Emirates Premium Economy
Emirates Premium Economy

First Look at Emirates Premium Economy and Upgraded Cabins on A380

Sam Chui·
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Today I was invited to have a first look at the Emirates Premium Economy Class on their newly delivered A380, registration A6-EVN.

The new Premium Economy cabin is a first for any Middle East airline, featuring 56 seats in a 2-4-2 cabin layout.

The airline received their newest A380 aircraft from Airbus’ Hamburg facility last week; their remaining order of 5 A380s will also be delivered with Premium Economy cabins, throughout 2021 and into 2022.

Trying out the new Emirates Premium Economy Seat
Trying out the new Emirates Premium Economy Seat
Emirates Premium Economy Seat
Emirates Premium Economy Seat

Key Details

  • Pitch: up to 40 inches
  • Width: 19.5 inches
  • Recline: 8 inches
  • Seats: 56 seats
  • Location: Forward of Economy Class on the lower deck of A380
a row of seats in a plane
a row of seats in an airplane

I interviewed Adel Al Redha, Chief Operation Officer of Emirates. He said that the new Premium Economy has been created due to high customer demand; Emirates passengers are wanting a product that is better than Economy, while still remaining affordable.

He mentioned that there are 5 more A380s with the Premium Economy set to join the Emirates A380 fleet.

Over time another 55% of the fleet will also be retro-fitted with the Premium Economy product as well.

Adel Al Redha, Chief Operation Officer of Emirates
a close-up of a plane seat

Emirates will start flying the new A380 with Premium Economy seating from 4th January on EK003/004, between Dubai and London Heathrow.

Complimentary Upgrades

Emirates have stated that they will not be selling these seats (as Premium Economy) until they reach a critical mass of aircraft. So for the time being it is only complimentary upgrades for Elite Skywards members and certain Economy Class fare paying passengers (presumably passengers with full fare Y tickets).

a rows of seats in an airplane
rows of seats in an airplane

For now there are no further details on the Premium Economy soft product available, only details regarding the seat itself. Emirates have stated that they will not be selling these seats (as Premium Economy) until they reach a critical mass of aircraft across the network.

the seats in an airplane

Upgraded Cabin

For the remainder of the A380 cabin, Emirates has made some small changes; however they have opted not to overhaul the layout or design.

Cabin detail and finishes have also been refreshed; these changes range from new motifs and colours, for the sweeping stairs that lead from the main deck to the upper deck, to refreshed design trims and modern fittings in the Shower Spa.

Stair case feature Ghaf Tree, a tree you often found in the Gulf region
Stair case feature Ghaf Tree, a tree you often found in the Gulf region
Refurbished Shower and Spa in First Class on Emirates A380
Refurbished Shower and Spa in First Class on Emirates A380

Business Class

Emirates have retained their popular A380 Business Class seats; which offer direct aisle access for every passenger, recline to a fully-flat position and feature a mini bar among other features.

All 76 seats have been refreshed to feature champagne-coloured leather covers and wood finishing's, inspired by executive jets, similar to the Business Class on Emirates’ Boeing 777 “Gamechanger” aircraft.

Refurbished Business Class seat on Emirates A380
Refurbished Business Class seat on Emirates A380
  • a white chair with a pillow on it
    Refurbished Business Class seat on Emirates A380
  • a seat in a plane
    Refurbished Business Class seat on Emirates A380
The refurbished Emirates Business Class seat are inspired from executive jet design
The refurbished Emirates Business Class seat are inspired by executive jet design
a row of seats with monitors on the side
inside a plane with seats and a wooden seat
the inside of an airplane with many monitors
a man sitting in a chair
a man sitting in a plane

Seeing it in person, I was overall very impressed with the cabin décor; the executive jet-inspired seat fabric delivers a modern and sophisticated look, throughout the entire Business Class cabin.

A full video review of the new A380 cabin is coming later this week.

Sam Chui

Sam Chui is one of the world's most established aviation and travel blogger, content creator and published author. He enjoys anything related to aviation and travel. His fascination with airplanes stemmed from visiting Kai Tak airport as a teenager. He has spent some of the happiest times of his life in the air.

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31 Responses

  1. Hello,
    Does the last row has fully reclining seats or are the seat blocked by the wall and the recline is shorter?
    thanks in advance!

