Do Qantas/Emirates release award seats closer to departure?

8 replies

caromcdonald

Member since 14 Apr 2018

Total posts 1

Hi All,


I'm hoping to book a one way flight using QFF points next month from Dubai to Perth flying on Emirates.

Unfortunately, there are no seats in business or first for the whole month of November at all! I checked the actual seat availability on expertflyer.com and most of the flights through out the month are practically empty so far. So I wonder why they don't release any award seats?

Anyway, does anyone know whether Qantas/Emirates release awards seats closer to departure or is what I see online now all they will have?

(Hoping to cancel my refundable economy ticket for an award seat in business or first!)

Thanks in advance!


rk1

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 19 Oct 2015

Total posts 31

Emirates I havnt seen released later, usually Cathay or Qatar come later. Emirates you need to get A year out- I’ve done that twice for first class awards.

moreardon

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

Member since 02 Jan 2016

Total posts 2

Worth checking every day as seats become available when people change dates or cancel. It took me over 2 months to get a refund for a cancelled QA/EM flight & seat wasn't released as available for 2 months.

moreardon

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

Member since 02 Jan 2016

Total posts 2

Be quick though as seats get rebooked very quickly!

RT

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 17 Aug 2017

Total posts 4

We did exactly this with Emirates, 2 weeks ago. Watching close to our flight date, they were releasing seats around (but not exactly) 72 hours before. Jagged a direct First class BNE-DXB on Emirates A380, was absolutely amazing.

And the cabin was half full, and there were no seats available 300+ days out when we booked.

Edit - no award seats left when we first booked, business or first.

Last editedby RT at Oct 06, 2018, 03:14 AM.

gazza48

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 10 Jun 2016

Total posts 9

most definitely keep checking, particularly if you have a refundable tkt. I was overseas in Ireland and grabbed a J FF seat 3 weeks before coming back. Also same situation ex ZRH, FCL FF seats released a few weeks prior. On that flight we were the only two people in First Class!!


ekla

Etihad - Etihad Guest

Member since 10 Oct 2018

Total posts 3

On EK there’s also an auto-upgrade function in manage my booking that will transact as soon as seats are available if you have enough points. Saves constantly checking!

thenagrom

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 25 Jan 2016

Total posts 3

Sometimes they do. You can also book a lower class and then pay the pts/fees difference to upgrade if it becomes available.

AfricaTraveller

Emirates Airlines - Skywards

Member since 20 Jan 2018

Total posts 15

Be aware there are consistent reports that the EK auto upgrade system is flaky at best, not working at worst. From my experience, nothing beats actually calling and checking if upgrade seats are available

Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Do Qantas/Emirates release award seats closer to departure?

Attach Files