fluffymitten

I am hoping to book the following trip and have found the dates and flight times that work well.

GLA (or LHR) - DXB - SYD
MEL - DXB - LHR

Outbound is going to be business. Inbound is a little more complicated. I would like the MEL - DXB leg to be in economy and the DXB - LHR leg to be in business.

I can see on the Emirates site that I can do outbound and return in different classes but I can't seem to be able to split the classes for each leg of the return. Ideally I'd like to be in business all the way but I'd be the only person in the group sitting up the front (maybe a blessing!).

Is this something I need to phone Emirates for, or is there an option in the Advanced flight search that I've missed?

Thank you for your help.

skywardhunter

I don't think this is possible to book in advance, as to my knowledge EK doesn't permit mixed cabins sectors.

However, one option is to upgrade the DXB-LHR at DXB with cash, but of course subject to availability, and never know how they'd calculate the price.

fluffymitten

Thank you. At least it's not me being silly on the website.

Dave Noble

You can do it, but the fare will be that of a business class return unless you buy an open Jaw

an open jaw GLA-SYD / DXB-LHR in business class plus
MEL-DXB in economy class one way

This is likely to be more expensive than buying business class the whole way

skywardhunter

Another option, but probably would require calling, is to book it as a multiy city circle trip, the issue there being that it will look at MEL-DXB-LHR as being a through-connection and even if you add a few days it will consider a single sector with stopover, vs. two separate sectors. However if you call you may be able to force it into a fare basis which breaks it into two sectors, probably more expensive though.

One more option but also possibly more expensive is to book LHR-DXB return in J with a side-trip DXB-MEL with one-way in J and return in Y. All in a single ticket so it shows up as one itinerary, but basically you're nesting a side trip at your destination/fare break point

fluffymitten

Thank you for the suggestions. I had a further play on the site with various options and the best value was to just keep MEL-DXB-LHR all in business. Depending on how busy the MEL-DXB sector is, I am sure I can pop down to economy and my OH can pop up to see me for a cheeky glass of fizz (as long as we don't take the mickey; it's a pet hate of mine).

Coffee drinker

They sometimes offer mixed cabin deals through agencies. Just search on skyscanner. Maybe that helps.

HKprince

Just note that it's not usually allowed for Y pax to come up to J; of course YMMV depending on the purser's discretion but don't expect them to allow it

Dave Noble

I would not be relying on that at all. If you want to go downstairs to economy and visit the person there. it may be possible - but wouldn't rely on being allowed down the back stairs

I would expect the chance of the person being allowed upstairs to be very small

m3red

You can go downstairs of course, coming up is at the discretion of the purser and really depends on how busy the flight is/who is onboard.

fluffymitten

Good to know, thank you. Downstairs is where the children, ex-partners, partners of ex-partners (and my OH) are. I think I'm safer hiding out in J.

I will have a chat with the purser once we're settled into the flight and see what the chances of a visit in either direction are. As I mentioned, it's a pet hate of mine so I would be looking to minimise it anyway.

sydtogla

Yikes, I'd be hiding in J too! :-)

fluffymitten

My OH's ex is now considering changing her flights home! I may be a nice GF and upgrade the OH and his kids if there's space...

kitesurfer

I booked a mixed cabin fare this week but it was strange and they wouldnt let me do it on the phone.

I found online Emirates that I could for LUN to MLE, Lun sector Business and MLE sector Economy. Then I booked MLE to YYZ, the DXB econ and the YYZ Business.

The guy on the phone said it wasnt possible as emirates wont booked mixed class fares, then when i went back to try on the website it gave me an error. However, i cleared my history and went back in, and the website let me book a mixed fare.