Emirates brings the A380 back to London Gatwick

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At the start of the month, Emirates announced that it would be returning to London Gatwick from 10th December.

The plan was for one daily flight, operated by a 3-class Boeing 777-300ER. Due to strong passenger demand, Emirates has swapped the aircraft to an A380.

This is great news for most people, especially business class passengers who will no longer be faced with the 777-300ER’s 2-3-2 configuration.

One group of people won’t be happy, however. In theory, as a 777-300ER was scheduled, this service would have seen the astounding new Emirates First Class suite which I reviewed here. Clearly the First Class seat on the A380 isn’t a bad way to spend a few hours, but the new First Class Suite is one of the 2-3 best seats in the sky.

From 10th December, Emirates will be operating:

6 x daily flights to Heathrow
1 x daily flight to Gatwick
2 x daily flights to Manchester
10 x weekly flights to Birmingham
1 x daily flight to Glasgow
4 x weekly flights to Newcastle

…. for a total of 84 weekly services to the UK.

How to earn Emirates Skywards miles from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Emirates Skywards does not have a UK credit card. However, you can earn Emirates Skywards miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards. These are:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Emirates Skywards miles

American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 5,000 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Emirates Skywards miles which is an attractive rate. The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Emirates Skywards mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.