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Simple Flying

The giant with premium economy: inside emirates' airbus a380.

The Emirates Airbus A380 is always a highlight at the Dubai Airshow, and this year, the aircraft had something a little different to offer. Emirates brought along one of its newest A380s, A6-EVQ, featuring the new premium economy cabin launched just under a year ago. Naturally, Simple Flying jumped at the chance to have a look around the aircraft.

As mentioned, A6-EVQ is one of the younger Airbus A380s in Emirates' colossal fleet of the giant. Since its delivery flight on October 7th, the jet has already flown to Paris, London, Vienna, and Frankfurt. On November 11th, the plane completed an hour-long flight down to the Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC).

Entering in economy

Boarding the aircraft took place from the exit row behind the wing, the fourth exit on the main deck of the plane. There, 'passengers' were greeted by a pair of Emirates flight attendants, along with ten abreast seating in a 3-4-3 configuration. Onboard the newer four-class cabin jets, there are 338 economy seats.

When Emirates revealed its new premium economy cabin, the airline also revealed that the whole cabin of the aircraft would be getting a makeover, not just the new fourth cabin. The economy seats onboard, typically accessed by a jet bridge to the second entrance, are spruced up. They are based on the seats installed in the airlines' 'gamechanger' Boeing 777 aircraft but have been upgraded to include full leather headrests, a wood effect tray table, and a 13.3-inch IFE screen.

Up the stairs to the bar

Passengers will seldom be able to use the rear spiral staircase on Emirates' Airbus A380s, as only business and first class passengers are eligible to use the bar. This is why it feels so special using it, even if the aircraft is on the ground.

Climbing the staircase takes you to a corridor past a crew rest area. Past this, passengers arrive in the onboard bar. On the new four-class aircraft, the bar has been spruced up to feature champagne-colored seating. On the right of the plane is a coffee table that will seat four. Meanwhile, on the left is a booth that will also sit four at a slightly higher table. Each day, the bar and other aircraft areas are decorated with freshly picked flowers such as orchids.

A range of refreshments can be whipped up at the bar, ranging from spirits to long drinks and cocktails. Of course, non-alcoholic beverages are also on offer. Emirates will soon be auctioning off the bar taken from its first Airbus A380 .

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A refreshed business class cabin

Ahead of the bar is the business class cabin. Onboard this particular aircraft, it consists of 76 seats. The seats retain the champagne upholstery of the onboard bar, carrying these forwards. Tied with wood finishings, the cabin is intended to reflect the look and feel of a private jet.

The seats are staggered in a 1-2-1 layout, meaning that every passenger has direct aisle access. This means one window seat will be right by the window, while the one in front will have a table between the seat and the window but no divider from the aisle. The same is the case in the middle seats. The rows alternate between the middle seats being together and separated by tables.

Each seat can change into a lie-flat bed and offers a personal mini-bar, perfect for when you're thirsty but don't fancy walking to the bar or waiting for a drink to be brought over by a flight attendant.

First - where the magic happens

The first class cabin is really where the party is at onboard the Emirates Airbus A380. 14 first class suites are spread in a 1-2-1 pattern. There is no overlap between the suites, unlike business class, where somebody else's feet are in a box near your head.

The seats have a vast high-definition display, a hidden motorized bar, a cosmetic tray with hidden mirrors, and much more. Each of the suites has a fully closing door to ensure the comfort of the passengers inside, along with motorized window blinds. Passengers can use a tablet to control the inflight entertainment system, and of course, the seating positions are also controlled by buttons.

The highlight of the Emirates first class cabin is hidden behind a couple of doors at the very front of the cabin. The aircraft's enormous washrooms are more akin to a private bathroom in the skies. Not only is there ample space to move around and change, but the restrooms also include a luxury sink area. We still haven't mentioned the best bit, though.

You'll need the space to get changed before you step into the shower at the rear of the room. A relative oddity in an aircraft, the showers are set on a timer. Unfortunately, tall people may have to crouch down slightly to shower effectively. Given the taper of the fuselage at the front of the jet, there wasn't really enough room to stand up straight as a 6ft 3in individual.

What about premium economy

Emirates saved the newest cabin for last when showing off its latest Airbus A380 cabin configuration. Step down the main staircase at the front of the jet, and you'll find yourself at the front of the brand new premium economy cabin, which took to the skies less than a year ago.

The cabin consists of 56 seats, with a slightly less dense arrangement than the main economy cabin. Two seats have been removed from each row to give an eight abreast layout of 2-4-2. The seats are 19.5 inches wide and have a pitch of 40 inches.

The seats are made from stain-proof cream leather and also have the wood panel finish found in the business class cabin. A six-way adjustable headrest accompanies calf and footrests.

