Do Qantas/Emirates release award seats closer to departure?

By caromcdonald | Oct 04, 2018, 04:25 PM
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!


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By rk1 | Oct 04, 2018, 11:10 PM
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.
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By moreardon | Oct 05, 2018, 02:52 PM
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.
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By moreardon | Oct 05, 2018, 02:52 PM
Be quick though as seats get rebooked very quickly!
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By RT | Oct 06, 2018, 03:13 AM
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 edited by RT at Oct 06, 2018, 03.14 AM.
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By gazza48 | Oct 08, 2018, 08:49 PM
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!!

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By ekla | Oct 10, 2018, 03:48 PM
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!
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By thenagrom | Oct 10, 2018, 03:49 PM
Sometimes they do. You can also book a lower class and then pay the pts/fees difference to upgrade if it becomes available.
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By AfricaTraveller | Oct 10, 2018, 07:56 PM
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
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