Dubai’s Emirates Airline expands retrofit programme to 191 aircraft

Emirates Airline said that it will retrofit an additional 43 Airbus A380s and 28 Boeing 777s, expanding the programme to 191 aircraft, as part of the Dubai-based carrier’s broader strategy to augment customers’ experience amid a boom in luxury travel post-pandemic.

The airline’s original plan was to have 67 A380s and 53 777s undergo full refurbishment. To date, Emirates has refurbished 22 A380 aircraft and the first Boeing 777 will undergo an interior refresh in July of this year.

Dubai’s flag carrier, which is managing its fleet refurbishment work in-house at its engineering centre, said it will take approximately two weeks to retrofit each Boeing 777 aircraft before it returns to service.

The world’s biggest long-haul airline will retrofit the first-class cabin and debut its new business class seats in a 1-2-1 seating configuration in addition to 24 premium economy seats.

“We’re topping up our multi-billion-dollar investment in the retrofit programme to introduce cutting-edge cabin products on more A380s and Boeing 777s to elevate the customer experience with a best-in-class suite of products across every cabin,” said Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline.

“The addition of more aircraft fitted with our newest generation seats, updated cabin finishings and a contemporary colour palette marks a significant step in ensuring more customers can consistently experience our premium products across both aircraft types.”

Emirates is configuring its Boeing 777 with 332 seats in four classes in addition to the premium economy cabin. The aircraft will also feature eight first-class suites, 40 business-class seats, and 260 economy-class seats.

The airline is removing 50 economy seats to create room for the new premium economy cabin.

Upon completion, Emirates will have installed 8,104 premium economy seats, 1,894 refreshed first class suites, 11,182 upgraded business class seats and 21,814 economy class seats.

The airline will be serving 42 cities with premium economy by February 2025, with the Airbus A350 entering joining its fleet in September, in addition to the newly refurbished Boeing 777s that are slated to begin serving more cities later this summer.

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