Apr 5, 2014, 3:23 pm
Last edit by: eponymous_coward
Emirates award guide using Alaska Airlines miles
Routing Rules:
All trips must start or end in North America.
One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award.
No fees for changes/cancellations prior to 60 days from departure.
North American Gateway Cities:
West Coast
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Central
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
East Coast
Boston
New York (JFK)
Orlando (Effective September 1, 2015)
Washington DC (IAD)
Canada
Toronto
Award Chart Links*:
Middle East & Africa
Asia
Europe
*If region is not listed on chart its not available.
Perks
Chauffeur Drive NOT Available
Car service is not available for all Business Class and First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines ticketed award tickets on Emirates flights (as of Jan 2015). The chauffeur will not confirm if you use the EK website for this, though the website makes it look you can make a reservation.
Lounges
Access is available for all passengers traveling in Business and First Class. Not all cities have lounges and many may be operated by a Partner. There have been some reports of people having an issue accessing the Dubai lounges as the tickets may appear in their system as non-revenue employee travel. This is not as much of a problem as it used to be but in case it comes up please advise the lounge attendant that you are on an Alaska Airlines award.
Dubai Connect
AS Awards on EK do not qualify for Dubai Connect, which is the service that offers the free hotel.
Tricks to find Transoceanic availability
Instead of performing a blanket, i.e. SEA-DXB search, perform: SEA-MED.
Madinah is a destination that is only served by EK. Consequently, if there is availability, only EK will show up in the calendar results.
Routing Rules:
All trips must start or end in North America.
One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award.
No fees for changes/cancellations prior to 60 days from departure.
North American Gateway Cities:
West Coast
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Central
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
East Coast
Boston
New York (JFK)
Orlando (Effective September 1, 2015)
Washington DC (IAD)
Canada
Toronto
Award Chart Links*:
Middle East & Africa
Asia
Europe
*If region is not listed on chart its not available.
Perks
Chauffeur Drive NOT Available
Car service is not available for all Business Class and First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines ticketed award tickets on Emirates flights (as of Jan 2015). The chauffeur will not confirm if you use the EK website for this, though the website makes it look you can make a reservation.
Lounges
Access is available for all passengers traveling in Business and First Class. Not all cities have lounges and many may be operated by a Partner. There have been some reports of people having an issue accessing the Dubai lounges as the tickets may appear in their system as non-revenue employee travel. This is not as much of a problem as it used to be but in case it comes up please advise the lounge attendant that you are on an Alaska Airlines award.
Dubai Connect
AS Awards on EK do not qualify for Dubai Connect, which is the service that offers the free hotel.
Tricks to find Transoceanic availability
Instead of performing a blanket, i.e. SEA-DXB search, perform: SEA-MED.
Madinah is a destination that is only served by EK. Consequently, if there is availability, only EK will show up in the calendar results.
Consolidated Emirates (EK) awards availability/booking/routing thread
Jun 2, 2014, 7:03 pm
#812
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 21
FYI for anyone using Expert Flyer to check Z availability on Emirates--I have an award ticket booked in business from DAR to DXB, then DXB to SEA with a 2 day stopover in Dubai. EF is now showing Z1 for both flights, and the AS site is showing a mixed cabin award available for my itinerary (1st for DAR to DXB, business for DXB to SEA). But when I called just now to try to switch to 1st, I was told the 1st class request came back unconfirmed for BOTH flights--they were not able to book the even the mixed cabin combination showing on the AS site. So not only can you not go on what EF shows, you can't even trust what's on the AS site. Frustrating to say the least.
So...here's hoping for Z2 sometime between now and November! Speaking of which, does DXB-SEA usually fill up in 1st? I've been checking seating charts on EF daily for that flight, and it looks like it usually has a few seats left in 1st--although of course that doesn't mean things don't fill up last minute. Just curious what people's experience has been on this route.
So...here's hoping for Z2 sometime between now and November! Speaking of which, does DXB-SEA usually fill up in 1st? I've been checking seating charts on EF daily for that flight, and it looks like it usually has a few seats left in 1st--although of course that doesn't mean things don't fill up last minute. Just curious what people's experience has been on this route.
