I’ve been fortunate enough to fly just about all of the world’s most amazing first class products, from ANA to Asiana to Cathay Pacific to Emirates to Etihad to Japan Airlines to Lufthansa to Qatar Airways to Singapore Airlines.
Though in all my travels, I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited as the first time I took a shower in Emirates A380 first class. Flying as such is a miracle. The fact that there are flat beds, Wi-Fi, and even onboard bars still, to this day, leaves me speechless.
But showers on a plane… really?!?
If you haven’t yet had the privilege of showering on a plane, I’ve written a guide to the Emirates A380 shower suite, which gives a rundown of how it works and what the experience is like.
One of the best uses of Alaska miles is for Emirates first class, so how do you really maximize those awards? Not for the purposes of actually getting somewhere, but how do you get the best shower per redeemed mile ratio on Emirates?
Well, Alaska Mileage Plan charges 90,000 miles for one-way Emirates first class between the US and the Middle East/India. Then they charge 100,000 miles for one-way travel in Emirates first class between the US and Asia, Europe, or Africa.
If you play your cards right, you can get four showers for 100,000 miles. That’s only 25,000 miles per shower!
How do you do that? Well, Emirates has a bunch of nonstop flights between the US and Dubai, but they also have a single one-stop flight between the US and Dubai. Specifically, they have a flight which routes via Milan.
As of now the flight is operated by a 777-300ER (which doesn’t have showers), but starting in June the flight will be operated by an A380.
Similarly, Emirates has a flight between Dubai and Hong Kong which routes via Bangkok.
Putting it all together, for 100,000 miles you could book the following:
As you can see, each flight has one stop:
And as further proof, here are the flight details:
Now that’s value for your Alaska miles right there!
As a reminder, you can earn Alaska miles through their co-branded credit cards, through their 4x yearly mileage sales, and through points transfers from Starwood.
Have you showered on an Emirates A380 yet?
@Lucky - so if I want to fly A380 with start point at Dallas, stopping at Dubai, going onward to Mumbai,
and adding any other sector thereafter , what can I get for 100K miles in one way award segment ?
-
I don't "get" miles and points and all of that. How do you get 100,000 points? Is it like a dollar of spending equals a single point? Or more? Less? And in your post, did that really cover all but $42 of a first class ticket to Dubai? Thanks!
Hi Ben,
I know this is an old post, but I want to know how to book an stopover for Emirates? I don't see any option for stopover. Do I use multi city? Thanks.
@ Makalo -- Correct, just use multi-city.
Is it possible to fly BKK-HKG (stopover)-DXB-JFK? I couldn't get it to price on alaskaair dot com
@ mangoceviche -- I believe the stopover technically has to be in Dubai.
I showered on BKK-HKG in December, so Nono no know what he talking about :) Sure, it's a very short flight for the 380 but I asked the FA right after we boarded and F was mostly empty. Finished lunch, took a shower, killed another bottle of Dom and got to HKG nice and toasty.
I realize the chance of three FC award seats opening up on any of these flights is probably rare?
@ Lauren -- Close to departure it's not impossible. Two is pretty easy, but three is certainly a bit tougher. Etihad does also have showers, but only on the A380.
I am planning a trip for 3 to Oman next April and want to try and get some showers for us on the way home (we are flying to the Middle East on Qatar). Two of us are flying back to IAD and one back to JFK. Is Emirates using Alaska miles our best bet? Does Eitihad also have showers in first?
Are there bathrobes?
@ Paul -- Nope.
@Lucky @Dan - I can confirm, 10% of the fare, so pretty pricey. IIRC, it was around $900 for our HKG-DXB-LAX flight. You book with Alaska and then call Emirates to add on the infant.
Add me to the list of those wondering if you can stop over in Milan on that 4 showers itinerary.
@ m -- The stopover has to be in Dubai, unfortunately.
As long as you book any Emirate First class and aircraft is A380, it will have shower?
I guess many in first class on that aircraft wants to take the shower?
Do you have let the air hostess know in advance that you want to take a shower? Do they keep an eye on that shower door?
