MXP) from New York City (JFK). It’s also far less expensive on all counts: a one-way trip to Milan or Athens only costs roughly $100 and only 102,000 miles.
Travel first class from Europe back home
Longer flights are nearly always preferable when traveling in something like Emirates First Class. “It’s so nice up here,” as Jennifer Aniston said it best. Flying west usually takes longer than flying east because of the earth’s rotation and the jet streams it produces. Here, there is a noticeable distinction: The flight schedule of Emirates looks like this:
It takes 7 and a half hours to get from New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP). The scheduled time from Milan (MXP) to New York City (JFK) is 9 1/4 hours, but as airlines typically allot more time than necessary, the actual time is significantly less. Just 6 1/2 hours were spent on my Emirates flight to Milan last week. It’s simply not long enough. Additionally, you might want to just sleep on the flight to Italy because the travel to Europe leaves so late—roughly 11 p.m. EST. The whole purpose of the trip is to get everybody fed and asleep as soon as possible.
Enjoying everything that makes Emirates First Class so great becomes difficult as a result. Therefore, choose the trip to return to the United States from Milan (MXP) and provide extra time to appreciate it. Since these flights leave Italy in the afternoon, you will travel through the remainder of the day and arrive just as it gets dark in the United States. A total of eight and a half hours pass.
Emirates First Class Travel Experience
Emirates First Class is the talk of the town for a reason. It’s without a doubt among the greatest ways to fly. Yes, the first-class decor of gold and artificial wood is a little gaudy, but Emirates is updating its cabins to have a cleaner, more contemporary aesthetic. However, Emirates First Class offers cozy, roomy, and private suites with sliding doors. Often, the service is flawless. The selection of food and beverages is almost unmatched. Plus, the conveniences and amenities are so great that you’ll wonder if this is genuine.
Just to give you a taste, we’ll have a thorough review in the upcoming weeks. Emirates is the only airline that offers Dom Perignon in First Class. Extra-special (and even more expensive) vintages, like as the 2003 Plenitude 2, which has been on tap for a few months, are frequently rotated in. One additional benefit of flying from Milan to New York rather than the other way around is that they pop bottles of the good stuff as you board in Italy, something they might forego on the ground in New York to save money on taxes.
Since Emirates is now providing first-class customers with unlimited quantities, nothing says first class like caviar, and no airline does it better than Emirates. Thank you. I can have just one enormous mound of caviar with all the toppings.
Nothing compares to the sheer amount of luxuries that awaited me in my apartment. That comes with an amazing mattress pad and plush duvet, two pillows, an awesome Bvlgari amenity kit with the most amazing stuff I’ve ever seen, a fantastic set of Bowers & Wilkins headphones, and a very cozy set of pajamas. Have I overlooked anything? Presumably.
Few things are more awesome than returning to an airborne bar for a nightcap, whether you’re flying business class or upfront. However, Emirates goes above and beyond in first class: A flight attendant even sent back a bottle of Dom so I could have another glass and asked to be escorted back to the bar. It’s extravagant, but that’s how Emirates First Class does things.