Air Canada, a Star Alliance member, and Emirates, a Dubai-based super connector, have activated frequent flier partnerships for earning and redeeming miles.
Aeroplan members earn and redeem on Emirates flights and Skywards members on Air Canada from today.
You can access Air Canada’s page for airline partnerships here and the Emirates page for Air Canada here.
Aeroplan Emirates Earning Table:
Aeroplan members won’t earn elite qualifying miles on Emirates.
Aeroplan Emirates Award Chart:
There are no carrier surcharges on Emirates awards (those are incredibly high on Emirates), but there is a C$39 partner award booking fee.
You can combine Emirates flights with all Air Canada redemption partners (mix and match).
The Emirates award chart is distance based, although the distance method is not introduced until early 2023 when first-class Emirates awards are also made available (have to wait a bit longer).
Skywards Air Canada Award Chart:
Reciprocal Lounge Access:
Aeroplan Elite 50K, 75K, and Super Elite members + 1 have access to Emirates business class lounge in Dubai when flying in economy on Emirates.
Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members + 1 have access to Air Canada Maple Leaf and Air Canada Cafe when flying in economy on Air Canada. Emirates Business Class passengers + 1 departing from Toronto have access to Maple Leaf lounges and Cafe. In addition, Emirates First Class passengers + 1 have access to Signature Suite.
Conclusion
There is quite a bit of variability within the Emirates, such as 2,001 to 5,000 miles business class awards costing 45,000 to 140,000 Aeroplan miles, and first-class awards are even more expensive.
It is probably the most cost-effective to use Aeroplan miles on Emirates only when there is no award availability on other partners, or you want to try Emirates first.
