Flying Emirates for Avios collectors

If you are an Avios collector or BA status holder, you may not have considered flying on Emirates. It is not always widely known that you can collect both Avios and Tier points on Emirates providing you book under the Qantas code share. As long as your Emirates flight is booked under a Qantas (QF) flight number and not an Emirates (EK) flight number, you will receive Avios points when you fly. Not all Emirates flights operate under the codeshare but a large number of destinations are available. For Tier points the BA website states:

“Flights booked under the Qantas code (QF) operated by a non-oneworld airline will earn Avios and Tier Points unless operated by Jetstar in a class other than L class.”

Emirates can be very reasonable for business class on an Ex EU particularly when flying from Italy. A reader recently saved £800 per person by starting their trip in Rome. Their business class product is generally superior to BA although they do have a variety of business class seats in operation. It is worth doing your research to see what seats you will get on a route before booking.

Emirates new A380 Onboard Lounge

Emirates will launch a series of new cabin products and enhancements in 2017  for both its A380 and Boeing 777 fleet. This includes an enhanced Onboard Lounge for its Airbus A380 aircraft. On a long flight it is nice to have a change of scene and stretch your legs. Emirates took inspiration from private yacht cabins, and have increased the seating space over the previous design. Each seating area will have a table and window view. Overall, the lounge can comfortably accommodate up to 26 passengers at a time, including 8 seated.

Emirates will also introduce soundproof curtains to partition the Onboard Lounge area from the other cabins. I am really pleased to see this being introduced. There is nothing worse if you are trying to sleep, being disturbed by people in the bar. This may be because the lounge also features a 55 inch LCD screen so customers can view the latest flight information, or enjoy live TV broadcasts of the latest news or sports updates.

The new Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge will make its first public appearance at the Emirates stand during ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest tourism trade fairs. I shall be attending ITB and will bring you a full report on the new product. It is currently being installed onto one of Emirates’ brand new A380 aircraft at Airbus’ facilities, and will make its operational debut in July 2017.

At the lounge, you can enjoy canapés, wines from around the world and limited edition fine spirits, as well as signature cocktails prepared by the bartender.

New route for Emirates

Emirates in launching a new route to Phnom Penh in Cambodia via Yangon (Burma/Myanmar). The new route will also enable passengers from Yangon to travel to Phnom Penh and vice versa. Emirates will be the only airline with a direct service between these two cities.

All services between Dubai and Phnom Penh will offer two classes of travel – Business and Economy, with a generous baggage allowance (up to 35kg in Economy Class and 40kg in Business Class).  The service will be on a Boeing 777-300ER which doesn’t have very good business class seat currently. The seats are angled lie flat in a 2-3-2 configuration. Emirates are just starting to take delivery of the new B777-300ERs which should have a better seat.

The launch of daily services from Dubai to Phnom Penh will coincide with the introduction of a direct, non-stop route between Dubai and Hanoi. From July 1, Emirates passengers travelling to Hanoi will no longer stop in Yangon before reaching the Vietnamese capital.