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Emirates will extend its cabin overhaul to another 71 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, with Sydney and Melbourne services to both see the new cabins.
Another 43 A380s and 28 777s will be fitted with the new cabins, including premium economy seats. Sydney’s EK412/413 and EK414/415 services, and Melbourne’s EK408/409 and EK406/407 services, will both use A380 aircraft with the new premium economy cabins when the retrofit is complete.
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The original plan called for 120 aircraft to be refurbished, with the additional refits bringing the total to 191. 22 of Emirates’ A380s have been refitted so far, with the first 777 to be upgraded in July.
“We’re topping up our multi-billion-dollar investment in the retrofit programme to introduce cutting-edge cabin products on more of our A380s and Boeing 777s, demonstrating a clear commitment to elevating the customer experience with a best-in-class suite of products across every cabin,” said Emirates president Sir Tim Clark.
“The addition of more aircraft fitted with our newest generation seats, updated cabin finishings and a contemporary colour palette also marks a significant step in ensuring more customers can consistently experience our premium products across both aircraft types.”
The refreshed 777s will include 24 new premium economy seats and eight refurbished first class suites, 40 business class seats, and 260 economy class seats, with 50 economy seats to be removed for premium economy.
According to Emirates, 42 destinations will see premium economy seats by 2025, with the first of its A350-900s also to enter its fleet in September, though these will not initially serve Australia.
“Once the last aircraft rolls out of the retrofit programme and the project is fully complete, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refreshed First Class suites, 11,182 upgraded Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats,” the airline said.
“Emirates currently operates its refurbished A380 aircraft fitted with Premium Economy to New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, London Heathrow, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore, Sao Paulo and Dubai. The airline will be boosting services with the new cabin to Osaka in early June.”
Emirates last year upgraded all of its Sydney 777 services from 777s to A380s, adding more than 260 seats per day.
