TXWayne

I am flying to KUL in June for a conference and have to book through my work travel system. I wrote off AA last year so have been looking at the best options for getting there economy. This routing seems best and I can book economy flex for a R/T price of $1504. On the Emirates web site it says flex allows upgrades within economy for a fee but cannot find the options and associated cost. My strategy on AA was to book economy and pay out of pocket for Main Cabin Extra. Looking to do the same here but since I am new to Emirates I need some guidance. I plan on flying the 777-300ER to and from DXB and the A380 both ways DXB - KUL. Also shooting for a bit of a layover in DXB to stretch my legs and maybe check some things out.

skywardhunter

Welcome to the EK world.

First off, some nitpicking: It's DXB, common mistake, but we like to point it out over here in the EK forum.

there is no "main cabin extra" or similar at EK, and no "upgrades within economy". EK only has 3 very distinct classes of service: Economy (Y), Business (J) and First (F).

You can always pay to upgrade from Y>J or J>F by paying the fare difference and NO change fee, i.e. there is no cost to upgrade other than the difference in fare. Occasionally you will get an upgrade offer just before or during online check-in which is a discounted offer, usually just for a single leg (e.g. DFW-DXB) and excludes chauffeur drive, lounge access and increased mileage earning.

What you might be looking for is paid extra legroom seating, these are available in exit and bulkhead rows. You can also pay to sit nearer the front, or in one of the twin rows in the back of the 77W or I believe the upper deck twin pairs on the 2-class A388 which will possibly be serving your KUL flight. The preferred seats near the front have no advantage other than being further forward, same service, same leg room. On a Flex ticket seat selection within the rest of the Y cabin is complimentary if I am not mistaken. While we get a lot of questions on seat selection most of the regulars have status and thus don't pay for seats so there might be limited first-hand experience available on here in that regard.

Overall, sit back, relax and enjoy the flight, especially on the A380 you'll very likely find Y to be quite enjoyable, on the 77W the Wifi is faster but seats less spacious (still fine, though), and you'll get some solid meals and lots of booze if you desire.

TXWayne

Yes I know it is DXB and in fact did get it correct in the thread title but seems my autocorrect was wreaking havoc and I was not paying attention. I am ok with nitpicking, I do a little of the same in certain circumstances Thanks for the feedback, all I care about mostly is an aisle seat, extra legroom is nice if I can get it but I need to get up and walk/stretch and don't want to have to bother folks. Years ago I went on a mission trip to Cambodia and flew Eva from LAX to Taipei and it was 14 hours in a 777-200 and Eva puts a lot more seats in that bird than most other airlines, I was in row 66 but aisle so was tolerable. It would appear that EK would provide the best Y experience, and I thought the same on the 380 which is why I am specifically making sure I get it both ways to KUL. Wish they flew it on the DFW-DXB leg which is the longer of the two but from what I saw they don't fly it at all between the two.

skywardhunter

On a Flex ticket you can select any aisle in the 2nd or 3rd Y cabin except extra legroom (first row of each cabin) or the twins (last 5 or 6 rows of the aft cabin) for free. If you like to get up and stretch I'd go for a row in the middle of the aft cabin as the 77W has the gossip galley (very large aft galley that FAs tend to congregate in mid-flight and chat) so a bit of room to stand around and stretch. Something like row 40ish.

However if you really prefer the A380 you can position to a different US gateway that has the A380, you might be able to do this all in a single ticket by positioning with B6 which is a codeshare partner. Not 100% sure but off the top of my head you can do JFK and LAX for sure, possibly IAH. and SFO (some change seasonally to 77Ws), not sure about IAD, BOS and ORD. FLL is a 77L.

TXWayne

Thanks, exactly the feedback I am looking for. I used the Emirates web site and it shows all the routes for the 380 and was thinking about doing IAD-DXB but want to keep the price around $1400 and not sure what a DFW-IAD-DXB-KUL will come out to. Going to beat on the travel system later and check. Maybe catch a cheap Southwest flight DAL-DCA and then take a bus out to IAD. Will have to see what I can pull off.

TXWayne

As much as I would like to go 380 all the way going to KUL, out of DFW is about $400-$500 cheaper than trying out of LAX/SFO/IAD/JFK. I will just take your advice on seat selection for the 777 and be good with that. And since I live 30 min from DFW less hassle.

sydtogla

Would it be quicker for you to fly DFW-SYD, SYD-KUL on QF then MH? You can use Alaska miles for award seats on QF at a very very competitive rate.

TXWayne

Quicker maybe, but relatively certain not for the same $1400 that I am paying for what I have proposed. From what I could find the fee to book my seat earlier than the standard 48 hour check in and grab an aisle seat, around row 40 on the 777, is not exactly back breaking. My work has an office in Dubai and I am going to see about making it a couple day layover on the way out and stopping by there.