Emirates to retrofit an additional 71 A380s and B777s

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

Emirates has unveiled that it will be completely refurbishing another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777 aircraft, expanding its retrofit programme to 191 aircraft.

The original plan called for 120 aircraft - 67 A380s and 53 777s to undergo full refurbishment. The Boeing 777 remains the backbone of the Emirates fleet, and the A380 is the airline’s flagship customer favourite, and the expansion of the refurbishment programme ensures Emirates continues to provide customers with an unparalleled travel experience.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “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. 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.”

Emirates has retrofitted 22 A380 aircraft so far, and in July of this year, the first Boeing 777 will undergo an interior refresh.  Each Boeing 777 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, giving customers more premium options to choose from.

Along with the addition of the Premium Economy cabin, the Emirates Boeing 777 will be configured with 332 seats in four classes, featuring eight First Class suites, 40 Business Class seats, and 260 Economy Class seats. To make room for the new Premium Economy cabin, 50 Economy seats will be removed.

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 also slated to begin serving more cities with the highly sought after cabin later this summer.

ADCCI: The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Emirates Airline, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and fostering mutual interests between the two sides, especially in the field of providing travel, tourism, and air transport services and promoting the activities of both parties.

The signing of the MoU came on the sideline of the ADCCI’s participation in the 31st edition of the Arabian Travel Market 2024, which opened at the Dubai World Trade Center and continues until 9 May. The MoU was signed by His Excellency Ahmed Khalifa Al Qubaisi, CEO of the ADCCI, and Khalid Bel Jaflah, Divisional Vice President, Commercial Operations for UAE and Oman at Emirates Airline, in the presence of a number of senior delegates of both parties.

Ahmed Khalifa Al Qubaisi, CEO of ADCCI, said: “We are pleased to enhance our mutual cooperation with Emirates Airline, the world’s largest international airline, as this supports the business, tourism, hospitality, and various commercial activities. Through this cooperation, we look forward to providing the maximum possible support and services to members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber and to various private sector companies operating in Abu Dhabi, which would help them expand their businesses by providing them with the best offers and benefits that meet their aspirations. This partnership between the Chamber and Emirates Airline is also an important step that contributes to highlighting the efforts of both sides in supporting excellence and innovation.”