Emirates has today unveiled that it will be completely refurbishing another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777-300/ER aircraft, expanding its retrofit programme to 191 aircraft. The original plan called for 120 aircraft – 67 A380s and 53 777s to undergo full refurbishment.
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.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline
Emirates has retrofitted 22 A380 aircraft so far, and in July of this year, the first Boeing 777-300/ER will undergo an interior refresh.
Each Boeing 777-300/ER aircraft will take approximately two weeks to refurbish before entering service. Plans include the refurbishment of the First-Class cabin, all new Business Class seats making a debut on the aircraft in an updated 1-2-1 seating configuration, in addition to 24 of the latest Premium Economy seats. To make room for the new Premium Economy cabin, 50 Economy seats will be removed.
Along with the addition of the Premium Economy cabin, the Emirates Boeing 777-300/ER will be configured with 332 seats in four classes, featuring
- 8 First Class suites
- 40 Business Class seats in 1-2-1 configuration
- 24 Premium Economy seats
- 260 Economy Class seats
Refurbishment work for the Emirates fleet is completely being managed and executed in-house at the airline’s Engineering Centre, with over 250 project personnel currently working round the clock, supported by 31 major partners and suppliers who have set up workshops both in the facility and offsite to deliver the refreshed cabins.
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.
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.
The airline will be serving 42 cities with Premium Economy by February 2025 with the A350 entering its fleet in September of this year, in addition to the newly refurbished Boeing 777s.
I am a little confused as to the new first class on the 777ER.
One Mile At A Time describes the new first class on the newest 777’s (A6-EQH-P) as having only 6 first class suites in a 1-1-1 configuration.
https://onemileatatime.com/guides/new-emirates-first-class-routes/
SeatGuru and SeatMaestro seem confusing (to me) about the Emirates 777-ERs in general.
I am looking forward to my first flights on Emirates SYD-DXB (380) DXB-JNB (77W) MRU-DXB-SYD (A380) all I assume old first class as SYD-DXB-SYD are EK417 and EK416.
Anyone know what lounge updates Emirates is making in the First class of Concourse B and completion time? Thanks in advance!
Emirates is a decadent airline. The updated cabins will be interesting to see in person. I heard that the retrofit is a bit more subtle than flashy. In good taste I hope. Thanks for the Great article. 🙂
I think that was a great idea to swap the Business Seats. Emirates wants to be the best/most luxury airline and be competitive. I think especially with the First Class in the 777. It is important to not forget about Business Class. I also think they should have done it earlier. When the old 777 seats would have stayed Emirates wouldn’t be what it is, especially with the new Lufthansa Allegris Bussines Class Seat.