Hello! I have been poking around on the forums for quite awhile and I was hoping to pick your brains. I am a little overwhelmed with all the information that I have been taking in these last few weeks with regards to "unlocking" the airline industry. I have tried my best to apply all the knowledge that has been shared on the board, but would love some assistance.

My husband is currently deployed on a navy ship that makes port calls in the middle east. This current deployment is going to run just under a year. Going a year without seeing him is brutal, so after 6 months, I have decided to attempt catching up with him for one of his port calls. My plan is to be in the middle east during a port call window where I can hop a last minute flight in the region to whatever port they arrive in.

Here is where your help would be appreciated more than words can say. I have a friend who lives in Abu Dhabi who has offered me a place to stay once I am in the region. I was hoping to avoid a 13 hour flight in a packed economy seat (a back injury makes more than 8 hours incredibly painful) I am willing to travel to any place within the lower 48 (I am in the Midwest now) if it would mean an affordable business class, or a flight that is notoriously empty that would allow for empty seats next to me.

While I am a member of United's Mileage Plus, I would only have around 25,000 miles- though I have been offered some Marriott rewards point to help as well.

I would 100% have to be in Abu Dhabi from February 19-25, but my travel dates on both sides are flexible.

With all the different options, I am just overwhelmed. How do I sift through all this?! Any help or guidance you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

25K miles wont get you far. its 85,000 RT in coach, There isn't really enough time to get the extra miles.

For prices you may want to check kayak.com or google.com/flights to see what prices are for cash flights. Business class would be expensive. I know the non-stop united flights to Dubai is usually pretty full but at least one can buy Economy plus for extra legroom. Its about a 60-90 ride to Abu Dahbi and a few companies that provide transport.

Ethiad flies to Abu Dhabi non-stop from Chicago, Dallas, NYC, Washington DC. although the seats will be fairly cramped compared to Economy Plus

Welcome to FT!

At 25,000 miles, you're not going to get a business class seat to the Middle East. I assume you've checked the usual internet sites for flights, but I suggest that you fly either Emirates to DXB or Ethiad to AUH. Both have very good economy classes (compared to the standard US product) for your positioning flight.

Now that i re-read it, sounds as if she wants to use the miles to pay someone to find flights, if that's the case, that's not what FT is about. Don't pay anyone on here to find flights. Money would be better spend on a IATA certified (Accredited?) travel agency, they don't charge too much compared to the value if 25,000 miles. Some of them have access unpublished fares that may be cheaper, although likely wont earn any miles

...I don't think so, it reads like a request for ideas on getting a business seat to the ME...

Thank you so much for the responses! I apologize if my post was confusing- it apparently reflects my current state, lol.

I am not hoping to pay anyone here, I was simply looking for guidance on how best to use the various tools at my disposal. If I were looking for somewhat empty flights, is there a code that I could plug into the ITA Matrix to find them?

I was considering breaking my flight up into a couple days creating a long layover in western Europe that would enable me to log fewer hours in that cramped position. IF I do arrange for a longer layover, would checked luggage need to be collected in the layover city?

Again, apologies for the confusion. I just find myself with a wealth of new information and I am trying my best to apply it to the ITA Matrix and SkyScanner to get a good deal.

You can't search for empty flights in an effective way, and in any case these may fill up the day before. I can only repeat my previous advice to fly one of the UAE carriers direct and not overcomplicate your life. Thousands of people do it every day, without any harmful side effects!

re: collecting luggage on a "longer layover", the answer is it depends on how long and where. unfortunately, most of your questions cannot be answered in the abstract.

Stopping for 24 hours on the way is considered a stop-over. Typically the lowest fares do not allow stop-overs so that will increase price along with the added expense of hotels, food etc.

Depending on the length of the stop, the airline will or will not check the bag all the way through to the destination.

Here's a flexible dates search on Kayak from Chicago to Abu Dhabi

http://www.kayak.com/flights/ord-AUH...02-25-flexible

Flights on multiple airlines are about $900 RT. Lufthansa may work keeping flights around 9 hours or less with a few hours between flights

Chase is offering a 30k mile sign up bonus for the UA credit card (after spending $1k in three months) in my experience the miles clear pretty quickly once you hit the minimum spending requirement. Chase also offers other cards that accrue 'Chase Rewards' points that can be transferred one to one into your Mileage Plus account. The current offer looks like 40k Chase Reward miles after spending $4k in 3 months. Upgrading a purchased ticket to the middle east from economy to business is 35k miles and a hefty co-pay. While you could earn enough with the two credit cards to make this happen, the timeline is a little short. Also be aware that you generally need really good credit to qualify for the cards with good sign up bonuses. The following site has a good list of the current credit card sign up bonus offers:

http://millionmilesecrets.com/hot-deals/

UA's upgrade and award ticket rates are here:

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...t-02-01-14.pdf

Good luck!

You may want to try TK (Turkish Airlines) which will allow you to stop-over for free (depending on the fare) and get a city tour as an added bonus. Good luck!

Please do not sign up for a credit card. Since you are traveling next month, you will not get the points in time to book an award ticket. Also note that the "hot deals" linked to is a sales website that gives a commission to that website of $50-150 for each credit card signed up for by clicking on that link.