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In January Emirates announced that it was restarting operations to Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Francisco, in February it announced that its Athens-Newark route would return in June, two days ago it announced that it was restarting its Orlando route, and now the airline has confirmed that a favorite 5th freedom route is also coming back.
The Emirates Milan – JFK Reboot
On 1 June 2021, Emirates will restart daily service between Milan Malpensa and New York JFK on the following schedule:
EK205 MXP 16:10 – 19:00 JFK (Daily)
EK206 JFK 22:20 – 12:15+1 day MXP (Daily)
The route between Milan and New York JFK is actually just an extension of the airline’s route between Dubai and Milan so the whole schedule actually looks like this:
EK205 DXB 09:25 – 14:20 MXP 16:10 – 10:20 JFK
EK206 JFK 22:20 – 12:15+1 day MXP 14:05+1 day – 22:10+1 day DXB
The route will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER with the following cabin configurations:
- 8 First Class seats
- 42 Business Class seats
- 304 Economy Class seats
With Emirates confirming that the 777-300ER that will operate this route has an 8-seat First Class cabin we know that this is an aircraft with older interiors (the aircraft with the stunning new First Class Cabin have just 6 First Class seats) and we know that the Business Class cabin will offer a disappointing 2-3-2 seat layout:
This is the same aircraft that operated this route before it was suspended so this isn’t a downgrade, but it’s still a shame to see an outdated Business Class cabin continuing to being offered across the Atlantic.
Good New For Award Bookings
The resumption of Emirates’ service between Milan and New York JFK means that we’re getting back another sweet spot for Emirates award redemptions. The cheaper (Saver) Fares can only be booked for roundtrip travel but they still can offer very good value:
- Roundtrip Business Class between JFK & Milan – 90,000 miles
- Roundtrip First Class between JFK & Milan – 135,000 miles
If you only need to book a one-way fare you’ll have to book a Flex Plus fare, but even these can offer a very good deal:
- One-way Business Class between Newark & Athens – 62,500 miles
- One-way First Class between Newark & Athens – 85,000 miles
This route offers one of the more affordable ways to try out the famed Emirates First Class cabin and service.
Note: Don’t forget that Emirates Skywards is a transfer partner of American Express, Citi, and Chase, so you don’t have to be a regular Emirates flyer or Skywards Miles collector to try these flights out. 85,000 Membership Rewards Points, ThankYou Points, or Ultimate Rewards Points will be enough to book a First Class one-way award.
Bottom Line
Emirates is bringing back its Milan – New York JFK route from 1 June 2021 (the same day that it resumes its Athens – Newark route and a day before it resumes its route to Orlando) and this means that one of the best sweet-spots for Emirates award bookings will be back in the schedules in just a few months’ time.
Will this tempt you to book a trip for later in the year?