Jun 2, 2014, 10:07 pm
#813
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
FYI for anyone using Expert Flyer to check Z availability on Emirates--I have an award ticket booked in business from DAR to DXB, then DXB to SEA with a 2 day stopover in Dubai. EF is now showing Z1 for both flights, and the AS site is showing a mixed cabin award available for my itinerary (1st for DAR to DXB, business for DXB to SEA). But when I called just now to try to switch to 1st, I was told the 1st class request came back unconfirmed for BOTH flights--they were not able to book the even the mixed cabin combination showing on the AS site. So not only can you not go on what EF shows, you can't even trust what's on the AS site. Frustrating to say the least.
So...here's hoping for Z2 sometime between now and November! Speaking of which, does DXB-SEA usually fill up in 1st? I've been checking seating charts on EF daily for that flight, and it looks like it usually has a few seats left in 1st--although of course that doesn't mean things don't fill up last minute. Just curious what people's experience has been on this route.
So...here's hoping for Z2 sometime between now and November! Speaking of which, does DXB-SEA usually fill up in 1st? I've been checking seating charts on EF daily for that flight, and it looks like it usually has a few seats left in 1st--although of course that doesn't mean things don't fill up last minute. Just curious what people's experience has been on this route.
Both unsynced availability (what you're experiencing) and phantom availability.
Looking at seating charts are misleading, as they're not necessarily indicative of loads. The only way to determine whether a flight is full, is to check the load of the particular flight. This can be done using ExpertFLyer, among other tools.
Jun 5, 2014, 2:39 pm
#814
Join Date: Dec 2008
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 669
How easy (or hard) is to book EK awards in F about 300 days in advance? Looking for honeymoon availability from SEA-BKK.
Jun 5, 2014, 2:56 pm
#815
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: GEG
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Lifetime SkyClub, AS MVP
Posts: 2,411
But if you look at the next two months or so, there's a fair amount of F availability on EK from SEA to BKK.
Takeaway for me is that EK's unlikely to release F seats that early, but if they're not sold they make them available at some point in time.
It's easy enough to play around on the AS website and do some testing.
Jun 5, 2014, 11:21 pm
#816
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, HH Gold, Hertz PC, Marriott Titanium LTG, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 42,953
If you were getting married in April next year, there's zero availability 300 days in advance. At least that's what I saw when I searched SEA-BKK for April 2015.
But if you look at the next two months or so, there's a fair amount of F availability on EK from SEA to BKK.
Takeaway for me is that EK's unlikely to release F seats that early, but if they're not sold they make them available at some point in time.
It's easy enough to play around on the AS website and do some testing.
But if you look at the next two months or so, there's a fair amount of F availability on EK from SEA to BKK.
Takeaway for me is that EK's unlikely to release F seats that early, but if they're not sold they make them available at some point in time.
It's easy enough to play around on the AS website and do some testing.
Jun 8, 2014, 12:46 pm
#817
Join Date: May 2008
Location: "the world is my country"
Programs: Alaska 100K (aka OWS)
Posts: 811
Just released two J seats SEA-DXB-JNB for Aug 27 (decided to do CX F instead). Of course, there's no guarantee those seats will make it back into inventory.
Jun 10, 2014, 5:00 pm
#818
Formerly damitssam
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 65
I tried booking multiple times with an extra semgnet of BKK-HKG, all coming up as error. This is for multiple dates. I would say its phantom availability or Emirates won't let you route it that way.
Jun 12, 2014, 12:45 pm
#819
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: LON
Programs: AS MVPG, Marriott Titanium, UA Silver
Posts: 1,350
Just snagged a F award on LAX - DXB at the end of the month 
Jun 12, 2014, 3:49 pm
#820
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: Alaska MVP 75K / SPG Plat (100 Nights) / NEXUS
Posts: 220
Cheers,
Kermee
Jun 13, 2014, 6:05 pm
#821
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Upper Left Corner of the Map
Programs: AS MVPG & Board Room, Marriott Silver, Global Entry
Posts: 2,203
I've not been able to get a 2-day stopover in DXB in my searches. Is it normal for them to do? I am trying to book a trip home that way.
Jun 14, 2014, 5:00 pm
#822
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: LAX
Programs: General Awesome Guy
Posts: 91
That particular LAX to DXB F availability on October 4th has been showing up for a month. I called AS and they said it is not bookable, weeks ago. Kind of a joke how much time countless people have spent trying to book that flight, on that day! Moral of the story -per all the other posts- use expert flyer/kvs etc.
