Emirates to retrofit an additional 71 A380s and B777s

Emirates has announced that it will totally restore another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777s, bringing its refurbishment programme to 191 aircraft.

The original plan planned for 120 aircraft, including 67 A380s and 53 777s, to be fully refurbished. The Boeing 777 is the backbone of Emirates’ fleet, while the A380 is the airline’s premier customer favourite. The expansion of the refurbishment programme guarantees that Emirates continues to give customers with an unsurpassed travel experience.

“We’re topping up our multi-billion-dollar investment in the retrofit program 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 color palette also marks a significant step in ensuring more customers can consistently experience our premium products across both aircraft types” Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline.

So far, Emirates has refitted 22 A380 aircraft, and the first Boeing 777 will have its interior refreshed in July. Each Boeing 777 will require around two weeks to renovate before entering service. Plans include refurbishing the First-Class cabin, introducing all-new Business Class seats in an upgraded 1-2-1 seating configuration, and adding 24 of the latest luxury Economy seats, providing customers more luxury alternatives.

With the addition of the Premium Economy cabin, the Emirates Boeing 777 will have 332 seats in four classes, including eight First Class suites, 40 Business Class seats, and 260 Economy Class seats. To make place for the new Premium Economy cabin, 50 Economy seats will be eliminated.

The Emirates fleet’s refurbishment work is completely managed and executed in-house at the airline’s Engineering Centre, with over 250 project personnel working around the clock, supported by 31 major partners and suppliers who have set up workshops both on-site and offsite to deliver the refreshed cabins.

By the end of the retrofit programme, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refurbished First Class suites, 11,182 enhanced Business Class seats, and 21,814 Economy Class seats.

Emirates now operates refurbished A380 aircraft with Premium Economy seating 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 expand its services to Osaka with the new cabin in early June.

The airline will serve 42 destinations in Premium Economy by February 2025, with the A350 joining its fleet in September of this year, as well as newly refurbished Boeing 777s that will begin serving more cities with the highly sought-after cabin later this summer.