![]() ![]() You can also turn adjacent suites into a huge one if you’re traveling with a companion, and get primped up for landing in an enormous lavatory with a sit-down vanity counter. (The cabins are being installed on new A380s first, then retrofitted onto existing A380s over the next few years.) The distinguishing features? Swiveling Poltrona Frau leather armchairs that recline to 135 degrees, plus separate, stowable beds that are made up with Lalique linens. Why you want to fly it: Similar to those at Emirates, Singapore Airlines’ first class improvements include all-new suites with closing doors on the upper deck of its flagship Airbus A380 jumbo jets, which are currently flying from Singapore to Sydney, Hong Kong, and London Heathrow. As more planes with the new suites go into service and the hubbub over their launch dies down, that should change. The caveats: Taxes and surcharges on award tickets can run you more than $1,000, and award space in Emirates’ new first-class suites is virtually nonexistent-at least for now. If you have Starwood Preferred Guest points to burn, try moving them to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, which charges just 100,000 miles for a round-trip between Dubai and Brussels, Geneva, or London. Have a Chase Ultimate Rewards account? Transfer points from there to Korean Air’s Skypass program, which partners with Emirates, and your round-trip Dubai-to-Europe ticket will cost 120,000 miles. A first-class ticket between Dubai and Europe costs 85,000 miles each way. ![]() Those include American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest, whose points can be applied toward an award booking through the Emirates website. How to book it for less than coach: Emirates may not partner with the large airline alliances, but it does offer valuable points partnerships that are easy to leverage. The seats also have in-suite minibars, personal temperature zones and mood lighting, and a privacy hatch for meal service. Each suite has 40 square feet of completely enclosed personal space-a first for any airline-with stitched-leather seating created in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz and inspired by the automaker’s S-Class vehicles. ![]() It’s even smaller considering that there are only six suites per aircraft. If that sounds like a small number, it is. By the end of 2019, they’ll be installed on just nine planes, all brand-new Boeing 777-300ERs. Why you want to fly it: Emirates’ new suites, which were announced in November, are impressive not just for luxuriousness but relative rarity: For now, they’re available only on certain flights-from Dubai to Brussels, Geneva, and London Stansted (starting on June 8). Here are the hacks that will get you into the five best cabins in the skies today. The trick is to adjust your strategy according to where you want to fly and which seat you want to fly in (1A, please). And thanks to powerful credit cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Platinum, loyal flying may not be necessary. Here’s what the airlines don’t want you to figure out: All it takes is a little points savvy to experience these seats for pennies on the dollar. and Société Air France SA have resulted in truly premium experiences, with improvements ranging from more personal storage space to latest-generation entertainment screens and touchscreen seat controls. These airlines aren’t alone: Quieter, gradual enhancements on such airlines as Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. A round-trip ticket from Dubai to Geneva in Emirates’ new suites can cost upward of $8,000-and that’s on the affordable end of the spectrum. and Emirates Airline both unveiled all-new first-class suites, tricked-out with such extravagant amenities as in-suite minibars and Mercedes Benz-inspired interiors. What’s ensued is a golden age of flying … for those who can afford it. While some airlines have done away with it altogether, others are doubling down with palatial suite-style seats, lavish amenities, and services that pamper, both on the ground and in the air. Airline industry experts have been proclaiming the death of first class for years. ![]()
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