Emirates Business Special (H Class) – All You Need to Know

two airplanes flying in the sky

Last month, Emirates announced unpackaging its business-class fare. While I would not call it a true unbundling yet, it was indeed a first step. And there were several changes – some rather surprising.

Emirates introduced a new category of fares – Business Special. This is also known as H-Class or H-Code fares. In this post, I will deep-dive into the category.

Difference between Emirates Business Special and Emirates Business Saver Fares

Emirates Business Special fares are priced lower than a standard business class fare. Compared to a Business Saver fare, these fares had the following difference

  1. Lower earnings for miles and tier miles
  2. No upgrade to first-class using miles
  3. Higher fee for rescheduling flights
  4. Higher cancellation fee
  5. Paid seat selection
  6. No chauffeur to and from the airport
  7. No business-class lounge access

To clarify, there are no changes in on-board services and you still get priority boarding. These restrictions remind me of the first time economy sale fares were introduced. In fact, you would see conditions 1-5 in economy sale fare across airlines. So that is hardly surprising.

I also understand condition 6 as it may cost the airline $100 or more each-way for the service. In any case, I feel that chauffeur service should be replaced with ride-sharing apps (e.g. Uber). If Emirates were to give me a coupon that covers my ride to and from the airport in an Uber Black, I would be happy. And the economics may turn out better for them. In fact, Emirates is already offering 50% discount on Economy Flex and free rides on Economy Flex Plus fares through Uber.

I fail to understand the point of condition 7 though. If you are a repeat customer for Emirates and travel business class, there is good chance you are at least Emirates Skywards Silver. And one of the perks of the Silver tier is access to business class lounges.

Perhaps, Business Saver fares are meant for first-time travelers on Emirates.

Routes where Business Special Fares are Bookable

When the business special fares were announced, they were immediately bookable. However, the sectors on which these fares are available were not clear. I looked at the popular routes of Emirates and checked if these fares are available. Also, what would be the difference between these and Business Saver fares.

Dubai <-> Kuwait

screens screenshot of a flight schedule

Dubai <-> Mumbai

screens screenshot of a flight schedule

Dubai <-> London

a screenshot of a flight schedule

Dubai <-> Paris

screens screenshot of a flight schedule

Dubai <-> Bangkok

screens screenshot of a flight schedule

Dubai <-> New York

a screenshot of a flight schedule

Note: I could not find availability of Business Special fares between Dubai and Sydney in the few dates I tried.

As a general rule, rescheduling fee and refund fee in Business Special is double that of Business Saver.

As you can see, the difference between Business Special and Business Saver fares vary according to the route. In fact, the difference is directly proportional to the fare itself. It is only AED 250 ($70) for Dubai to Mumbai while it is AED 1,500 ($400) between Dubai to New York. In other words, higher the fare, higher the difference.

Now here is the thing, the two biggest difference between the two categories are – lack of lounge access and no chauffeur ride. I would expect that both these benefits are at fixed cost to Emirates irrespective of the distance traveled. Even as a passenger, I should be using the lounge and chauffeur ride irrespective of where I am going – Mumbai or New York.

Let us do some calculations here. Assume chauffeur rides from Dubai and Mumbai to your destination would cost you $60. Emirates charges $100 for access to its business class lounge at Dubai Airport (DXB Terminal 3). Adding the two up, the benefits are worth $160. While the difference in fare is only $70.

Final Thoughts

Like Etihad’s unbundled Economy fares, I like this move by Emirates. In fact, my primary reason to travel business class is the lie-flat seat. The second reason is better food. If I am getting both for a lower price, I am happy.

Emirates would need to work on its pricing though. More so, with premium economy expected to come in 2020.

11 Comments

  1. Restrictions on Lounge Access on a ‘business class special’ ticket is foolish.
    Emirates shd re-consider this restriction.

    My comment is NOT for me / it’s for Emirates.

    Best Wishes!!

  2. Yes u r right I’m traveling to Dubai next month with business class special fare and now I know I can’t admit the lounge last month I traveled with Turkish airline even I pay less than Emirates special fare and I still have access to Istanbul airport business lounge even I take the shower and plenty off food I think I made a mistake to choosed the Emirates

  3. We are paying 3 times more then for Business class. Now you are restricting lounge Access. I am travelling by Business special H class. Since I am travelling to USA it’s a non stop 15 hours journey. Reason for opting for Business class is I am aged person I wanted to travel comfortably. I made a mistake by choosing Emrits. Your lay over time is 3to6hours. You should reconsider giving lounge access to the Business special H class travellers.

  4. You’re missing one key factor, and I’m going through this right now.

    I’m traveling from JFK to BOM on Dec 27 to Jan 17 (original date of travel) and total duration of outbound flight is 16 hr 30 mins. (traveling with wife and infant). I have booked a business class ticket class-H for travel.

    Recently Emirates decided to cancel and decrease the frequency of routes. My outbound flight being one of them, They automatically re-booked my flight to the next available flight within the same business class-H. which is 40 hrs in duration! I’m bound by this class-h, I can’t rebook or change my flight even if there is availability in business. There has to be an equivalent class-h flight available in order for me to change. They have basically giving me the option to either keep the new flight or cancel for a full refund. The next problem is now there are no flights available. If I cancel and rebook the flights cost an upward of $10k+. Regretting choosing this type of fare and Emirates.

    Another thing to add is after they canceled all these routes, Emirates shut down their phone systems. If you call CS it goes directly to voicemail asking to send an email or call back later. No way of doing business!

  5. I paid much higher price for traveling in the Business Class yet I was refused the lounge excess in Dubai airport in a sarcastic way. In addition, They demanded approx. extra $150.00 dollars for the excess of the lounge (should I needed one). I really need to change my clothes! I will never fly on Emirates ever! Class H deal is horrible, outrageous , and awful.
    My friends, relatives , and I are done with them.

  6. the price of emirates business class does not make sense. the oldest most uncomfortable planes are used for route Dubai to Durban yet the most expensive price. please explain
    why is it we have to pay such horrendous prices and still be uncomfortable
    how do you justify the price of your ticket
    ZAR130K

  7. Emirates Business Special-H class sucks. Don’t book it, access to business lounge is the lease you can expect when booking business regardless of what class, it was a mistake as I didn’t read the full term before booking- it’s a terrible business idea by Emirates. for this reason Emirates will not be my first choice in the future.

  8. I am flying business class special in a few months. I am hoping EK by then will decide to have free lounge access for this H class. I find it ridiculous that a business class passenger is not allowed lounge access.

  9. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this “Emirates Business Special” hinderance/limitation when I booked Business Class.
    Now, if we want to use the lounge during both 8 and 14 hour layovers…we get to pay for the benefit of the “Emirates special business class” !
    This was not anywhere on the booking website. I had to spend 45 minutes looking for the meaning of the Business Special.
    Not the customer service that Emirates Airlines puts out there!

  10. Travel agents should be trained to disclose that lounge access is not available in business h. It is too late to find out about this restriction after the ticket is already purchased.

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