Emirates first class availability: Routes, F space, and alerts

Overview

Emirates first class is the stuff of legend. It's a bucket list item for any premium cabin connoisseur, from the fully-enclosed luxury La-Z-Boy suite aboard select Boeing 777s to its onboard shower and full bar featured on its Airbus A380s.

The United Arab Emirates has cemented Dubai as a true crossroads of the world. Its flag carrier, Emirates, serves 140 destinations. Amazingly, most of these routes have its fabled first class cabin. Here's what you need to know about Emirates first class routes, and how you can monitor availability with ExpertFlyer.

What routes does Emirates fly first class?

On the majority of its routes, Emirates operates a first class cabin. You can book a top-tier cabin for, in some cases, flights of just an hour in duration.

You'll find Emirates first class aboard most of its Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft (no joy for its Airbus A350s). Here's a map of where you can expect to fly first class on Emirates. Note that Emirates may tweak the aircraft you're on for certain routes, so this is just a general guideline.

First class routes from Dubai (DXB)

First class fifth-freedom routes

How does Emirates release F space?

Paid seats

Emirates releases paid first class seats as soon as a flight is loaded onto its website for sale. This typically happens 360 days in advance. Just note that you'll have to search directly through Emirates to get such a lengthy calendar; searching through online travel agencies, or even Google Flights, will typically limit you to around 330 days.

Award seats

When it comes to booking Emirates first class award travel, things are more complicated. Emirates releases its inventory more at random. You'll also need Emirates elite status to book first class award seats (any tier but Blue is eligible). And the few partners that allow you to book Emirates first class through their loyalty program even require you to have status. For example, the Emirates first class cabin is only bookable for:

• Air Canada Aeroplan members with 35K status or higher
• Qantas members with Silver status or higher

Remember, these awards are highly contested, so it'll take diligence to find availability. Fortunately, ExpertFlyer can help.

How to track Emirates first class inventory with ExpertFlyer

Emirates sells its first class seats with three different fare buckets: F, P, and A. You can track these with ExpertFlyer to help you see how many first class seats are currently available, and for which flights and dates.

ExpertFlyer doesn't currently track Emirates' "Z" fare bucket, reserved for its Saver first class awards, so you won't be able to keep firm tabs on award availability. However, monitoring Emirates' paid fare classes can still help you to score first class awards. That's because you can use cash or miles to upgrade from business class to first class, even as late as after you board the plane.

In other words, tracking F can show you how many empty first class seats there are, and give you an idea of your chances of scoring one of them.

Use the Flight Availability Search tool by entering your origin and destination airports and your travel dates. Under "Airline(s)," enter Emirates. Then enter the specific fare classes you'd like to track, in this case, A, F, and P.

You'll then see a list of flights operating on your desired travel date. The "Available Classes" column shows how many seats are open at present. If the specific flight you want has no availability (or not enough seats for your needs), click the bell icon to the right. You can then create a unique alert that will email you when more inventory drops. You'll be one of the first to know.

Bottom line

Emirates operates its incredible first class cabin on a large network of route, mostly from Dubai (DXB), but also on a generous amount of fifth-freedom routes. You'll find first class aboard most A380s and many Boeing 777s. You can track availability In ExpertFlyer by searching Emirates' A, F, and P fare buckets. If none are available for your specific flight, just set a simple alert, and ExpertFlyer will give you a nudge when more seats become available.

Have questions or suggestions for this article? Please reach out to customercare@expertflyer.com