Emirates airline courts ‘early birds’ with limited-time discount

Emirates has expanded service to a dozen cities this year and plans to add four more by year’s end. The airline, which flies nonstop from L.A. and San Francisco to Dubai, is offering a discount on travel this winter and spring on long-haul routes to the Middle East and beyond.

The deal: Early Bird bookings, as the sale is called, discounts round-trip airfares from Los Angeles starting at $1,436 to Dubai, $1,327 to the Indian subcontinent, $1,193 to Africa and $1,034 to the Middle East.

According to the fine print, the sale takes $75 off the lowest-priced airfare from Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Dallas, and $150 off fares from Houston, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. Though savings sound small, early booking may add up to much more (see below).

When: The offer is good until 11:59 p.m. Sunday Pacific time for travel between Jan. 13 and May 9.

Tested: I like that the window period for this deal goes well beyond winter. And I found real savings on airfare for the destinations I checked online. For example, seats are available for $1,436 round-trip from L.A. to Dubai on March 6 to 13. The same round-trip flights in December cost $2,536.

I found availability for round-trip fares from L.A. to Nairobi, Kenya, for $1,051 in mid-February, whereas prices for December cost $1,885 to $2,746, depending on what days you fly. Not all savings are as profound, but it’s worth checking out Emirates prices if you’re planning a bucket-list trip this year with fixed dates.

Contact: Emirates or a travel agent.

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