Emirates 408 Typical Friday Night Loadings

[p--and--t]

We (x2) are booked on EK408 DXB-MEL overnight on May 8th.

Neither of us has EK status. We are both QC Life members (Bronze).

The paid ticket class in the package (in Economy) we bought does not allow "free selection" of seating. For additional payment seating can be selected as one of three choices 1. An ordinary seat 2. A preferred seat 3. A leg room seat

I was tempted to pay to book & confirm our seats, however I noticed at present more than 1/2 of Y is shown as vacant.

I'm wondering whether to

• risk not selecting anything and try and grab a free row of 3 to lie down given the apparent low loading
• or whether the vacant seats will evaporate quickly and we'll end up boxed in in a coughpy pair of seats and should pay to choose now.

Is there anyone with knowledge/experience of typical loadings on EK408 on a Friday night and/or recommendations as to a strategy. There is no way I want to end up in a middle seat.

 

[Mattg]

This may be of interest - Why Airline Seat Maps Are NOT a Reliable Indicator of Flight Loadings

FWIW, Expert Flyer indicates a fairly light load at this point... but that doesn't really mean anything this far out.

EK408 on 8/5/20: F4 A4 J7 C7 I7 O7 H0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 Q9 L9 T9 V0 X0

If you don't want to pay, just make sure that you check-in online as soon as it opens and they should save you from getting stuck in a middle seat.