Hello from Bogota! Emirates has just launched an exciting new daily service between Miami (MIA) and Bogota (BOG), as a continuation of the carrier’s Dubai (DXB) service. As a Miami resident, I was really excited about this new route — when I saw first class award availability on the inaugural flight, I couldn’t help but…
Continue reading: Emirates First Class From Miami To Bogota: WOW!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Flying on this flight on Friday! Can't wait!!!
It's my first time in Bogota. Anyone got any tips or recommendations for me (that are safe to visit as an American)?
Also, if you price out that Economy round-trip ticket on EK's website (or follow the link from Google Flights), it's actually $302 round-trip (even cheaper!).
"(along with a roadie, natch — I’ll let y’all guess what was in it)."
- Looks like Ben was being humble drinking from a nondescriptive cup while getting drunk with Dom at immigration in BOG lol.
I was thinking Hennessy Paradis.
Relieved no one messed with Ben's PNR in this rare case of him telegraphing a specific flight in advance!
Was Hennessy Paradis not available on this flight? I personally wouldn't have bothered with the Dictador rum (which retails for around 100 bucks so more like business class material!)
Lucky, are those prices in miles correct? Seems like roundtrip is double the price of oneway in first, but practically the same as a oneway in eco and business?
Definitely check out the Gold museum, Candelaria art district, and Usaquen in Bogota!
Bogota is safe if you stick to the tourist stuff. Avoid the TransMilenio at rush hour or cycling around at any time—best to take cabs. Always check ATM withdrawals and change given for counterfeit bills, this is very common. Take a sightseeing bus, that will do a nice circuit around town and up into the hills. La Candelaria or Parque de la 93 are nice areas to grab some dinner and drinks. There are a couple museums worth visiting if you really have time to kill.
TBH, I've found Bogota to be a pleasant and unique city but very buttoned-up for South America. It's a nice place to spend 2-3 days max. Not really the kind of city where you just wander around and discover magic around every corner. It's very utilitarian.
@ El Dictador -- They are indeed correct. It's because in economy and business, Emirates has both Saver and Flex awards, while all first class awards are Flex. Saver awards offer significant discounts when booking roundtrip, while Flex awards don't.
@ Luke -- It was indeed available, but I figured that given the special occasion, it was appropriate to try a Colombian rum.
@ GroeneMichel -- I decided to fly Emirates roundtrip, since it's hard to go from EK F to AA. :p
Ben, how did you manage the risk of someone changing your flight?
Usually you dont publish your flight plans before you travel.
Is it possible to do a “turn” on this flight, going out and coming back on the same flight/plane? I’ve never done transit in BOG before. Looks like it is scheduled for 2 1/2 hours ground time. Back when AA used to count BIS miles for status, I did a LHR turn twice. Cleared security but didn’t need to clear UK immigration although one time I did to check out the arrivals lounge.
Appears very similar to Emirates 5th freedom First Class experience onboard the A380 between BKK-HKG. Exceptional service and full range offering as well, including amenities. There, I opted for the Henessy Paradis, though. Definitely worth checking out. The BKK-HKG sells for 800USD return in First...
I was eagerly looking forward to reading the menu for this flight! Do you still have it or have pics of it?
Dear Ben, thank you for flying Emirates …
It has been a pleasure having you on board and see you soon in the skies
I was just in Bogota a few weeks ago—the city has some great restaurants, especially Leo, El Chato, and Mesa Franca! Andres Carne de Res is a hoot, especially the location in Chia!
Are cash J flights upgradeable for this route?
I wonder if paid upgrades are offered at check-in as well.
@ TravelinWilly -- You should be able to upgrade cash business class fares to first class with Skywards miles. Cash upgrades typically aren't a great value on Emirates, and are often just the fare difference.
If you do not have a stay yet, a Saturday night stay with Amex FHR at the W is a great choice. They have a night brunch on Saturday nights that is popular with locals. We loved it! Then Sunday mornings, after breakfast, head across the street to the Usaquen market, which stretches for many blocks.
We had the desk at the W arrange a private driver to go to the Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá, an underground salt mine turned into a church. It was definitely worth it (we had went to the salt mines near Krakow, and the one near Bogota was way more interesting).
We also stayed at the Grand Hyatt, which was probably the nicest Grand Hyatt we have been to. The neighborhood around there is less interesting. The Museo Botero is definitely worth a visit.
Bogota is definitely my favorite South American city I have been to.
@ Joy -- Just added the menu to the post for you. 🙂 Would you like the wine list as well, or is the menu enough?
@ 767-223 -- As I took this trip, I was wondering that as well. The ground time is over two hours, and at least when we arrived, there wasn't a single person at immigration. So personally I'd feel comfortable doing a direct turn, but maybe someone more familiar with BOG can chime in...
@ Eric -- The route or the pricing/award availability? For what it's worth, I can't think of an airline in the world that has axed fewer routes than Emirates...
@ Manny -- Just pajamas on demand and not an amenity kit. It seems a bit backwards to me, but I'm not complaining, hah.
@ Willmo -- Great question! First of all, it's rather complicated to cancel someone else's Skywards award ticket, unlike with many other loyalty programs. Furthermore, it's not like I had a big trip planned that would have been screwed up if someone did cancel it, so I figured the risk was worth it in this case.
Im Brazilian, and had visited Bog twice. I felt really safe there.
