Saltire74

Hi All

Welcome to the EK Forum and the new Newbie thread for 2022. 2021 saw a bit of an improvement to the previous year but fingers crossed that things get even better this year!

If you are new to Flyertalk, flying with Emirates for the first time or are just unsure of something to do with Emirates and have a question, then please feel free to post in this thread (No flaming allowed).

You can also have a look at our 2021 thread [EK NEWBIE LOUNGE] Ask Your Questions Here (Flame Free) 2021

Please also have a look at the Emirates Forum Dashboard for a one-stop shop for all your needs. This should be updated in the next few weeks.

From the The EK Forum Moderators and Ambassador team, we hope you have a safe, pleasant and exciting year of flying with Emirates.

diverg

I'm currently in Thailand on holiday. I'm thinking about making some changes at the end of my trip, and throwing a side trip to Dubai. I have a few questions. Does Emirates allow stopovers on F awards, and if so is it bookable online? Does it cost addtional mileage for having the stopover? Thanks.

kiokujai

Pretty sure the answer is no, but just to confirm - no F lounge entry for arrival flying F right?

thijsseh

Correct. Class of service on outgoing flight dictates lounge access. Only exception is that Plats get F lounge whatever class the fly. Silver and Gold get J lounge, even when they fly Y.
If you have an F fare on an outgoing flight that has no F cabin (you would in that case have arrived in F), you can get F Lounge access too. Those are the exceptions to the rule.

diverg

Is there a way to call Emirates and get a human. Everytime I call I get a message about high call volume and not taking calls. Its been like this for months and is really rediculous.

readyforvacation

Hi - I'm trying to book a 1-way flight and have exactly enough miles, but the site won't let me and shows "insufficient miles." Is there a way to book this flight without help of a customer service rep? Thanks for any tips!

EDIT: Answering my own question - it went through when I added +1 miles to my account, doh.

friedablass

How can you add just 1 mile?

I had this exact issue which I previously posted about and contacted the Twitter team to book for me. I didn't mind having them do it but I'm curious how you can add just a single mile to resolve this issue.

readyforvacation

Sorry I wasn't clear - I found your solution to add one or more miles (many thanks for posting!). I didn't want to get involved with the Twitter team and didn't see a way to quickly add 1 mile, so I transferred 1,000 MR. Sorry for the confusion.

zat_dude

Hi - I wonder if I could draw on the expertise of the board regarding the COVID policy of EK.

Specific to my circumstances (ticketing and travel dates), EK's COVID FAQ page currently reads that "You can keep the ticket you’ve already booked and use it later. We’ve extended its validity for 24 months from the date of your original booking. Your ticket will be accepted for any flight to the same destination in the same booking class within the same cabin with no extra fees during this period." (bolding mine).

Would this mean that if I have a reservation in the lowest fare bucket that I cancel, I could simply use the ticket at a later date, irrespective of the availability of the fare class?

EDIT: the question arose due to the lack of qualification of the above, i.e. it is not explicitly made subject to availability in the fare bucket.

zat_dude

Got an answer from their Twitter team - change fees are waived but fare and tax differences are charged at the time of rebooking.

travisc

(Apologies if this isn't the right place to ask)

I'm looking at moving from UK to Dubai in a couple months, along with my wife and child (all UK citizens). I'll be applying for the digital worker 1-year visa, and I guess sponsoring them once I arrive. My question is this: Can Emirates issue a 90 day visitor visa for my wife and child?

All the UAE documentation seems to suggest they get an automatic 30 day visa on arrival, but given we are relocating I expect we will need a bit more than 30 days to get their family visas sorted (especially since we are looking to fly out early March, so right before Ramadan). I'd rather we got the 90 day visa up front than worry about renewing the 30 day visa in Dubai. Unless it's super easy to renew and won't have issues with delays during Ramadan?

IntrepidAfrican2

Hi - congrats on the move, and I hope you and your family enjoy Dubai. I’ve moved to and from Dubai a few times now, and can share my experience(s).

I used my UK passport every time I moved there, as did our son. Our last move was in 2019, and it took us a while to get our son his residence permit. I recall two options when approaching the 30-day mark:

1. A visa run, where we’d drive to the Oman border, cross to register the exit, and re-enter the UAE. You can do any this with any country but I believe the Oman border crossings are the closest to Dubai. This was pre-covid, and now you’d probably need proof of vaccination and PCR tests to cross into Oman and get back into the UAE, which increases the cost of this option.
   
2. Pay a renewal fee of c.$200 (probably slightly less) to extend the 30-day period by another 30 days. This can be done at Residency department. I think it can only be done twice. Life does slow down during Ramadan, but with some planning ahead you shouldn’t be caught out if you assume it will take twice the normal time to do.
   

I generally preferred the visa runs on weekends. You can also stretch the period out as you only start incurring overstay penalties from day 40, so ideally you can plan it between day 31 and 39.

As a general note, getting everyone sponsored within 30 days isn’t impossible. Depends where you’re applying. I and colleagues are sponsored out of the DIFC and I know people who’ve completed the whole process, including family, within two to three weeks. It depends on how organised you are and whether you have an immigration pro helping you through it.

travisc

Thanks, great to know! I'm currently looking at doing all the paperwork ourselves but it does feel a bit daunting. Do you have any recommendations for immigration agents to use? The attestation/apostille/translation of marriage and birth certificates is getting to me (Did by chance you have to get your marriage certificate translated? Was it a full or partial translation?)

IntrepidAfrican2

My employer usually sorts it out, and they used Crown Relocations. I can ask some people I know what companies they’ve used in the past and I’ll post here if anything comes through. Yes, full translations of everything are required to be safe. But there are bits you can do ahead of time, I believe.

jcarberry

I'm on the fence about purchasing an H fare for MLE-DXB-JFK over the summer. The DXB-JFK leg has a stop in MXP. I can live with the middle seats on the 777 but really don't want to be separated on the A380. Is there any way to check what my flight load might be like ahead of time? Also, are seats reassigned when making a stop?