Emirates??

[DaisyUK]

Hi, wondering whether anyone can give advice about Emirates? From what I've read, it seems like a good airline. We are flying Lon-Sydney and our best options seem to be Emirates or Singapore Airlines,. We could fly First on Emirates or Business on Singapore. 

[FlyerTalker]

Both are excellent in premium cabins.  I would also throw Qatar and Etihad into the mix.  The Qatar Q-Suites is one of the best business class seats around, especially if you get the two middle seats that join together into a large bed.  And their lounges in Doha are superb.

 

One consideration is what equipment is on the routes.  First on EK is much nicer on the A380 than the 777, and different SQ aircraft have different interior configurations and seats.

 

You pretty much can't go wrong with any of those choices - IMHO, the issue is to look at the details for each carrier and crunch that vs the cost of the ticket.  Is Emirates First worth the price differential over Singapore biz or Qatar Q-Suites?  Only you can make that decision.

 

 

[DaisyUK]

Thank you for coming back to me on this. First on Singapore is prohibitively expensive (for us) or I would probably choose that. We could, however, do First on Emirates and we would be on the A380. I will also take a look at Etihad and Qatar. Thanks again for your advice, very much appreciated!

[DaisyUK]

Also... I think I may be seriously indebted to you as it would seem that rather than pay for the very expensive Emirates flights, it may be possible to fly on airmiles with Qatar! Am getting my ducks lined up, but it's looking good. It would be business to and from the UK for the shorter part of the journey and first for the rest. 

[FlyerTalker]

Check out the actual first and business cabins/seats before you make a jump.  Lots of reviews and videos online for you to research.

 

In many cases, there is not much difference in the seating between the two, especially on QR, as the Q-Suites product is so nice.  Now there is a differentiation in the food and wine, as well as a greater level of service attention - but you have to ask yourself, is it worth the cost differential?

 

In other words...would I rather take two trips in business or one in first, for the same cost.  And remember that your Avios are a form of currency, with value.  Treat them just as you would, say Swiss Francs.  Not something you would use in everyday transactions, but definitely a store of value.  Spend them wisely.

 

The one big advantage of first on QR is the Al Safwa lounge at Doha.  It's a place where you WANT to spend time in the airport, with fine dining and spa services available.

 

 

[fbgd]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

The one big advantage of first on QR is the Al Safwa lounge at Doha.  It's a place where you WANT to spend time in the airport, with fine dining and spa services available.

 

Al Safwa is going to be closed for about 6 weeks later in the year if that's when the OP is looking to travel.

 

Emirates First is a decent option, especially if you can get the 777s with the 6 seat F cabins anywhere. There aren't too many of them about but they do flights to the UK. The A380 F isn't bad but it is a pretty outdated product at this stage, EK have had these same FC seats for almost 20yrs.

 

Personally I rank SQ above EK in their respective cabins with EK business class lagging quite a ways behind. 

[GeezerCouple]

On 10/6/2023 at 11:07 AM, DaisyUK said:

Also... I think I may be seriously indebted to you as it would seem that rather than pay for the very expensive Emirates flights, it may be possible to fly on airmiles with Qatar! Am getting my ducks lined up, but it's looking good. It would be business to and from the UK for the shorter part of the journey and first for the rest. 

 

FlyerTalker:

This reminds me...

Do you happen to know if Singapore *ever* allows two awards tickets in Singapore Suites?  (Er, maybe I should ask if they even allow one!?)

 

We are at the point of trying special flights "just because we can"... that is, when we actually can.

I had spotted the Singapore Suites some time ago, and then they announced the new suites, which looked amazing (and have windows, which the earlier ones didn't, or at least, some didn't).

And now they are in the air. 🙂 

 

I think Cathay has ended a "second F" awards ticket on one flight, unfortunately.  At least we had a chance to enjoy that several years ago.  (And I would have been delighted NOT to get off the plane and fly back and forth a few times.  Those wide beds were amazing, as was the service!)

Last time on Cathay, we had one F and one J awards tickets, even though there were NO other passengers in F.  I would have thought that at the last minute, they may have allowed a second awards F.  Business class was full.  IF they had allowed us to use one of those empty F seats, they could almost certainly have sold that now-available business seat to someone, and gotten some actual money, without it costing much at all for "the other one" of us to be sitting in F.

 

Many thanks for all of your really helpful comments!

They can make a real difference.

 

GC

 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

FlyerTalker:

This reminds me...

Do you happen to know if Singapore *ever* allows two awards tickets in Singapore Suites?  (Er, maybe I should ask if they even allow one!?

 

IIRC, awards in F on SQ is only available to those using SQ FF points for the booking.  No availability to partner programs.  You can use transferable points to get the needed SQ points.

 

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

I think Cathay has ended a "second F" awards ticket on one flight, unfortunately.

 

SQ has only had single F award seats for a while now.  Mrs FT and I have our own solution -- separate flights.  No need for us to have to fly together.

 

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

Many thanks for all of your really helpful comments!

They can make a real difference.

 

You're very welcome.  I have been fortunate to learn from both experience AND some very knowledgeable folks that helped me to learn more about the industry.  And from the other folks here in Cruise Air who share their knowledge.  Especially the late GreatAm, whose postings I miss a lot.

 

 

[DaisyUK]

Thank you all again for the help and advice. I'm still wavering. I gave up on Qatar in the end. My 2 options now are a direct flight on BA first class, or still Emirates/Singapore. The problem for me with Emirates is that I would need to do cash plus miles (no first class award seats availability at present) and I would need to put miles into Emirates to find out the redemption value of the points and if I don't like it, then my points are stuck with Emirates and I'm not sure when we would next want to fly somewhere Emirates goes. BA seems like a good deal, but probably not as luxurious as Emirates/Singapore.