Worth visiting Andres Carne de Res at Zona T, The Montserrat peack, The Candelaria area, Botero Museum, and the many cafes and local restaurants. Also Zona T is a great place for shopping and eating. You can use Uber as your transportation easily.
I’m doing exactly this next week. Booked two first class award seats round trip on the same day. Everything I see online says you don’t need to clear immigration if doing an international transfer. And even if that turns out not to be true, seems like plenty of time to get through if needed.
Cash J fares are super low...like 1k USD. But then again its a short flight...must be hard to sell F on such short flights.
Ben... there will be an event at Miami airport to celebrate this new route around 0900am.maybe u and the team can show up.
GReat you enjoyed Opus One. But saying it goes down as easy as water it's probably mildly insulting to all the wine conoisseurs out there 😀
Sign me up! Been to Bogota before but EK 1st class is an excellent excuse to go back! Need to figure out best transfer option!
Thank you so much for such an adorable flight comment! I’m booking my flight as we speak, cos I want to have it all!!!
Is it possible to tag on flights with partners like United DEN-MIA for this flight for same mileage or slightly more?
Will you be posting about the return leg, @Ben? Do you know why it showed up as cancelled?
How dangerous is Bogota? Like do I need to carry a gun when there? Think I will stick to Dubai when flying Emirates.
That’s a stupid/ignorant comment. Bogota is safe as long as you exercise normal precautions - same precautions you would exercise in any large city.
The Hyatt in Bogota is amazing hope you are staying there and will review it. We love it.
@ Hans with Golden Rule Travel -- Unfortunately not. Skywards doesn't allow mixed redemptions in that way. You might be able to book something on both United and Emirates through Aeroplan, though pricing may not be great.
FlyerDon -- Very, very few. I only know of one passenger who had originated in Dubai. I get the sense that a vast majority of passengers on this route will be flying between MIA and BOG.
@ Travling Mike -- Hahaha, definitely true. But it's the truth. Opus One is SMOOTH (my non-wine connoisseur take, and it's intended as a compliment).
How many flights have you had cancelled on you? And is that even allowed? I understand if an entire flight is cancelled or one gets downgraded on a flight, but to your reservation cancelled seems bizzare.
How many flights have you had cancelled on you? And is that even allowed? I understand if an entire flight is cancelled or one gets downgraded on a flight, but to your reservation cancelled seems bizzare.
Emirates first class Polaroid photo
It's not like we don't know what you look like :). Would have been fun to post that poloraid pic as well (wink)
The flight from Bogota to Miami tommorow (Wednesday, June 5th) is departing later than the other flights. It's scheduled to depart at 6:55pm, giv8ng you 4hrs at BOG between the two flights. This schedule is only for 6/5, as all other days (and other Wednesdays) have a 2.5hr turnaround.
The one off schedule change (which was done in advance) makes me believe Emirates will celebrate the inaugural tommorow and will likely have a ceremony at MIA and BOG (which explains the longer ground time in BOG).
Paid J and upgrade with miles is probably the best/cheapest way to fly F on that route, correct?
Is anyone else having issues on the app? When you select a search for classic awards BOG is deleted and is not an option.
Just as a heads up, Emirates just recently slashed their award pricing in economy and thus this route now costs just 10K EK miles which makes it quite the steal IMO. Similar story with their other fifth freedom routes. Heck even MLA to LCA now only costs 7,500 miles
@ Joemama -- Hey, it's fair enough if the route doesn't interest you, but there are a dozen flights per day in the market, so I imagine others feel differently...
@ MK -- There have been issued with searching this city pair, though it seems to be fixed on the website but not app. So I'd recommend accessing the full site, as it's not just you.
WoW! Just the price on one bottle of the Opus One is higher than an economy roundtrip fare. Very nice!
You're stuck in the 90s. It's much more dangerous in parts of Chicago or Los Angeles than it is in most of Bogota. Just use your common sense.
Reminds me of flying Emirates first CHC to SYD where I was lucky enough to be the only passenger in first. It was the most memorable flight I have done to date! Also at the same time one of the most extravagant use of points and the best value use of points all at the same time.
I actually paid dollars, not points or miles or upgrades, for this. I had never flown EK before, wanted to try it, and thought what the hell, do it in F to get the full feel. Glad I did. EK is pricing that leg in F at about $3,400 for June, including inaugural, but oddly through Amex Travel it was being discounted by $665 from that, into the $2700s. Heck, the discount almost paid for one year of Amex Platinum in one foul swoop! I was worried on a shorter flight I may not got the true experience, but with one exception (somehow I was never offered the dessert course), I did. And Julian and those ladies were fantastic. Nice meeting you on board.
Why bother in FC for a 3 hr flight. You just paid for a very fancy FC meal when you could have gone to any Michelin Starred restaurant! So u paid for a $2000 meal when you wouldn't have time to avail yourself of luxurious sleeping accommodations.
Just flew this route in reverse (BOG-MIA) in F for 60K skywards. Spectacular compared to any other option on this route! I believe the single chocolate box is used in both directions because when it was presented to me at the end of the meal, about 2/3 of the chocolates were already missing (and there was only one other passenger in F with me).
My two children were flying in Y (10K skywards each) and Purser offered each of them a box of chocolates to go as well and moved them up to empty J seats immediately behind F for final so we could deplane together.
Hi Ben. Great review! Is there a return BOG to MIA review? My apologies if I missed it….