@ jim -- Yes, every A380 has a shower. Sometimes all passengers want to take a shower, sometimes almost none do. It all depends on the flight. They take "appointments" shortly after takeoff, but if it's not a busy flight then you can just play it by ear and let them know when you're ready.
i am sorry I need a remedial lesson
JfK-msp-dxb-Hkg-bkk, flying emirates using Alaska miles on emirates is how many miles (one way)
In first class?
Dare I also ask how many miles in economy?
Would a stop over in Bangkok be allowed?
If I were to start In Seattle and also fly from sea-jfk on the same ticket , would that change the number of miles required?
Thank,you
@ Andrew -- Not sure you could book JFK-MXP-DXB-HKG-BKK on one award, but you can book JFK-MXP-DXB-BKK-HKG on one award for 100,000 miles in first class or 52,500 miles in economy. You can only do a stopover in Dubai. You could include the positioning flight from Seattle to New York on the same award at no extra cost.
Update : You won't get showers on MXP-DXB, BKK-HKG
@ Nono -- Says who?
I love EK's A380 shower bathrooms, but oddly enough, not because of the showers.
The showers are fairly time limited, don't have great shower pressure, and are more novelty than great amenity (unless you were all sweaty I don't much point).
However, the rest of the big airy bathroom is absolutely top notch and a real genuine luxury on an aircraft which typically provide toilets no bigger than a small closet (even a lot of...
I love EK's A380 shower bathrooms, but oddly enough, not because of the showers.
The showers are fairly time limited, don't have great shower pressure, and are more novelty than great amenity (unless you were all sweaty I don't much point).
However, the rest of the big airy bathroom is absolutely top notch and a real genuine luxury on an aircraft which typically provide toilets no bigger than a small closet (even a lot of First bathrooms can be pretty space restricted). This is one bathroom that requires no gymnastics to use and that's what makes it awesome. Now if they put a high tech Toto (like) toliet in there, it'd be legendary.
Showers for 2 only with assistance? I need her to scrub my back. Does that qualify?
Hah, now I'm on ITA playing with EK routing rules, which appear to be fairly loose. Interestingly you can fly JFK-MXP-DXB-BKK-SYD-AKL on 4 A380s and one 777 for a price lower than any published fare on Expedia or Google Flights... $1371 o/w ai in Y, and the other lowest is Fiji Airways and Delta JFK-LAX-NAN-AKL. Also EK Y on the same routing you have in this post is >$8k, oddly enough. I guess the logic...
Hah, now I'm on ITA playing with EK routing rules, which appear to be fairly loose. Interestingly you can fly JFK-MXP-DXB-BKK-SYD-AKL on 4 A380s and one 777 for a price lower than any published fare on Expedia or Google Flights... $1371 o/w ai in Y, and the other lowest is Fiji Airways and Delta JFK-LAX-NAN-AKL. Also EK Y on the same routing you have in this post is >$8k, oddly enough. I guess the logic there is that they allow US to Australia allowing transit in the Mideast, and those are direct flight numbers..right?
@ Sam -- I suspect so, yep, though I've never claimed to understand airline pricing. That's a long way to go in economy, though!
Ben,
4 segments and 4 showers. Does this translate to 4 amenity kits and 4 pajamas? If yes, that would be awesome routes.
@ Tiara @ JorgeC -- I don't think you'll get any amenity kits or pajamas on the flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong, and there might not be any either on the daytime flight from Milan to Dubai. But I could be mistaken.
@MT
Fly JFK-MXP-DXB-BKK-HKG. 4 segments, 4 chances to shower.
"Is my brain just completely dead? How is this pricing at 100k for 4 showers/segments? Shouldn’t it be 200k for 4 showers? 100k each one-way award = 2 showers?"
@MT - Your brain is fine, you probably just missed it in the text. The 100,000 point redemption for four flights (showers) is for a very specific routing: JFK-Milan-Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong, where each hyphen represents a segment where one can take a shower.
Is my brain just completely dead? How is this pricing at 100k for 4 showers/segments? Shouldn't it be 200k for 4 showers? 100k each one-way award = 2 showers?
