THE GOOD & BAD WITH Emirates’ Slashed Award Taxes
Good news: As we covered in March, one of the most annoying airline habits is to charge huge taxes on flights for which you use your miles. So how about some good news for a change? Emirates offers one the world’s best First Class experiences, but FCF has not been a fan of their Skywards program because of high award taxes ($1,500+ to Dubai and $1,100 to $1,700 to Europe). Those taxes are just thrown on top of what is supposed to be a “free” award trip with miles. But thankfully, that changed in May when Emirates drastically reduced surcharges on award tickets.
Bad news: We checked more than 11 Emirates routes from the U.S. for First Class availability and found none! Is this a hustle? Lower the pricing and just pull all your flights from the shelf? Maybe I’m just being a wishful thinker (it wouldn’t be the first time), but there is First Class availability between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. So I imagine it’s only a matter of time before seats are released to/from the U.S.
Quick example: On the Newark-Athens route back in April, Emirates charged $1,100+ for award taxes in First Class. And then in May, taxes were reduced to just $125 round-trip, a big drop of 89%.
And another: On the New York-Dubai route in April, Emirates charged $1,543 for award taxes. In May, those taxes were reduced to $362 round-trip, a drop of 76%.
As soon as new availability surfaces, we’ll let you know.
Get in the Qsuite with Special fares
We’re a big fan of Qatar Airways’ Qsuites (Business Class) with their sliding doors, lie-flat seats, and business or family-friendly configurations. They may not be First Class, but they’re still very good compared to many other Business Class cabins. Why are we mentioning it here? We’ve found some terrific low fares for travel September 2020 through April 2021; some examples:
– Boston to Delhi: $2,571
– Chicago to Bangkok: $2,758
– Washington, DC, to Mumbai: $2,649
– Los Angeles to Singapore: $2,982
The Qsuite is available from the U.S. on selected flights from New York’s JFK, Washington, DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, and Houston. All fly to Doha, Qatar’s hub.
Other routes worth considering are Montreal (Qsuite also offered) to Bangkok for travel September through April 2021 for $2,398, and to Kuala Lumpur for the same time frame for $2,455.
Stopover in Doha for kicks is free for 24 hours in most cases.
Sign of the Times:
Air France Retires Entire Airbus A380 Fleet
Due to the current covid crisis and its impact on anticipated activity levels, the Air France-KLM Group announced the end of Air France’s Airbus A380 operations. This A380 retirement was initially scheduled for the end of 2022, but has been accelerated. The A380 will be replaced by new generation aircraft including the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787. A sign of the times I guess… Remember all the buzz that accompanied the A380 “megaliner” back in 2007? It was dubbed “cleaner, greener, quieter and smarter.” But not cheaper, it seems, as these big planes are not cost-effective for airlines with fewer people flying amid ongoing covid issues.
Lesson: The traveler who hesitates will lose. No more travel procrastinations when the world starts spinning again!
Don’t Forget Our No Worries Widget
It’s an ongoing question, and a fair one: What are the risks of booking flights at the moment? We thought it a good idea to remind you of our “No Worries Widget,” a lightning-fast way to get a handle on what the airlines have in place to protect you from getting left in the lurch.
Many airlines have new “change-fee waiver” policies in place due to the virus. The policies vary by airline, but in general, they waive change fees if you decide not to travel. There’s no cash refund, but you can apply the value of your unused ticket towards future travel. Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay any fare difference if applicable.
Right now, most airlines have a change-fee waiver in place for new tickets issued until June 30. They include Air Canada, American, Delta, and United, to name a few, but the fine print does vary by airline, so go here for details by airline and links.
Some airlines are offering a new ticket policy for after June 30. Here are a couple of examples: British Airways covers tickets issued until July 31, with a departure date up to December 31, 2020. Qatar Airways covers tickets issued by September 30 for travel on/before December 30, 2020.
The New Norm Now: Mileage Award and Cash Flash Sales
Given the covid situation, it’s probably no surprise that “normal” is no longer normal, and going forward everything is up for grabs.
Yes, that means the new norm for low-cost mileage awards and deeply discounted fares will often only be on a flash-sale basis.
Bennett, what do you mean by that?
Well, I have three good examples for flash sales, based on three special reports we worked on this month, which I ended up having to cancel.
#1 Covid fare fall: Late 2020 low-cost Premium cabin opportunities to Europe with fares ranging from $2,100 to $2,300 for travel September through December were aimed at luring people back into the skies, especially as Europe is opening up again. Normally these fares range from $3,200 to $4,900 on non-stop flights. These low-cost fares were only offered on a flash-sale basis, as they were gone in a week. We published many as FCF alerts and hope many of you scored.
#2 United mileage upgrades to Asia: Recent FCF research showed that United had upgrade space on 10 non-stop flights to Asia for travel January through April 2021, and again, it was only on a flash-sale basis, as the upgrade space was gone in a week.
#3 Emirates First Class award space: Recent FCF research showed that Emirates had free low-cost mileage award space in First Class for travel from New York to Athens and Dubai for travel later in 2020 and into spring 2021. Once again, it was only on a flash-sale basis, as the award space was gone in a week.
There are probably many more surprises in store for us, but The Opportunity Traveler (that’s you) will win big by booking when those flash sales surface. Stay tuned to FCF Alerts for more.