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
Jan 11, 2015, 11:27 am
#1276
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Florida
Programs: Hyatt Diamond. SPG Plat. Marriott Plat.
Posts: 522
Jan 11, 2015, 11:35 am
#1277
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: USA
Programs: UA 1K, Starwood Platinum, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 982
I was successful in getting an agent to do a manual sell for me, for a somewhat complex itinerary involving 3 legs each way and a stopover. Everything came back confirmed in First Class, including two shorter segments which showed Z=1 in EF (and for which I would have been plenty happy in business class.) It's also worth noting that due to married segment availability I made sure we confirmed the segments one by one.
I feel very fortunate and wish I could contribute tips to the community but at the end of the day it seems to be a question of luck more than anything.
Prior to calling I tried every possible way to book through the web site and also attempted the "call to upgrade" trick described above, all to no avail.
I feel very fortunate and wish I could contribute tips to the community but at the end of the day it seems to be a question of luck more than anything.
Prior to calling I tried every possible way to book through the web site and also attempted the "call to upgrade" trick described above, all to no avail.
Jan 11, 2015, 11:36 am
#1278
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Jan 11, 2015, 12:24 pm
#1279
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: United Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 988
EF has Z=2 availability 6 months out. I've been checking every day and Z=1 changes to Z=2 one day further out each time.
But since my trip is in September, I'm going to have to hope agents will still do a manual sell when March rolls around
But since my trip is in September, I'm going to have to hope agents will still do a manual sell when March rolls around
Jan 11, 2015, 12:51 pm
#1280
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Florida
Programs: Hyatt Diamond. SPG Plat. Marriott Plat.
Posts: 522
I was successful in getting an agent to do a manual sell for me, for a somewhat complex itinerary involving 3 legs each way and a stopover. Everything came back confirmed in First Class, including two shorter segments which showed Z=1 in EF (and for which I would have been plenty happy in business class.) It's also worth noting that due to married segment availability I made sure we confirmed the segments one by one.
I feel very fortunate and wish I could contribute tips to the community but at the end of the day it seems to be a question of luck more than anything.
Prior to calling I tried every possible way to book through the web site and also attempted the "call to upgrade" trick described above, all to no avail.
I feel very fortunate and wish I could contribute tips to the community but at the end of the day it seems to be a question of luck more than anything.
Prior to calling I tried every possible way to book through the web site and also attempted the "call to upgrade" trick described above, all to no avail.
What exactly did you say for them to do it?
Jan 11, 2015, 1:54 pm
#1281
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 283
Does Z=2 availability mean i can book two seats or does there have to show 3?
Jan 12, 2015, 7:26 pm
#1282
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: LAX
Posts: 301
The bf finally got all of his miles posted and I had my itinerary replicated for him! Traveling SFO-DXB-MLE in April, with the first segment in F and the second segment in Y (no J available as of now). First agent said there was no way to do it if she couldn't see it, so I HUACA, got an agent who had no idea what I was talking about when I said manual sell/can you check the older system as that's what the agent who booked my itinerary said she needed to use. She said she needed to ask someone else what that meant, put me on hold for 25 minutes checking in with me just once, and came back asking how I wanted to pay for the fees. Score! Now for the great 1EF vs. 2EF decision 
Jan 13, 2015, 6:03 am
#1283
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Tehran (IKA), Vancouver (YVR), Nice (NCE)
Programs: QR Platinum (Oneworld Emerald), AZ Freccia Alata (Skyteam Gold), Shangri-La GC (Jade)
Posts: 235
I just completed SFO-DXB in F on AS mileage and I can tell you that I was a bit disappointed in the overall experience. Maybe I was expecting too much. I also put lots of effort and creative thinking in booking it online and through the call center and I was really looking forward to a fan-tas-tic experience.
Although the shower is a unique and awesome feature, the rest of the service was not really better than in other F cabins. Service and food in LH F is much better and service in Thai F is way friendlier than EK's. I'll be trying QR F on the A380 in March and I'd like to see how it compares.
The suite concept is nice but at time it feels claustrophobic.
I must perhaps mention that it was a full cabin (13/14) and it might have had an impact on service.
Although the shower is a unique and awesome feature, the rest of the service was not really better than in other F cabins. Service and food in LH F is much better and service in Thai F is way friendlier than EK's. I'll be trying QR F on the A380 in March and I'd like to see how it compares.
The suite concept is nice but at time it feels claustrophobic.
I must perhaps mention that it was a full cabin (13/14) and it might have had an impact on service.
Jan 13, 2015, 6:48 am
#1284
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,610
Jan 13, 2015, 7:37 am
#1285
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Tehran (IKA), Vancouver (YVR), Nice (NCE)
Programs: QR Platinum (Oneworld Emerald), AZ Freccia Alata (Skyteam Gold), Shangri-La GC (Jade)
Posts: 235
Jan 13, 2015, 7:39 am
#1286
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,610
Jan 13, 2015, 5:51 pm
#1287
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: West Coast, USA
Programs: Skywards Platinum
Posts: 3,747
Chalk up two of the real benefits of the 777 Suites with EK. Much more personal attention having only 8 seats, and much less claustrophobic with the high ceilings and your suite door opening to the suite next to you vs. the staggered suites on the A380 where you just see a wall outside your door.
Jan 13, 2015, 8:40 pm
#1288
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Gold, Club Carlson Gold, National EE, *G
Posts: 470
Some call it claustrophobic, some call it privacy. I find it quite private, as I don't get claustrophobic. And, I like privacy.
Chalk up two of the real benefits of the 777 Suites with EK. Much more personal attention having only 8 seats, and much less claustrophobic with the high ceilings and your suite door opening to the suite next to you vs. the staggered suites on the A380 where you just see a wall outside your door.
Chalk up two of the real benefits of the 777 Suites with EK. Much more personal attention having only 8 seats, and much less claustrophobic with the high ceilings and your suite door opening to the suite next to you vs. the staggered suites on the A380 where you just see a wall outside your door.
Jan 14, 2015, 7:03 am
#1289
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 283
Okay, help a newb out please. I've tried three times (different dates) to book EK F class tickets on Alaskaair.com and it always gives me the partner availability error when submitting payment information and processing my cart. How often is availability updated so that I am not just searching for a needle in a haystack? Tricks to see actual availability? I need two tickets.
Jan 14, 2015, 7:08 am
#1290
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,610
Okay, help a newb out please. I've tried three times (different dates) to book EK F class tickets on Alaskaair.com and it always gives me the partner availability error when submitting payment information and processing my cart. How often is availability updated so that I am not just searching for a needle in a haystack? Tricks to see actual availability? I need two tickets.
Hint: You may want to actually read the last few pages of this thread.