Hi, Lucky! Can you use the oneway stopover in Milan/Bangkok or does it have to be in Dubai?
@ Jason -- It has to be in Dubai.
I am living in LA. Can I have 4 showers from LAX to HKG? What is the route?Thanks.
@ Ryan -- You can easily do three -- LAX-DXB-BKK-HKG.
"How far can you take the stopovers? Can you fly JFK-DXB-JNB, stop over, then go JNB-DXB-SYD for the same 100k?"
Not only is what Lucky says correct, but Alaska doesn't allow Emirates redemptions to Australia/New Zealand.
"Alaska allows one stopover, can you make it at any of those points or does it have to be Dubai?"
Reports are that people have gotten BKK as a stopover.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24668413-post1845.html
So I guess MXP or CMB could also...
"How far can you take the stopovers? Can you fly JFK-DXB-JNB, stop over, then go JNB-DXB-SYD for the same 100k?"
Not only is what Lucky says correct, but Alaska doesn't allow Emirates redemptions to Australia/New Zealand.
"Alaska allows one stopover, can you make it at any of those points or does it have to be Dubai?"
Reports are that people have gotten BKK as a stopover.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24668413-post1845.html
So I guess MXP or CMB could also be stopovers.
Lucky - does this also mean 4 amenity kits and pajamas?
I only occasionally see award availability for one person on EK on the Alaska website. Ben, in your experience, do you ever see two? If I were to book an award ticket, I would want it to be two tix US to Asia or US to Africa where I could take someone with me.
@ TravelinWilly -- I actually see two seats quite a bit. Have you looked at availability out of IAH, DFW, and SFO? Those are generally the A380 routes which have the most space, and seeing two seats through Alaska in advance isn't rare at all. I'd recommend first searching space for the US to Dubai segment, and then later searching space from Dubai onwards, once you've figured out the flight out of the US which has two seats. Good luck!
Alaska allows one stopover, can you make it at any of those points or does it have to be Dubai?
Thanks Lucky! And how about booking infants on EK using alaska miles? What do they charge?
@ Dan -- I believe it would be 10% of the paid fare, so expect it to be pretty pricey.
How far can you take the stopovers? Can you fly JFK-DXB-JNB, stop over, then go JNB-DXB-SYD for the same 100k?
@ Dan -- The stopover has to be in/enroute to Dubai. You can't transit a city twice on a one way.
You can definitely make it more extreme by adding AS segments
@ Pablo -- Has Alaska installed showers without telling me? :D
Andy : Haha, I recently flew DXB-LAX, a 16 hour flight. Never thought about taking two showers! Lucky, I do like the idea of flying the 380 four times on one award, - Not to mention I love Hong Kong and Bangkok, great places to stopover.
2 people allowed PER shower? They allow couples to.. go about their needs in the shower?
@ Jub @ AR -- The second passenger is only allowed if assistance is required. How "assistance" is defined probably depends on your crew.
They allow 2 people in at once? Now that's what I call value
Do you have to go all the way to Dubai or can you get off in Milan?
@ Lynn -- You can book the flight exclusively between New York and Milan if you'd like.
Book their Dallas to Dubai flight and it's likely to be lightly loaded. With only a few people in the first class cabin, could have easily showered more than once if wanted to
@ Adam - 300mph? Were you showering on the runway? Cruising speed is almost twice that :)
Did it last year HKG->BKK. Short flight, and part of a multi segment trip but threw in that specific flight - paid full fare - just for the novelty of the shower. It was awesome. It's not so much the shower itself, though that was wonderful after a long day in HKG, but more the idea that you're showering at 37,000 feet and 300+ mph. Have a CPT->SFO via DXB trip planned later this year and am looking very forward to the shower on the ex DXB leg.
I just did the Emirates A380 shower last month on the way back KUL-DXB-DFW and while I'm glad to have experienced it and I certainly understand why First Class passengers would want to shower before landing, for me the novelty wore off when I did it the second time on the 2nd leg. IMHO I'd much rather have 2 full time masseuses in place of the showers.