Is Emirates Blocking First Class Award Space From Qantas & Aeroplan?

Back in August I wrote a post asking, “Is Qantas Actively Blocking Emirates First Class Awards?” This month, ironically, I’m asking, “Is Emirates Blocking First Class Award Access to Qantas?”

When the Qantas devaluation kicked in, Emirates First Class award space for Qantas Frequent Flyers dried up — but only on specific routes. While flights to and from Australia via Dubai aren’t affected, flights from Europe to Dubai or the US to Europe (fifth freedom) have completely disappeared. This is strange because Emirates used to release plenty of First Class award seats from Europe, which makes sense given their high frequency and First Class-heavy fleet.

After several emails to both Qantas PR and Emirates PR, it became clear that neither wanted to talk about it. Qantas was the most forthcoming, stating that “nothing had changed and that availability was controlled by Emirates.” Emirates PR said they’d look into it and then stopped responding — which usually means they don’t want to comment.

That explanation seemed fine at first, but something didn’t add up. Aeroplan, another Emirates redemption partner, still had First Class award access on routes such as EU–DXB, so I assumed the issue was specific to Qantas.

Fast forward to today (or to September when I started writing this post!), I figured, “Let’s see if anything has changed.” I checked Seats.aero and found that Aeroplan now shows zero First Class seats with Emirates from anywhere in Europe to Dubai. The same goes for fifth freedom routes between the US and Europe. Qantas still shows no First Class seats from Europe to Dubai, though plenty are available from Dubai to Australia and vice versa (as well as Sydney to Christchurch). Interestingly, you can still start your journey in Europe in Emirates First Class as long as the flight continues to Australia.

My Theory

I have a few theories, some more far-fetched than others, but here’s the most realistic one.

We all know Emirates isn’t a fan of reward bookings. The “fees” they charge for a redemption often equal the cost of a discounted Business Class cash fare with another airline. In many cases, using points for Emirates Business Class doesn’t make sense. You can justify First Class for the experience, but a return trip to Europe still costs around $4,000 in fees plus a massive points outlay.

That said, Qantas is a key partner, so there are likely contractual obligations in place. While we can only speculate on the commercial arrangements behind these reward tickets, it’s safe to assume Emirates is well compensated.

My working theory is that Emirates is actively blocking what they consider “low-value” redemptions on European routes while allowing bookings that include segments to Australia to maintain their partnership with Qantas.

If we apply Occam’s Razor here, the simplest explanation is probably the right one: Emirates is protecting revenue. By restricting standalone European and US redemptions, they reduce the number of cheap First Class seats booked through partners while still supporting routes tied to their Australian market.

It would also make sense for Emirates to limit access for European and especially US-based Qantas members who often earn points through credit card transfers rather than actual flying. Restricting First Class access to Skywards Silver, Gold, or Platinum members keeps those rewards within their own ecosystem.

For overseas members, earning Qantas Points is incredibly easy. You could, for example, buy wine from the Qantas Wine Store, and when good deals pop up (our Qantas Wine Tool tracks them), those paying in euros or US dollars can get Qantas Points cheaply since they’re sold in Australian dollars. Combine that with lower departure taxes in Europe, and it becomes possible to “buy” an Emirates First Class ticket for a fraction of the retail cost thanks to currency arbitrage.

Summing Up

While this is speculation, I’m still hoping it’s just a tech glitch and that award space will return soon. In the meantime, I’ll keep tracking Emirates First Class availability and report back if anything changes.

If you have your own theories or insights, leave them in the comments or send me a DM on Instagram.