Emirates Business Class To Milan, Up to 9 People
If you looked for business class award space to Europe for this past summer back in March, you might remember how tough it was to find seats. With that in mind, now is a good time to start thinking about your summer plans.
Emirates has a ton of award space on its fifth freedom route between JFK and Milan with up to 9 seats available on many dates. While Emirates is imposing steep surcharges on flights to/via Dubai, this route still has decent taxes/fees.
In the Best Ways To Book section, I've included some info on Skywards+ which could be worth signing up for to get a 20% discount on the award rate.
Now, let's get into it!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: JFK-MXP
Operating airline: Emirates
Class of service: Business class
Dates: October 2023 - March 2024
Seats available: Up to 9
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (A380)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- Emirates Skywards: 87,000 miles
Please keep in mind that partners might not see the award space.
- *Air Canada Aeroplan: 76,000 points
- JAL Mileage Bank:
- One-way: 42,000 miles
- Round-trip: 80,000 miles
- Qantas Frequent Flyer:
- One-way: 75,000 miles
- Round-trip: 119,200 miles
*No surcharges
Taxes/fees with Emirates Skywards (per person):
- From JFK: ~$104
- From MXP: ~$143
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Emirates: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- JAL: Marriott
- Qantas : Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
Let me know if you book!
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Flight Experience
Emirates first class gets all the press, but business class on the A380 is still a great option for a trip to Europe. The business class cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 layout so everyone has direct aisle access and a lie-flat seat.
However, the big selling point on the A380 is the world-famous inflight bar at the rear of the cabin. Definitely worth hanging out at the bar with your friends - or, new friends you've just met - while having a drink.
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Available Dates
JFK-MXP
October: 2-5, 8-31
November: 3-5, 7-30
December: 1-14, 16-21, 23-31
January: 1-31
February: 1-29
March: 1-24
MXP-JFK
October: 3-5, 11-13, 17-20, 24-26, 30, 31
November: 3, 4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-30
December: 1-31
January: 8-31
February: 1-24, 26-29
March: 4-9, 11-16, 18-23
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An example of dates with award space for 9 people.
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Best Ways To Book
Air Canada Aeroplan: Best Award Rate
Aeroplan is your best option for a one-way award at 76,000 points with no surcharges. However, there are many dates in which Aeroplan doesn't have access to award space and other dates in which it only has access to some of the dates.
If Aeroplan sees award space for some seats but you need more, it might make sense to book what you can with Aeroplan then book the additional seats with Emirates Skywards.
Emirates Skywards: Access To More Award Space
This will be the easiest program to use as you can transfer points from Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott. A one-way business class award will require 87,000 miles
Emirates Skywards+
Emirates offers three tiers of Skywards+ subscriptions. The Classic option is $399 per year and the one that might be worth considering as this membership provides a 20% discount on one Skywards Classic Reward each year.
If you book a round-trip business class JFK to Milan for two people, you'll need 348,000 Skywards. At 20% off, you'd save 69,600 points and only need 278,400 miles. If you value Skywards at just 1 cent per mile, that's like paying $399 to save $696. This could definitely be worth it.
If you're booking a family of four, this is absolutely worth it. Four round-trip tickets would require 696,000 Emirates miles. With the 20% discount, you'd save 139,200 points and drop the miles required to 556,800 miles.
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How To Book
I would search with Emirates' site to start:
- Visit Emirates' site
- Select "Log in to earn and spend Skywards Miles" and log in
- Check the box "Classic rewards"
- Enter your origin/destination
- Select your departure and/or return date(s) via calendar
- If booking one-way, check box "One-way" above calendar
- Check box for "My dates are flexible (-/+ 3 days)"
- Select number of passengers
- Select class of service
- Select date
- Select flight
Once you know the exact dates you want to fly, you can search with Air Canada, JAL, or Qantas.
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Final Thoughts
The Emirates business class bar easily makes this one of the most fun options for flying to Europe. The fact that award space is so wide open makes it even better, esp. if you want to travel with friends and family.
If you can find space with Aeroplan, even better! Still, using Emirates Skywards is a solid way to book - don't forget Skywards+ if booking multiple people.
Happy booking!
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