shouldbewriting

We’re going to Botswana in Oct and spending a few days in Cape Town first. Will return to US from Johannesburg. Business class tix went to $5150 today. Pull the trigger now or are they likely to decrease further?

There is an over eight hour lay over in Dubai. Will we quality for a hotel stay, as happened some years ago en route to SA?

Thanks for any input.

Gardyloo

From where? Is that for one person or two? Sounds pretty pricey if for one.

shouldbewriting

Yes for one. From SFO.

Gardyloo

I wouldn't be surprised if the price comes down, maybe way down, sometime between now and next autumn.

How much more are you willing to spend for Emirates as opposed to other airlines? For random days in October, I can see round trip business class fares out of Vancouver BC to Joburg using Air Canada or Lufthansa priced in the (US$) mid $3K range. The positioning flight to YVR would be extra, but would just be a couple hundred bucks. Your flights from JNB to Cape Town or Botswana (Gaborone?) could be purchased inexpensively as separate tickets rather than forcing a much higher longhaul price due to differences in fare categories.

I can't speak to the hotel question at DXB. My hunch is that it would be too short a layover, and in business rather than first class, for Emirates to offer a room.

You might want to monitor this board on Flyertalk - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/ and also try looking at a fly/hotel package through one of the airlines or online travel agencies like Expedia. You never know when some good deals show up.

shouldbewriting

Tix from Cape Town to Maun and from Maun to Johannesburg will be extra. This trip is less about the money and more about the fewer airports, though natch don’t want to throw money away.

Thanks, Gardy, from time and suggestions.

scdreamer

I just booked Emirates business class r/t from SFO to Kilimanjaro (stopover in Dubai) for August/Sept - paid $6314 - yes, it's pricey, and it was even "business saver", which is a limited availability fare; the website says only 4 seats left at that price, although who knows. Regular business, which is exactly the same seat and non refundable, was even more.

Have flown through Dubai on business with Emirates in the past, with a longer layover than you have (11 hrs), and although I signed up for the hotel, decided not to take it once I arrived at the Dubai airport. The hotel room they offer in Dubai is very basic (think Days Inn-style ) - and in order to use the service, you must exit through immigration and return through security. I looked at the lines and decided not to bother. In the end it was fine - the business part of the airport is awesome. There are specific "quiet" sleeping areas with leather lounge beds and blankets. Each gate has its own buffet and plush waiting area. The usual showers, etc are available.

Gardyloo

Circling back to this thread because I wanted to mention (broken record time) that $4 or $5 grand for a single trip is a lot of money, and if traveling long distances in premium cabins is an option and/or an aim, and if one plans travel to various places in the world over a year or two's timeframe, it might be worthwhile to think about a round-the-world ticket or some similar multi-continent ticket, which COULD offer some decent cost savings if one uses it to leverage multiple trips.

I did a longish thread on this subject a couple of months ago; it might be worthwhile to have a look at it - Round-the-world and multi-continent airfares

No idea about the OP's overall timing for 2019 travels, or what other places might be on the wish list for 2019-2020, but buying a business class RTW ticket someplace where it's cheaper than in the US or Canada, traveling partway around the world and "stopping over" at home for months, then completing the circuit of the world before the ticket's 12-month lifespan has ended, might make sense.