Dubai-based global carrier Emirates is introducing Boeing 777s with newly refurbished cabins on its Kuwait route, beginning on October 27th and Dammam, Saudi Arabia route beginning on November 22nd. The introduction of 777s with newly retrofitted cabin began this summer mainly on US routes including Chicago, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Athens/Newark and Miami/Bogota, before the addition of Kuwait and Dammam respectively the second and third destinations to be served in the region, after Riyadh in Saudi Arabia from October 1st.
First initiated in November 2022, the cabin retrofit programme has been designed to bring the latest most luxurious cabin experience aboard some 110 A380s and 81 Boeing 777s existing aircraft. With all of the work conducted locally at the airline engineering base in Dubai, some 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 would be installed on the aircraft. While by May 2024, as many as 22 A380s had been retrofitted, the Boeing 777 fleet, which first began entering the shop this past july and require two weeks for a full refurbishment has so far seen six aircraft completed.
A key objective for Emirates has been to deploy its particularly highly acclaimed Premium Economy and next generation Business Class seating products in an effort to have 48 aircraft comprising Boeing 777s, A380s and A350s ready to start operating to 27 destinations by year’s end.
Part of that strategy has also consisted in bringing the legacy Boeing 777s and A380s fleets to a level of luxury and cabin experience consistant with what passengers will begin experiencing aboard the upcoming new “game-changing” Airbus A350-900, once they begin to enter service later this fall. Of the 65 A350s ordered by Emirates, the first 10 aircraft to join the fleet are to be configured with 32 next generation Business Class seats along with 21 Premium Economy seats, and 259 generously pitched Economy Class seats.
Once retrofitted with the new cabin, the airline’s Boeing 777s which have formed the backbone of the long haul carrier fleet alongside the A380 will retain a critical role in keeping the Emirates brand highly competitive for the foreseeable future. Putting priority on appealing to higher paying premium flyers, the refurbished 777s have according seen its Economy Class seating capacity decrease by 50, from 310 to 260 seats. This decision has effectively traded lower paying seats in exchange for more space room to comfortably accomodate the 8 new First Class suites, 40 new Business Class seats in the highly sought after 1-2-1 seating arrangement and 24 new Premium Economy seats.
According to the carrier, the four-class Emirates Boeing 777-300ER are now configured with:
- 24 Premium Economy seats arranged in a 2-4-2 layout with 6-way adjustable headrests for added comfort and space – making it an ideal choice for both business and leisure travellers.
- 38 upgraded Business Class cabin offering more privacy in a spacious 1-2-1 configuration, and direct aisle access, a mini-bar and multiple charging ports
- 6 luxuriously furnished First Class suites
- 256 refreshed ergonomic Economy seats with leather headrests that can be adjusted vertically.
Through these cabin upgrades, Emirates 777s, the fleet’s largest type will allow the carrier to offer revamped seating capacity covering its entire class of passengers service.