Emirates first class Milan to New York review

On a recent trip to Italy, I finally had the opportunity to fly Emirates’ fifth freedom route from Milan (MXP) to New York (JFK) on their A380 aircraft. I had used Emirates miles to book business class seats, and at the airport I used additional miles to upgrade to first class (details here). In short, […] The post Emirates first class Milan to New York review appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Jun 4, 2025 - 13:35

Emirates first class Milan to New York review

On a recent trip to Italy, I finally had the opportunity to fly Emirates’ fifth freedom route from Milan (MXP) to New York (JFK) on their A380 aircraft. I had used Emirates miles to book business class seats, and at the airport I used additional miles to upgrade to first class (details here). In short, the flight was fantastic. This is definitely one of the best ways to fly between North America and Europe! I enjoyed the on-board shower, top-shelf drinks, excellent food, a very comfortable seat/bed, and terrific service.

Greg in Emirates first class raising a champagne glass towards the viewer

How to book Emirates first class with miles

There are a few ways to book Emirates first class with miles…

Book business class then upgrade. Emirates charges 87,000 points one-way to fly this route in business class. Then, when you arrive at the airport on the day of the flight you can upgrade to first class for 39,000 additional miles as long as there’s still a free seat first class. You can transfer points to Emirates from Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards (but with Citi the transfer ratio is going to drop to 5 to 4 starting 7/27/25).
Book first class if you have elite status. It’s possible to book directly into first class on this route with 102,000 Emirates miles (when award seats are available), but only if you have Emirates elite status. The easiest way to get elite status if you’re based in the U.S. and you don’t fly paid Emirates flights often is to get the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard. That will give you Silver status for the first year and then you’ll have to spend $20,000 on the card in subsequent years to maintain that status.
Book first class with Qantas points. With Qantas points, it’s possible to book directly into first class on this route with 107,700 Qantas points. No elite status is required. You can transfer points to Qantas from Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, or Capital One Miles.

Business class awards are much easier to find than first class awards, so for most people option 1, above, will be your best bet.

My Journey in Photos…

Emirates Lounge Milan MXP

Emirates offers a combined lounge for business and first class passengers. I found it to be perfectly adequate, but not exceptional. The food was fine, but not great. The killer feature of the lounge is that there are gates that take you directly to the plane right from inside the lounge.

The gate we used to board our plane was behind the door shown top-right

First class suite

The first class suite is adorned with all kinds of bling. It includes an automatic door, a stocked drink selection that opens and rises at the push of a button; a pop-up vanity mirror with a tray of moisturizers and things; a lamp; a large entertainment screen; a tablet that can be used directly or to control the big screen; and a separate hand-remote for controlling the entertainment screen.

Additionally, we were given comfy pajamas and slippers; and a thick mattress pad, blanket and pillow for sleeping.

Food & Drink

The in-flight menu was a full-color magazine. Select pages are shown below. Personally, I started the flight with a delightful glass (or maybe two) of Dom Pérignon. While sipping the champagne I thoroughly enjoyed caviar service. Next I had the traditional Arabic Mezze (the Fattoush salad was the best I’ve ever had, but the rest was mediocre). Then I very much enjoyed the lamb cutlet for my main course, along with a glass of Château Mouton Rothschild 2004. I finished with the out-of-this-world-delicious rhubarb and strawberry charlotte dessert, while sipping Hennessy Paradis Cognac.

Shower Spa

One of the coolest features of first class on Emirates’ A380 aircraft is that you can shower in the sky. Even if you don’t want to shower, the ability to change into pajamas and back into your clothes in a huge, beautiful, and clean room was a treat.

Each of the two on-board shower suites looked like this:

View of shower in the back, right of the room. To the left of the shower is the bathroom exit. There appears to be another shower to the left of the exit door, but really it’s just a reflection of the shower caused by the floor to ceiling mirror along the left side of the above image.

Here’s a view of the bathroom (er… “shower spa”) as viewed from the shower door. The toilet is partially hidden under the seat seen in the middle of the bench along the left side.

Videos

Here are some Instagram reels of my experience…

Emirates Lounge experience

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First class suite and Dom Pérignon

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Emirates first class shower spa

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Anniversary surprise

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The post Emirates first class Milan to New York review appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.