Jun 15, 2014, 6:45 pm
#823
Formerly damitssam
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 65
Was quite comical to try and get one to ticket.
Nothing worked in the end.
Would have been great to get another a380 segment 
Jun 16, 2014, 4:12 pm
#824
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: United 1K, Marriott Platinum, SPG Platinum
Posts: 1,990
Hi All,
So... I had an interesting experience last night on the phone w/ multiple AS agents, and it ended up in a happy ending. TL;DR ~ If you have any questions, call AS and tell them to TRY to book it. It may come back "accepted" from Emirates, even if it's not showing.
My wife and I are going to Dubai + Thailand this December. We're going to DXB via EK, 5 day stopover, then onto BKK. We really wanted A380 F. I had us on two separate itineraries. We were flying ORD-DXB,DXB-BKK. There was only availability in biz for ORD-DXB, and on DXB-BKK there was only 1 seat in F and 1 seat in C. I still booked it anyways, and I did daily searches for better options. I noticed yesterday that there were two seats (at least showing online) on the JFK-DXB A380 flight in F. I called up to book my new itinerary, and the agent was very nice and put us on the same itinerary for JFK-DXB-BKK. She told me that she requested two F on DXB-BKK and it came out working - cool! So she booked it. Then when I got the confirmation e-mail, it turns out that she made a mistake (and I made a mistake by not triple checking). When she re-booked us, she accidentally got rid of our stopover, having the DXB-BKK flight leave the next day. I was really pissed, to put it mildly, as when I now checked the site, there was no more availability on JFK-DXB in F, and as most of you know, these need to be booked as "married" segments. On top of that, there was only business class availability showing on the DXB-BKK flight 5 days later. I called just to give it a try and the agent was able to make the request for JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK, for 2 pax, all in F, and it worked. I though that there would be errors at some point through the process (and there were, but it had to do w/ my mileage redeposit, not the ticket issue), and I woke up in the morning w/ an AS and an EK confirmation number. I see ticket numbers and everything, and I logged in the EK site, and I was able to select seats for us, and we're all set and good to go. I'm not sure if the Emirates back-end changed or what, but I can't really see a logical explanation about how I got my ticket finally booked. Anyhow, I'm pretty stoked... 2 tix 100% in A380 EK F for my wife and I JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK is going to be pretty amazing...
So... I had an interesting experience last night on the phone w/ multiple AS agents, and it ended up in a happy ending. TL;DR ~ If you have any questions, call AS and tell them to TRY to book it. It may come back "accepted" from Emirates, even if it's not showing.
My wife and I are going to Dubai + Thailand this December. We're going to DXB via EK, 5 day stopover, then onto BKK. We really wanted A380 F. I had us on two separate itineraries. We were flying ORD-DXB,DXB-BKK. There was only availability in biz for ORD-DXB, and on DXB-BKK there was only 1 seat in F and 1 seat in C. I still booked it anyways, and I did daily searches for better options. I noticed yesterday that there were two seats (at least showing online) on the JFK-DXB A380 flight in F. I called up to book my new itinerary, and the agent was very nice and put us on the same itinerary for JFK-DXB-BKK. She told me that she requested two F on DXB-BKK and it came out working - cool! So she booked it. Then when I got the confirmation e-mail, it turns out that she made a mistake (and I made a mistake by not triple checking). When she re-booked us, she accidentally got rid of our stopover, having the DXB-BKK flight leave the next day. I was really pissed, to put it mildly, as when I now checked the site, there was no more availability on JFK-DXB in F, and as most of you know, these need to be booked as "married" segments. On top of that, there was only business class availability showing on the DXB-BKK flight 5 days later. I called just to give it a try and the agent was able to make the request for JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK, for 2 pax, all in F, and it worked. I though that there would be errors at some point through the process (and there were, but it had to do w/ my mileage redeposit, not the ticket issue), and I woke up in the morning w/ an AS and an EK confirmation number. I see ticket numbers and everything, and I logged in the EK site, and I was able to select seats for us, and we're all set and good to go. I'm not sure if the Emirates back-end changed or what, but I can't really see a logical explanation about how I got my ticket finally booked. Anyhow, I'm pretty stoked... 2 tix 100% in A380 EK F for my wife and I JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK is going to be pretty amazing...
