Ugh, one of the best sweet spots of the Emirates Skywards program, at least for members based in the United States, has just been devalued.
This has been especially useful for members in the United States, since Emirates has three handy fifth freedom routes — Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG), New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP), and Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH). Unfortunately that seems to have just changed, as flagged by Tim.
For example, the fifth freedom flights from the United States to Europe now have $433.50 in taxes and fees for a one-way award in first or business class. As a point of comparison, previously you would’ve paid a total of $105.30, so surcharges have increased by $328.20 per direction.
For the fifth freedom flight from Miami to Bogota, you now have to pay $267.50 for a one-way award in first or business class. As a point of comparison, previously you would’ve paid a total of $63.60, so surcharges have increased by $203.90.
These higher fees come at a time when oil prices are actually down. For that matter, Emirates seems to have mildly decreased its surcharges for many flights to and from Dubai. For example, from New York to Dubai, a one-way award in first class now has a total of $834.90 in taxes and fees, while previously the total was over $1,000.
So it almost seems like Emirates has just tried to make its carrier surcharges a bit more logical and consistent, as much as I hate to see it.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
