Emirates continues its Premium Economy rollout, with new routes and service expansion

Emirates is continuing its Premium Economy expansion, with a number of routes having the product deployed.

Let’s explore.

The airline will achieve this using both retrofitted Boeing 777 and new Airbus A350 to destinations in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia, bringing Premium Economy and its latest onboard products to more cities across its network.

The airline will deploy its A350 on new daily services to Copenhagen, Phuket and Cape Town, adding an extra frequency and offering customers greater connectivity.

Additional frequencies to Copenhagen, Phuket and Cape Town will complement existing schedules and provide much-needed capacity to meet the anticipated surge in summer travel demand.

Additional flights and capacity to Copenhagen, Phuket and Cape Town

From 1 June, a second daily service will be introduced between Dubai and Copenhagen; a third daily service between Dubai and Phuket and a third daily to/from Cape Town will come into effect from 1 July.

All three services will be operated with the airline’s latest A350 aircraft, featuring Premium Economy, in addition to the latest Business and Economy Class cabins.

The airline will also operate its A350 to Rome from 29 March and Taipei from 1 May.

The full list of expansions

Europe & North America

• Barcelona and Mexico City: Emirates will operate its EK187/188 service with a retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 1 February. EK255/256, the linked service between Barcelona and Mexico City, will operate with a Premium Economy retrofitted three-class Boeing 777-200LR daily from 15 February onwards.
• Rome: The EK099/100 daily service will operate with an Airbus A350 aircraft from 29 March.
• Copenhagen: Addition of a second daily service from 1 June with an Airbus A350, as EK153/154.

Asia

• Cochin: From 29 January, two of the seven-weekly services (Thursday and Sunday) on EK530/531 between Dubai and Cochin will operate with a retrofitted Boeing 777-200LR.
• Karachi: Starting 1 March, a retrofitted three-class Boeing 777-200LR will begin operating daily on EK606/607.
• Taipei: Emirates will operate its retrofitted Boeing 777-200LR on the EK386/387 daily service from 15 March until 30 April, and, from 1 May onwards, those services will operate with an Airbus A350 aircraft.
• Phuket: A third daily service between Dubai and Phuket will come into effect from 1 July on EK 390/391.

Australia

• Brisbane: From 29 March, daily flights on EK430/431 will be operated by a retrofitted four-class Boeing 777-300ER, joining the retrofitted Airbus A380 service introduced last year.

Africa 

• Addis Ababa: From 1 March, a retrofitted 3-class Boeing 777-200LR will operate daily on EK723/724.
• Cape Town: A third daily flight on the Dubai-Cape Town route, announced at the 2025 Dubai Airshow, will now operate with an Airbus A350 from 1 July 2026.

Middle East

• Basra: The Thursday service on EK947/948 will transition to a retrofitted four-class Boeing 777-300ER from 29 January.
• Kuwait City: The EK859/860 daily service between Dubai and Kuwait City will operate with a retrofitted Boeing 777 from 1 February until 30 April, and from 1 May onwards, an Emirates A350.
• Tehran: Effective 29 March, the retrofitted B777 in a four-class configuration will operate daily flights on EK979/980.

Increasing the footprint, increasing uniformity

With the new products making further appearances (be they aboard an Airbus A350, Airbus A380 or a Boeing 777), Emirates is expanding the footprint of the aircrafts operations.

For passengers, it will mean more options with updated products, which will be great for those connecting at the Emirates hub in Dubai, with a uniformity of product throughout.

It’s also good news for business class passengers, who will get the latest 1-2-1 layout business class seats (vs the existing 2-3-2 seats), as well as refreshes in First Class (where offered) and Economy Class.

For now, check those bookings and seat maps.

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