If you booked Emirates via a third party and need to change for ONE passenger or in general
Just went through this whole situation, so sharing in case it helps someone.
I had a booking through a third party agent (Cleartrip) with multiple passengers under one PNR, and needed to change the date for just one person. The third party initially said they couldn’t do it for a single passenger because it was a combined PNR but eventually agreed but they quoted really high prices, around 40k for one date and 70k INR for another. (400-800 usd)
I then contacted Emirates directly, but they said they can’t modify a single passenger unless the PNR is split.
So I went back to the third party and asked them to split the PNR. Once they did that and gave me a new booking reference for that passenger, I contacted Emirates again. This time, they were able to help properly they showed actual availability and even changed to a morning flight on the same date for free.
Mind you it was an economy saver ticket (could also be free due to the current situation, but these tickets were booked for April in February before the whole gulf situation), still better than paying around 40-70k INR (400-800 usd).
Basically, if you need to change for just one person, don’t agree to high charges immediately. Ask the third party to split the PNR first, then deal directly with Emirates. Even for full booking changes, it’s worth checking with Emirates instead of relying only on third party agents.
Saved a lot of money and hassle doing this, so yeah definitely try this approach.