Last week Simple Flying revealed that Emirates will begin marketing the new premium economy cabin in June 2022 . The airline is set to roll out the new cabin on a vast number of aircraft over the coming years .

Want to read what it's like to travel in the premium economy cabin? Please keep a lookout for our written flight review coming later this week.

What is your favorite cabin onboard the Emirates four-class Airbus A380? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Emirates Reveals First 9 Destinations for New Airbus A350: Is Your City on the List?

Gordon Smith , Skift

May 6th, 2024 at 7:25 AM EDT

The Emirates A350 is one of the year's most hotly anticipated aircraft launches. We now know when it'll make its debut and which cities will see it first.

Gordon Smith

Emirates is famed for its extravagant service onboard its current fleet of Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s. It’s therefore little surprise that expectations are high for its incoming A350s – an aircraft that has been years in the making.

On Monday, the carrier confirmed not only when the plane will make its debut, but also where.

Emirates’ first A350-900 is due to make its maiden flight this September. An initial roster of nine global destinations will be served, with Dubai to Bahrain the very first route to see the new jet. From September 15, Flights EK839 and EK840 between the two cities will be A350-operated.

At a distance of just 263 nautical miles, the aircraft will be in the air for less than an hour. Emirates says a second-daily A350 service will ply the route from November 1 as more aircraft are delivered.

It is common for airlines to introduce a new plane type on a ‘soft launch’ basis. This typically includes flying shorter routes to bolster crew familiarization. It also offers the company a chance to iron out any teething issues before the plane flies more complex long-haul services.

First Destinations for the Emirates A350

After Bahrain on September 15, a further eight cities are due to be operated by the A350. On September 16, a day after the Bahrain inaugural, Emirates’ daily EK853/4 from Dubai to Kuwait will join the A350 club. 

Looking further afield, India will be the first country outside of the Middle East to see the new plane. From October 27, the A350 will fly from Dubai to both Mumbai and Ahmedabad (operating Flights EK502/3 and EK538/9). 

Things ramp up further from November 4, when the plane makes its European debut. 

Emirates is not only restarting its Edinburgh route but is doing so in style, by rostering its newest plane. The Scottish capital is due to rejoin the network after flights were suspended during the pandemic. Edinburgh is the last UK city to return to the airline’s post-crisis route map. 

A Flurry of December Launches

As the busy holiday season approaches, Emirates is adding three further A350 destinations.

From December 1, the French city of Lyon, Bologna in Italy, and Oman’s capital Muscat switch to the new plane. Information about which specific services are operated by the A350 can be found on  the Emirates website . 

The final A350 destination announced so far is Colombo in Sri Lanka, with one of four daily frequencies served from January 1.

How Many A350s Will Emirates Have?

Emirates expects its first 10 A350s to join the fleet before the end of March 2025. Further destinations are due to be announced in the coming months. 

All of the initial set of 10 planes are planned to serve short and medium-haul cities. These aircraft have a three-class setup, with 32 “next-generation” business class seats, 21 in premium economy, and 259 economy options.

The company has a further 55 of the European-built jets on order. A separate deal for dozens of the larger -1000 variant is believed to be under negotiation.

The developments come just days after  Air India brought its A350  to Dubai for the first time.

The recently privatized airline is in the middle of a five-year transformation plan that promises to bring Air India back to its world-class glory. One of the key metrics for success is removing the need for so many Indian passengers to transit through the Middle East.

Speaking at the Skift India Summit in March, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said this would give passengers “a much faster, much more convenient, much less emissive way to get from A to B.”

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Tags: a350 , a380 , air india , airbus , airlines , dubai , emirates , middle east , Middle East tourism

Photo credit: Emirates Airbus A350 Emirates

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Emirates to retrofit an additional 71 A380s and B777s, extending airline’s nose-to-tail cabin refreshes to 191 aircraft

Move ensures product consistency across fleet and more refreshed aircraft in active service well into the mid-2030s

DUBAI, UAE 7 May 2024: Emirates has today 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.

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Mega upgrade: Emirates announces 9 destinations for new A350 aircraft

From Edinburgh in the UK to Ahmedabad in India, Emirates will be introducing its new A350 across a host of routes

Emirates, the UAE’s national carrier, announced the first set of destinations to be served by its A350 aircraft entering service in September 2024.

Announcing the new additions at the ongoing Arabian Travel Market 2024, Emirates revealed that 10 new A350s are expected to join the airline’s fleet by March 2025 and the airline plans to deploy its latest aircraft type to 9 destinations in the coming months.

These new A350 aircraft will offer three cabin classes, with 32 Business Class seats, 21 seats in Premium Economy, and 259 generously pitched Economy Class seats.

All of these aircraft are earmarked to serve short to medium haul cities on the Emirates network, with Bahrain as its inaugural destination, said the airline during the announcement made at the Arabian Travel Market 2024 .

