Emirates Business Class To Milan for 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 two fifth freedom routes to Europe from the US with up to 9 seats available on many dates. While Emirates is imposing steep surcharges on flights to/via Dubai, the EU routes still have reasonable 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, EWR-ATH
Operating airline: Emirates
Class of service: Business class
Dates: December 2022 - October 2023
Seats available: Up to 9
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (A380); 2-3-2 (B777)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- Emirates Skywards: 72,500 miles
Please keep in mind that partners might not see the award space.
- 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
Taxes/fees with Emirates Skywards (per person):
- One-way: ~$103
- Round-trip: ~$240
Bank transfer partners:
- Emirates: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- JAL: Marriott
- Qantas : Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
Drop me an email 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.
I don't typically include options that aren't lie-flat, but the Athens routes might simply be more convenient for you. Just keep in mind that the cabin layout is 2-3-2 so you'll either have to climb over someone to get to the aisle or someone will have to climb over you. Additionally, seats are angled flat rather than lie-flat.
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Available Dates
JFK-MXP
December: 25, 29-31
January: 10-13. 15-17, 19-31
February: 1-15, 18-28
March: 1-8, 12-16, 18-30
April: 1-9, 11-14, 16-29
May: 1-14, 16, 18, 22, 28-31
June: 1, 3-8, 11, 13, 14, 17-22, 25, 26
July: 1-31
August: 1-31
September: 1-30
October: 1-22
MXP-JFK
December: 9-13, 15, 19-21, 25
January: 10-12, 14, 16-31
February: 1-28
March: 1-17, 20-25, 27-31
April: 1, 3-14, 16-22, 24-30
May: 1-27, 29-31
June: 1, 2, 5-9, 12-16, 19-24, 26-30
July: 3-7, 11-14, 17-21, 24-28, 30, 31
August: 1-31
September: 1, 4-9, 12-15, 19-22, 26-29
October: 3-7, 9-14, 16-21
Please note that the flight to/from Athens is operated by a Boeing 777 with a 2-3-2 business class cabin layout and angled flat seats.
EWR-ATH
December: 5-8, 12, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31
January: 1-31
February: 1-28
March: 1-31
April: 1-30
May: 1-17, 20-31
June: 1, 3-8, 10-15, 19, 20, 23-26
July: 1-13, 15-20, 22-27, 29-31
August: 1-31
September: 1-30
October: 1-22
ATH-EWR
December: 6-9, 11-19, 21, 25-29
January: 5-7, 9-14, 16-31
February: 1-28
March: 1-18, 20-31
April: 1-8, 10-15, 17-30
May: 1-6, 8-21, 23-27, 30, 31
June: 1-3, 5-10, 12-17, 19-24, 26, 27, 30
July: 16, 18, 19
August: N/A
September: 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 25-27
October: 2-5, 7, 9-14, 16-22
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An example of dates with award space for 9 people.
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Best Ways To Book
Emirates Skywards 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 72,500 miles plus respectable taxes/fees.
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 290,000 Skywards. At 20% off, you'd save 58,000 points and only need 232,000 miles. If you value Skywards at just 1 cent per mile, that's like paying $399 for to save $580.
Depending on how quickly you earn points, this could be worth it.
If you're booking a family of four, this is absolutely worth it. Four round-trip tickets would require 580,000 Emirates miles. With the 20% discount, you'd save 116,000 points and drop the miles required to 464,000 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 (make sure you select a flight operated by an A380)
If you know the exact dates you want to fly, you can search online with Japan Airlines or Qantas and book online.
Bottom Line
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're traveling with a group, don't forget to check out an Skywards+ subscription. You just might save a ton of points and miles!
Happy booking!
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