Emirates to offer premium economy seats in its A380 on Mumbai, Bengaluru routes

Image credit: Emirates

Emirates Airlines has announced the launch of its superjumbo flights to Mumbai and Bengaluru starting in October. The launch of the superjumbo aircraft on these popular routes coincides with India’s festival season.

The national flag carrier said it is launching a retrofitted Airbus A380 aircraft which includes premium economy seats to customers flying from Dubai to Mumbai and Dubai to Bengaluru, starting October 29. Travellers flying on the Dubai-Mumbai route wanting to experience the A380’s offerings can book seats on EK500/501, while customers flying between Dubai and Bengaluru can book their flights on EK568/569.

Travellers can book tickets for these routes for the upcoming Diwali season on the Emirates Airlines website.

A refurbished Emirates A380

Emirates Airlines revealed that the retrofitted A380 aircrafts have undergone an internal refurbishment as well. The interiors include aesthetic enhancements such as new designs and refreshed colour palettes for cabin upholstery. The cabin features new carpeting, detailing on wall panels, and wood finishings. In addition to the introduction of premium economy on the retrofitted aircraft, the refreshed interiors also sport Emirates’ signature Ghaf tree motif.

The airline said as the rollout of the retrofitted Emirates A380s featuring a four-class configuration picks up pace, premium economy seats will be deployed on flights to more global destinations. The four-class double-decker aircraft have premium seats at the front of the main deck comprising 56 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Emirates currently offers the premium economy feature on flights to nine destinations globally, including US cities – New York JFK, San Francisco and Houston. Other international destinations include London Heathrow, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, and Singapore. The airline’s premium economy cabins will also make their debut on the Los Angeles route come July, bringing the number of routes offering the product to 12 by the end of 2023.

The airline picked up the world’s best premium economy award in this year’s Airline Ratings ranking.

Emirates’s new offering comes as international air travel breaches pre-pandemic numbers. The Dubai-based airline had in its annual results reported 2022-23 as its most profitable year ever with a profit of Dhs10.6bn compared with Dhs3.9bn loss in the previous year. It had also reported an increase in airline capacity by 32% with two new 777 freighter aircraft added to its fleet.

Emirates currently services nine destinations across India – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram.