Thank you for all of your thoughts! I am already resigned to coach given that I haven’t really been able to discern a particularly desirable whY product I’ve been focusing on ST mileage. I’ve flown EK in the past and could potentially do it again on the A380 from JFK, but that just adds an extra stop and more time. A coat hanger isn’t a deal breaker for me but 35’ pitch is worth thinking about. I also read on these forums that folks have had a hard time getting seat assignments on KLM so it sounds like if I stick with them I can kiss any hopes of an exit row goodbye!

Mecabq, I hadn’t realized that Jet can accrue miles on NW! That’s really good to know and may help in my rationalization process. Given the pending Delta/NW merger, I’ll gladly put miles into a WorldPerks account.

I also recently learned that UA and Jet will be launching a code-share agreement in November which might explain the near perfect connections of 9W and UA flights in DXB and BRU. Perhaps the schedules have already been aligned in preparation of the codeshare agreement. J’ ne sais pas. I read a bit about BRU and is sounds like a transfer there won’t be TOO bad as they don’t require pax to clear customs and it seems UA and 9W use the same terminal.

I typically avoid consolidators like the plague but are there any worth looking into for this trip?