The Emirates re-fit programme continues apace, as the first Boeing 777 with a nose-to-tail cabin refresh has rolled out and prepares to take to the sky.
The first refitted aircraft will operate initially to Geneva. as EK 83. The aircraft took a total of 37 days for a complete revamp and will be entering service four days ahead of its officially announced deployment schedule.
The Emirates Boeing 777 entered refurbishment in early July, with a planned reconfiguration of the aircraft to make way for a new Premium Economy cabin consisting of 24 seats set in three rows in a 2-4-2 abreast layout.
The Premium Economy cabin features Recaro seats, finished in a cream leather cover. They are pitched at 38 inches with 19.5-inch wide seats that recline 8 inches and six-way adjustable headrests.
In Business Class, a 38-seat cabin has been installed. This will have the seats in a 1-2-1 configuration (rather than the tighter 2-3-2 layout the airline has favoured).
These are 20.7-inch wide seats that convert to a flat bed which reclines up to 78.6 inches. Seats in the cabin are arranged four-abreast (1-2-1 layout), so that every passenger has direct access to the aisle. Each seat features a personal mini-bar, a table for dining or working, multiple charging outlets for personal devices and more. The seat’s touchscreen seat controller for in-flight entertainment and seat operation and a personal 23-inch HD screen.
The Emirates Boeing 777 Business Class cabin will also include a small bar for customers to quickly grab mid-flight snacks and refreshments.
Finally, in the new Economy Class cabin, the will be 256 seats in a palette of soft greys and blues. The seats also include full leather headrests with flexible side panels that can also be adjusted vertically for optimum support.
In Quotes
Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said:
“Emirates continues to carry out our commitment to deliver an unmatchable onboard experience with the introduction of our latest Boeing 777 with new signature interiors, raising the industry benchmark when it comes to premium travel. Our latest Business Class cabin offers customers a sense of exclusivity and privacy, complemented by our best-in-class suite of onboard products. The addition of our popular Premium Economy cabin, rated one of the best in the industry, injects modern sophistication to the flying experience and is carefully designed for more comfort. With more Boeing 777s and A380s refreshed to sport our latest generation onboard products, customers can consistently have the very best experiences in the sky across both aircraft types.”
Onward deployment
In addition to Geneva, the airline will deploy its upgraded Boeing 777s with new cabins to Tokyo Haneda and Brussels in the next few weeks.
More destinations to be served with this aircraft type will be announced soon.
Many more to go
Emirates will be refurbishing another 80 Boeing 777 aircraft as part of its investment of over US$3 billion in passenger experience. With the refits now happening on both the A380 and Boeing 777 families, there should be many more aircraft in the air soon with the project covering 191 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380, allowing for 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.
The works to upgrade the aircraft are done inhouse by Emirates, with a team of 175 engineers and technicians at Emirates Engineering in Dubai executing the programme
For business class passengers, this marks the beginning of the end of the 2-3-2 business class seat (which is getting harder to justify these days as nearly every airline and their dog are going down the line of 1-2-1 seating with direct aisle access in their premium cabin.
Premium Economy gets a welcome look-in, after being exclusive to the A380 fleet.
Some positive steps for passenger experience, especially at the premium end of the market.
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