Emirates is famous for its premium cabin offerings, with its first class being perhaps the most aspirational airline product in the industry. With sliding doors, large screens, a vanity mirror, a minibar, along with the carrier’s signature wood paneling and gold trims, it’s one of the most opulent products offered by any airline, and it’s also widely available throughout Emirates’ network. This is because the carrier offers it on nearly all Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, with its A380s having particularly large cabins featuring 14 suites each.

Emirates’ first class is well known, and the product backs up the hype, but it’s also priced exorbitantly, with cash tickets regularly exceeding $10,000 and rising above $25,000 on some routes. There are, however, opportunities to pay a fraction of these prices by using miles. While airline points and miles have generally decreased in value over the past several years as airlines seek to boost profit margins, there remain some good deals to fly in Emirates first class using miles.

Booking Using Emirates’ Skywards Program

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Emirates’ own Skywards loyalty program is the best way to redeem first class award tickets at a great value. The program restricts access to first class award tickets from general Blue members, instead only granting the ability to its Silver, Gold, and Platinum members. Emirates does not dynamically price award tickets; it instead prices them by distance. The exact price in miles for its routes can be found on its online calculator, which also calculates mileage earnings.

Redemption values for Emirates’ routes can vary dramatically. On Emirates’ route from Newark to Athens, the carrier typically charges between $13,000 and $14,000, while asking for 102,000 one-way, making for a cents-per-mile value of 13.4. On its route from Los Angeles to Dubai, Emirates often charges roughly $19,000 while asking 186,000 miles, making for a cents-per-mile value of 10.2. From Dubai to Delhi, Emirates charges around $2,300 in cash and 63,000 miles for first class, giving it a value of 3.7, while the price to fly in first class from Dubai to Tokyo-Haneda is typically just under $8,000 or 141,000 miles, making for a value of 5.6.

Generally, a cents-per-mile/point value of over 1.6 is considered good, which makes Emirates’ first class awards generally an excellent value, even if it varies significantly from route to route. The carrier’s fifth freedom routes from Europe to the US are particularly known for having comparatively affordable award tickets, even when cash prices can be high. Because the carrier does not dynamically price these tickets, it also makes redeeming miles for Emirates’ first class fairly predictable.

More Details On Booking First Class With Skywards

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It’s worth noting that while Emirates generally offers excellent value for many of its routes, it does pass on fuel surcharges to the customer on award tickets. These have increased significantly in recent years, and can run for hundreds of dollars on longer flights, which does diminish the overall value proposition of these award tickets. One benefit of Emirates award tickets, however, is that the carrier does permit stopovers, and these can even be added after the initial booking.

Possibly the easiest way to book Emirates first class is to first book a ticket in business class and then upgrade. Emirates permits business class customers to move up to first class on the day of departure, and these upgrades can be booked using Skywards miles. In addition, Emirates permits upgrades on business class award tickets. What’s more, Emirates does not limit seat availability for those moving up from business class, meaning that business class passengers who are upgrading tend to have access to many more seats than those booking first class tickets with miles.

As a whole, using Skywards for first class is one of the best deals in the aviation industry. First class is generally difficult and expensive to book on many airlines, but because Emirates has such a massive global first class network, it tends to be generous with allowing passengers to book using miles. Meanwhile, upgrading from first class is a fairly easy and unrestrictive process, which is again rare for a leading first class product.

Booking Emirates First Class With Partner Programs

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Emirates generally does not grant partner loyalty programs access to its first class inventory, but one of the few exceptions is Air Canada’s Aeroplan. Aeroplan is a lucrative program in its own right, and the large selection of partner airlines is one of Aeroplan’s strongest attributes. First class award tickets can be booked without requiring Skywards elite status, and you may be able to transfer points from other currencies at an excellent rate. The challenge, however, is that award pricing for Emirates first class with Aeroplan points tends to be extremely high, often costing over 300,000 points.

Qantasis the only other airline granted access to Emirates’ first class inventory. Qantas requires its members to hold at least Silver elite status within the program. Generally, Qantas Frequent Flyer prices for Emirates first class is lower than what Aeroplan charges, but the catch is that award availability is scarce when booking with Qantas. Instead, Emirates is generally looking to drive further engagement within its own program, and it’s therefore more lucrative to use Skywards miles than to book with Aeroplan or Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Emirates Skywards is a transfer partner with most transferable credit card currencies, but the issue is that these currencies cannot typically be transferred at a one-to-one ratio. Instead, you usually end up losing points or miles in the process, depending on the transfer rate between Skywards and a specific currency. As a whole, Emirates Skywards is by far the most secure and affordable way to book a ticket on the carrier’s first class.

What To Expect On The Ground From Emirates’ First Class

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Even before reaching the airport, Emirates first class passengers are pampered through the carrier’s complimentary chauffeur services, which is available in Dubai as well as in most outstations. This is also available to business class passengers, although first class travelers ride in larger and more luxurious cars. Chauffeur services are available before departure and upon arrival as well, and they need to be booked at least 12 hours in advance. Note, however, that chauffeur services are not available to those traveling on award tickets, nor tickets booked through partner programs.

First class passengers receive access to dedicated check-in counters, and what’s unique about Emirates’ lounges is that it operates a massive global network of dedicated lounges just for first class passengers at many outstations. Most airlines typically operate a handful of first class lounges outside their hub airports, while otherwise directing passengers to a partner lounge. However, the main pride of the Emirates lounge network is Dubai International Airport, located in Terminal 3, Concourse A.

This is the largest first class lounge in the world, measuring at 100,000 square feet (9,290 square meters) and spanning an entire floor of the concourse. Another aspect of the lounge that’s truly remarkable is that it’s connected to all 24 gates within the concourse, as are the first class lounges at Terminal 3’s other concourses. In addition, there are endless dining options, as well as resting areas, showers, a smoking lounge, working areas, a spa, and countless duty-free shops.

The Onboard Experience In Emirates First Class

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Emirates currently uses two seat models for first class. The carrier’s newer ‘Game Changer’ suites debuted in 2017, and they remain one of the best first class seat models in the world. They’re configured in a three-abreast layout, and are most famous for featuring full-height privacy walls. In addition, the suites feature abundant technological features, with large screens and virtual windows in the center suites, along with ample storage space and a zero-gravity function. However, this product is only available on nine Boeing 777-300ERs.

The remaining 777-300ERs that are equipped with first class, as well as all first class-equipped Airbus A380s, feature the carrier’s older first class suite, configured four-abreast. These suites are still private as they’re equipped with motorized sliding doors, and they also include large screens as well as a minibar. However, they’re also fairly compact. Meanwhile, the A380 is also known for offering onboard showers for first class passengers and a fully-staffed bar that’s also accessible to business class travelers.

Emirates’ first class is also known for offering excellent onboard service, complete with dine-on-demand, limitless caviar, and an incredible wine selection. The carrier also has an exclusive agreement to serve Dom Pérignon champagne onboard its flights, and passengers can request a birthday cake along with a Polaroid photograph. As a whole, although Emirates’ first class is mainly famous for the seats, the experience that its crews provide is what truly backs up the hype.