    Reply

  2. Hi Sam ok well you still have not explained to everyone how you manage to get all these First, Business class flights throughout the world, !! And any other type of flights ! I agree it’s great that your showing all these to the public and Aviation Buffs like myself to see how they work, function and offer. It’s good to look and take in all the technicalities from start to finish and somewhat satisfying . But there a lot of people wondering about as to how , why and what it is that you do , to obtain all these flights on a daily basis.
    Can you please explain this to us all somthat we understand why ,how and what for . It mite sound like a silly question but for those who are courious it’s not because there are so many that can’t even afford to fly!! ,and to see someone flying around like this almost everyday of the week, it makes most people wonder about it . Are you paid by a lot of airlines to do it?? It just needs clearing up with your viewers so that they understand how,why .
    Once yu have e planned these things it also clears a lot of the air for yourself as well then you don’t havto worry about it . I’m not saying that you haven’t done it but iv seen a lot of your regular posts and have never seen or heard of any explanation , so if you could and show it on all your videos and anywhere eles your viewings are. Be also better for your self .

    Reply

  3. Hi Sam, i just want to ask if there’s a farecode or fare basis code change after your upgraded to premium economy? thanks

    Reply

  4. Hi Sam,

    Amazing job, I’m a big fan.

    Any idea on the timeline for the complete rollout of the PE? Also, how would you compare Emirates PE comfort vs other PEs (like BA, AF and Lufthansa)? Do you recommend it for long-haul (DXB-JFK)?

    Thanks!!

    Reply

    1. Flown PE on a number of carriers and frankly the fare premium is just not worth it, comfort is marginally but price is nearly triple econ fare. Less than 7-8 hours econ – more hours go business- you get more value

    1. No information currently available, as they haven’t started selling the product yet. But most airlines don’t include lounge access, rather you need to pay for the lounge.

  8. premium economy seating is way way overdue by the gulf mideast carriers. i would most happily switch my north america-southeast asia p.e. 3-4 trips/year to a stopover in the gulf versus one in northeast asia. well off leisure travelers without an expense account will flock to emirates p.e. gulf mideast carriers’ economy class is a guest worker cattle car. suggestions for emirates’ p.e. product: offer some of the business class food & drink, dedicated p.e. onboard restrooms, lounge access, price p.e. at no more than 1/2 business class airfares.

    Reply

  9. Sam when are you flying the premium economy on Emirates and when can we expect a full video review on YouTube?

    Reply

    1. Please be advised Emirates are not yet selling this product. Currently just one plane is fitted with the product, it will be offered to selected Economy passengers as a complimentary upgrade.

    1. No details of the soft product yet. Currently, it will be used for Economy passengers with standard Economy soft product; until more planes are fitted to launch a total PEY product.

  14. Seats that recline into another passenger’s space are not good. We would rather have no recline at all. They should have adopted hard shell seat backs that slide your seat within the shell to achieve recline; it seems they have enough pitch to go that way.

    Reply

    1. I think there are 2 school of thoughts on the PEY. I personally prefer the recline (even into your face) instead of a fixed shell. AFAIK, only Air France use fixed shell and I found it more uncomfortable without the recline.

    2. You mite want to take notice of the fact that it is why they are placed further apart from each other , further than normal economy , so there’s more room for taller people. So it should not be an issue with most that travel that class.
      The Emirates have done an exellent job of this if you want to compare them to other Airlines around the globe with their different versions of premium economy . Have a look at Qantas s Premium Economy , it doesn’t go anywhere near it!! They can’t hold a candle to them !

  15. It looks certainly great but with the reclining seat in front of you it seems to be as useless as I know it from Lufthansa. Bulk head and emergency exit rows though are very ok.

    Reply

  16. Thanks Sam Chui for your very interesting report about the new Emirates A 380 cabin equipment.
    Maybe a very realistic promotion of the perfect Emirates sense of passenger comfort.
    Moreover, a warmful promotion of this so unjustly denigrated Airbus A 380.

    Long live to the Emirates A 380 !

    Reply

    1. The best seat is subjective. I’d say first row for privacy but there is a wall bulkhead in front. For Avgeek I recommend 40A or 40K as you will have nice engine view 🙂

  19. Dear Sam Chui, could please also report measurements in your articles in the International System of Units (SI) that is metre, centimetre, gram, kilogram etc. and not just ‘American’ measures like inches, feet, pounds etc.? I think the rest (most?) of the world uses SI.

    Reply

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