Jun 16, 2014, 4:24 pm
#825
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
Hi All,
So... I had an interesting experience last night on the phone w/ multiple AS agents, and it ended up in a happy ending. TL;DR ~ If you have any questions, call AS and tell them to TRY to book it. It may come back "accepted" from Emirates, even if it's not showing.
My wife and I are going to Dubai + Thailand this December. We're going to DXB via EK, 5 day stopover, then onto BKK. We really wanted A380 F. I had us on two separate itineraries. We were flying ORD-DXB,DXB-BKK. There was only availability in biz for ORD-DXB, and on DXB-BKK there was only 1 seat in F and 1 seat in C. I still booked it anyways, and I did daily searches for better options. I noticed yesterday that there were two seats (at least showing online) on the JFK-DXB A380 flight in F. I called up to book my new itinerary, and the agent was very nice and put us on the same itinerary for JFK-DXB-BKK. She told me that she requested two F on DXB-BKK and it came out working - cool! So she booked it. Then when I got the confirmation e-mail, it turns out that she made a mistake (and I made a mistake by not triple checking). When she re-booked us, she accidentally got rid of our stopover, having the DXB-BKK flight leave the next day. I was really pissed, to put it mildly, as when I now checked the site, there was no more availability on JFK-DXB in F, and as most of you know, these need to be booked as "married" segments. On top of that, there was only business class availability showing on the DXB-BKK flight 5 days later. I called just to give it a try and the agent was able to make the request for JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK, for 2 pax, all in F, and it worked. I though that there would be errors at some point through the process (and there were, but it had to do w/ my mileage redeposit, not the ticket issue), and I woke up in the morning w/ an AS and an EK confirmation number. I see ticket numbers and everything, and I logged in the EK site, and I was able to select seats for us, and we're all set and good to go. I'm not sure if the Emirates back-end changed or what, but I can't really see a logical explanation about how I got my ticket finally booked. Anyhow, I'm pretty stoked... 2 tix 100% in A380 EK F for my wife and I JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK is going to be pretty amazing...
So... I had an interesting experience last night on the phone w/ multiple AS agents, and it ended up in a happy ending. TL;DR ~ If you have any questions, call AS and tell them to TRY to book it. It may come back "accepted" from Emirates, even if it's not showing.
My wife and I are going to Dubai + Thailand this December. We're going to DXB via EK, 5 day stopover, then onto BKK. We really wanted A380 F. I had us on two separate itineraries. We were flying ORD-DXB,DXB-BKK. There was only availability in biz for ORD-DXB, and on DXB-BKK there was only 1 seat in F and 1 seat in C. I still booked it anyways, and I did daily searches for better options. I noticed yesterday that there were two seats (at least showing online) on the JFK-DXB A380 flight in F. I called up to book my new itinerary, and the agent was very nice and put us on the same itinerary for JFK-DXB-BKK. She told me that she requested two F on DXB-BKK and it came out working - cool! So she booked it. Then when I got the confirmation e-mail, it turns out that she made a mistake (and I made a mistake by not triple checking). When she re-booked us, she accidentally got rid of our stopover, having the DXB-BKK flight leave the next day. I was really pissed, to put it mildly, as when I now checked the site, there was no more availability on JFK-DXB in F, and as most of you know, these need to be booked as "married" segments. On top of that, there was only business class availability showing on the DXB-BKK flight 5 days later. I called just to give it a try and the agent was able to make the request for JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK, for 2 pax, all in F, and it worked. I though that there would be errors at some point through the process (and there were, but it had to do w/ my mileage redeposit, not the ticket issue), and I woke up in the morning w/ an AS and an EK confirmation number. I see ticket numbers and everything, and I logged in the EK site, and I was able to select seats for us, and we're all set and good to go. I'm not sure if the Emirates back-end changed or what, but I can't really see a logical explanation about how I got my ticket finally booked. Anyhow, I'm pretty stoked... 2 tix 100% in A380 EK F for my wife and I JFK-DXB,DXB-BKK is going to be pretty amazing...
When you say showing online, I assume you mean on AS.com?