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
Nov 15, 2014, 2:26 pm
#1156
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: PDX/AVL
Programs: AS MVPG75K, HH Diamond
Posts: 307
Thanks Alphaeagle. the thought has crossed my mind to buy a flight to an airport that will have the first leg in F, like you said. My itinerary is already so spread out that I'm not sure I'll have the stomach for more...
11/20 PDX-JFK-MXP (train to vienna then prague)
11/27 PRG-BKK (2 weeks, have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm traveling in SE Asia)
12/10 BKK-HND (not booked yet, that is my working plan)
12/18 KIX (ICN?)-DXB
12/20 DXB-NA gateway-PDX
I need to research married segments. I actually have a CX F award booked on 12/22 from KIX-HKG (stopover), then HKG-LAX-PDX on 12/24, but I'm trying to shorten my trip - and it sounds like EK F might be a more over-the-top experience, which I'd like to try.
EDIT - very helpful SFO, thanks for the response. I will call. Your trip reports have been an inspiration to me by the way, thank you.
11/20 PDX-JFK-MXP (train to vienna then prague)
11/27 PRG-BKK (2 weeks, have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm traveling in SE Asia)
12/10 BKK-HND (not booked yet, that is my working plan)
12/18 KIX (ICN?)-DXB
12/20 DXB-NA gateway-PDX
I need to research married segments. I actually have a CX F award booked on 12/22 from KIX-HKG (stopover), then HKG-LAX-PDX on 12/24, but I'm trying to shorten my trip - and it sounds like EK F might be a more over-the-top experience, which I'd like to try.
EDIT - very helpful SFO, thanks for the response. I will call. Your trip reports have been an inspiration to me by the way, thank you.
Last edited by thegingninj; Nov 15, 2014 at 2:29 pm Reason: didn't see SFO's response.
Nov 19, 2014, 6:57 pm
#1157
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, FM Prem, SPG gold
Posts: 581
Nov 20, 2014, 9:06 am
#1158
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Multiple locations
Programs: AAdvantage ExPlat LT Gold, BA Silver, Aegean Star Gold
Posts: 5,038
so the usual rule of thumb for booking EK using AS miles is:
a) Find space on EF
b) Call AS with exact dates
quick questions, regarding intra-US flights. Is it possible to backtrack, aka EWR-SEA-SFO (AS) // SFO/LAX-DXB (EK) etc?
want to maximize my EK ride and wouldn't mind a flight or two on AS before or after...
a) Find space on EF
b) Call AS with exact dates
quick questions, regarding intra-US flights. Is it possible to backtrack, aka EWR-SEA-SFO (AS) // SFO/LAX-DXB (EK) etc?
want to maximize my EK ride and wouldn't mind a flight or two on AS before or after...
Nov 20, 2014, 11:43 am
#1159
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, FM Prem, SPG gold
Posts: 581
Just had a very helpful agent book a mixed-cabin one way that was not available online.
The IKA>DXB segment I wanted was only in J and I wanted to pair that with DXB>IAH in F.
Great use of 90k miles and $75.90.
Just need that visa!
The IKA>DXB segment I wanted was only in J and I wanted to pair that with DXB>IAH in F.
Great use of 90k miles and $75.90.
Just need that visa!
Nov 20, 2014, 5:11 pm
#1160
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 39
I'm curious if this was a first time booking or if you were changing your itinerary. I already have MLE-CMB-DXB-SFO booked (all in first class), but would like to shorten it to MLE-DXB-SFO even if that means MLE-DXB is in less than first. I see availability in economy for my dates (3/20), but I think I might run into problems with the married segments rule since I don't see these options on the Alaska site.
Nov 20, 2014, 5:15 pm
#1161
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,609
I'm curious if this was a first time booking or if you were changing your itinerary. I already have MLE-CMB-DXB-SFO booked (all in first class), but would like to shorten it to MLE-DXB-SFO even if that means MLE-DXB is in less than first. I see availability in economy for my dates (3/20), but I think I might run into problems with the married segments rule since I don't see these options on the Alaska site.
Nov 20, 2014, 5:15 pm
#1162
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 759
So, I'd guess you'd have trouble.
Nov 20, 2014, 5:19 pm
#1163
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,609
so the usual rule of thumb for booking EK using AS miles is:
a) Find space on EF
b) Call AS with exact dates
quick questions, regarding intra-US flights. Is it possible to backtrack, aka EWR-SEA-SFO (AS) // SFO/LAX-DXB (EK) etc?
want to maximize my EK ride and wouldn't mind a flight or two on AS before or after...
a) Find space on EF
b) Call AS with exact dates
quick questions, regarding intra-US flights. Is it possible to backtrack, aka EWR-SEA-SFO (AS) // SFO/LAX-DXB (EK) etc?
want to maximize my EK ride and wouldn't mind a flight or two on AS before or after...
I have seen some pretty strange backtracking on AS.com so my guess is that it may provide that option if space is available and it's the only option.
Having said that, not sure why you'd want to spend an extra 5-6 hours in an AS seat just for a couple more hours of EK First.
Nov 21, 2014, 6:23 am
#1164
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, FM Prem, SPG gold
Posts: 581
I'm curious if this was a first time booking or if you were changing your itinerary. I already have MLE-CMB-DXB-SFO booked (all in first class), but would like to shorten it to MLE-DXB-SFO even if that means MLE-DXB is in less than first. I see availability in economy for my dates (3/20), but I think I might run into problems with the married segments rule since I don't see these options on the Alaska site.
Agree, HUCA.
Nov 26, 2014, 8:22 pm
#1165
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: SFO, SJC
Programs: AS MVP 75K
Posts: 286
Checking EF for SFO-DXB, it looks like nothing shows available past 07/31/15. Is it too far off and/or EK hasn't loaded award availability yet Aug 2015 onwards? When do they typically load these?
Nov 26, 2014, 9:10 pm
#1166
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: YYZ
Posts: 1,666
Is the display problem with EK award space mostly for F seats?
For instance, I see lots of J availability in May for EK, but no F. But EF shows lots of F seats into DFW and JFK for the dates I want - I should be able to call in and book those?
For instance, I see lots of J availability in May for EK, but no F. But EF shows lots of F seats into DFW and JFK for the dates I want - I should be able to call in and book those?
Dec 2, 2014, 2:51 pm
#1167
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: DCA
Programs: US GP, *G, HHonors Gold, SPG
Posts: 141
I'm having issue finding award space in either J or F from India to DXB. Checked AHM and DEL, and absolutely nothing for weeks on end. No issue finding seats to JFK or IAD out of DXB, but nothing out of India. Is this fairly normal? Any way around this on the phone?
Dec 2, 2014, 6:08 pm
#1168
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: TBD
Posts: 840
I have an Expert Flyer pro subscription and there is indeed still a disconnect between Z availability on EF and what shows up on AS. If availability shows as Z1 on EF, that one F seat doesn't appear on AS. F only shows up when availability is Z2 or more. Whether that's by design (as in EK only makes a subset of its Z seats available to AS) or a bug, there is definitely still a disconnect.
Thanks!
Dec 3, 2014, 1:01 pm
#1169
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: 6km East of EPAYE
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, AS & DL GM Marriott TE, Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,582
EF is showing EX Avail (Z1) SFO/LAX-DXB-TYO.
I have yet to call, but can not even come close to getting it on-line. Would that even be a legal routing?
I have yet to call, but can not even come close to getting it on-line. Would that even be a legal routing?
Dec 3, 2014, 1:58 pm
#1170
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 759
I searched January from LAX to TYO and see that on eg Jan 23 there is an EK option. Are your dates the issue possibly?