The first destinations to be served by our A350 aircraft have just been announced at @ATMDubai , beginning with Bahrain in September. https://t.co/kWpRq9hdE6 pic.twitter.com/a6aIXnoexr — Emirates (@emirates) May 6, 2024

As the first Emirates A350s begin entering the fleet, the airline will offer customers more opportunities to experience its Premium Economy product and sample its next generation Business Class cabins for the first time, particularly on short and medium haul routes in the Middle East and GCC, West Asia and Europe.

Adnan Kazim, deputy president and CCO, Emirates Airline said, “The A350 will be a game-changer for Emirates, enabling us to serve regional points with superior operating efficiency and flexibility across the Middle East and GCC, West Asia and Europe. With the latest generation cabin products including more of our sought-after Premium Economy to more cities, top-notch in-flight entertainment technologies and an abundance of other customer-friendly features, the Emirates A350 builds on our long-standing commitment of investing in the very best customer experience in the sky.

“Flying the A350 to 9 cities in such a short span of time adds more premium cabin options and choice across geographies for our customers, and ensures we maintain our competitive edge and industry leading position.”

In the GCC Emirates will operate its first A350 to Bahrain on the daily EK839/840 service from 15 September. Frequency of A350 services will progressively increase to cover two Bahrain services with the second service starting on 1 November.

The first Emirates A350 will land in Kuwait on the daily EK853/854 service on 16 September.

Muscat’s daily EK866/867 will be served by the A350 from 1 December.

In South Asia The Emirates A350 will be deployed on EK502/503 to Mumbai from 27 October.

Ahmedabad’s daily EK538/539 will be served by the A350 from 27 October.

Colombo’s fourth daily service EK654/655 will be served by the A350 from 01 January 2025.

In Europe Lyon will be served daily with the Emirates A350 from December 2024.

Bologna will be served by the A350 from December.

Edinburgh will rejoin the Emirates network from November, operated by the A350.

Emirates will announce more destinations in the coming months as new aircraft join its fleet. The airline has 65 A350-900s on order, and are expected to enter service in the coming years.

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Emirates' chairman has a message for Boeing: 'Get your act together'

One of  Boeing ’s biggest customers issued a call to action to its new management team, expressing frustration with the safety crisis facing the American planemaker and the consequent delays in order deliveries.

“We’re not happy really with what’s going on, we always really wanted to see this aircraft entering the fleet when it had been promised — and there is a delay, it’s not only to us,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Dubai’s flagship Emirates airline, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Tuesday at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

With 245 passenger planes and five 778 freighters on order, Emirates is Boeing’s largest customer in terms of widebody jets. But aircraft deliveries by the manufacturer  dropped in the first quarter of 2024  to the lowest number since mid-2021 as the company deals with increased scrutiny after a  door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes  midair in January.

The company delivered 83 planes in the three months to March 31 — most of them narrowbody 737s — compared to 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period.

Al Maktoum, who sits at the helm of the world’s largest long-haul airline and helped launch it in 1985, echoed the sentiments of many other airline CEOs when it comes to expectations of Boeing.

“I think they have to put a lot of pressure in order to make sure that they deliver to the customer whatever they promised,” he said.

Asked if he had a message for the planemaker, Al Maktoum said: “I always say, you know, get your act together and just do it. And I think they can do it.”

CNBC has contacted Boeing for comment.

The chairman did not indicate that Emirates would cancel the Boeing orders or move them to its French rival,  Airbus .

“No, no — I won’t be able to say exactly what we are planning,” he replied when asked about the likelihood of such a move. “But I think you see that we are refurbishing a big number of aircraft within the existing fleet ... And there will be no shortage within Dubai capacity.”

He cited the airline’s extension of part of its existing fleet, including the mammoth double-decker Airbus A380s, as helping provide sufficient passenger capacity.

The recently-appointed new management team at Boeing is now tasked with navigating the company’s worst crisis since 2018-2019, during which time two of its new 737 Max jets crashed within a period of six months, killing 346 people.

Following the Alaska Airlines door blowout in January, the  Federal Aviation Administration’s six-week audit  of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems “found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements,” according to an FAA release published March 4.

“The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control,” it said. The regulatory agency said it informed Boeing’s leadership that it “must address the audit’s findings as part of its comprehensive corrective action plan to fix systemic quality-control issues,” and address its “safety culture.”

In a  previous statement  cited by CNBC, a Boeing spokesperson said in response to the FAA findings that the company continues “to implement immediate changes and develop a comprehensive action plan to strengthen safety and quality.” 

The company’s website says it continues to support the U.S. NTSB and FAA investigations of the Jan. 5 accident.”

CNBC’s  Leslie Josephs  contributed to this report.

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Natasha Turak is a correspondent for CNBC.

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