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  • Emirates Premium Economy surges to record 160,000 customers trading up to experience the cabin’s quiet luxury

    Emirates Premium Economy surges to record 160,000 customers trading up to experience the cabin’s quiet luxury

    Customers’ preference for the recently introduced Emirates Premium Economy has surged to a record high, with over 160,000 trading up, thereby setting new industry benchmarks in Premium Economy travel.  Emirates is delightfully celebrating this banner first year of full-service operations with the highly popular cabin class, introduced in August 2022.  With strong demand momentum forecasted in the coming months, Emirates  is providing travellers more opportunities to experience its highly-acclaimed Premium Economy product which is currently available on flights to 11 cities, with the list growing to 13 cities by the end of the year, as more retrofitted aircraft with refreshed cabins roll into scheduled service.

    Since Emirates debuted its Premium Economy Class, customer response has been overwhelmingly positive with demand exceeding expectations and bookings growing month on month, demonstrating its appeal to a broad range of traveller segments who want to try out its understated luxury and meticulously elevated experience at great value. Nearly half of the customers flying in Emirates Premium Economy are solo travellers venturing off for holidays, while couples and families constitute the other half.  More than 60% of customers who booked to fly in Premium Economy in the last year were also loyal Emirates Skywards members and regular customers of the airline.

    Emirates currently flies its A380s with the latest Premium Economy cabins to London Heathrow, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Singapore, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Houston, San Francisco and Dubai, with flights regularly registering full seat loads in Premium Economy. The airline plans to make Premium Economy available to customers flying to/from Mumbai and Bengaluru from 29 October, and additional cities will be announced soon. Emirates currently operates 20 aircraft fitted with Premium Economy, 14 of which were retrofitted in-house by the Emirates Engineering team in Dubai over the course of the last nine months.

    Since August 2022, the airline has operated close to 4,500 flights with Premium Economy, traversing more than 36 million kilometres around the globe. On those flights, over 192,000 meals from its carefully curated menus which include the finest ingredients were served to customers who enjoyed regionally inspired, generously portioned dishes. Unique touches include indulgent desserts garnished with edible gold leaf, among other signature offerings. Premium Economy menus are updated every month to ensure a diversity of flavours and dishes, especially for well-travelled customers. Over 126,000 pieces of chocolates were served to round off meals for Premium Economy customers. Emirates also served 6,700 kilograms of mixed nuts and 8,650 litres of complimentary fresh lemon and mint juices in Premium Economy. The airline’s robust beverage selection in Premium Economy includes a global exclusive for Emirates customers, Australian sparkling wine, Chandon Vintage Brut 2016, alongside a choice of a unique white and red wine.

    The airline’s philosophy to constantly innovate and redefine service excellence through the introduction of Premium Economy has earned it numerous top placings and accolades in the cabin category at the 2023 Skytrax Awards, Business Traveller awards, Airline Ratings Excellence Awards, and 2022 Business Traveller Middle East awards.

    In May, Emirates launched a global campaign with Academy Award winning actor and philanthropist, Penelope Cruz, which also featured her enjoying the spacious seats in Premium Economy. The airline has also provided a glimpse of its Premium Economy offering through guided tours of the new cabin class to media and influencers, trade partners, airport, tourism and government officials across cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Singapore, New York JFK and San Francisco.

    The Premium Economy roll-out is a core component of the airline’s multi-billion-dollar retrofit programme which will see the interior upgrade on 67 Emirates A380 cabins, as well as 53 Boeing 777 cabins. By the end of the programme, over 4,000 Premium Economy seats will be installed, along with over 700 First Class suites and 5,000 Business Class seats refurbished with the latest interiors.

    Tickets in Premium Economy can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via both online and offline travel agents.

  • Emirates announces major retrofit programme 105 aircraft, to provide best-in-sky customer experiences

    Emirates announces major retrofit programme 105 aircraft, to provide best-in-sky customer experiences

    At the Dubai Airshow 2021 today, Emirates announced that it will retrofit 105 of its modern wide-body aircraft with its Premium Economy product, in addition to other cabin
    enhancements. The 18-month retrofit programme, scheduled to begin at the end of 2022, will be entirely conducted at Emirates’ state-of-the-art Engineering Centre in Dubai. It will see 52 Emirates A380s and 53 Boeing 777s fitted with a new cabin class – the airline’s highly lauded Premium Economy. The airline is also considering installing a brand new Business Class product on its Boeing 777 aircraft, with customized seats in a 1-2-1 layout.

    Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said: “Emirates is investing in this retrofit programme to ensure that we continue to serve our customers’ needs, and provide the best experiences in the sky. Since we introduced our Premium Economy seats a year back, we’ve received a hugely positive response. Customers have been amazed by the quality and comfort. As Emirates has done with our signature First, Business and full-service Economy travel experiences, we intend to further develop our Premium Economy into a distinctive Emirates experience that is unmatched in the industry. We are also considering a brand new Business Class product. More details will be revealed in due course.”

    Sir Tim added: “It is also a source of pride that the entire retrofit project will be conducted at our home base in Dubai. It demonstrates the strong aviation capabilities that have been built up within Emirates airline and the broader UAE ecosystem to support such a highly
    specialized and technical programme.”

    At the end of the retrofit programme, Emirates will have a total of 111 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft offering Premium Economy seats, including the 6 A380s that would have been delivered to the airline with four cabin classes by December 2021. On the Emirates Boeing 777, 5 rows of Economy class seats located just behind Business Class will be removed to install 24 Premium Economy seats laid out in 2-4-2 configuration. On the Emirates A380, 56 Premium Economy seats will installed at the front of the main deck also in 2-4-2 configuration.

    Emirates Premium Economy

    Emirates’ Premium Economy is in a class of its own. Covered in the finest quality anti-stain leather with stitching details and a wood panel finishing, each seat is designed to provide optimal comfort and support with 6-way adjustable headrests, calf rests, and footrests.
    Offering a generous pitch of up to 40-inches, each seat is 19.5 inches wide and reclines 8 inches into a comfortable cradle position with ample room to stretch out. Other thoughtful touches include easily accessible in-seat charging points, a wide dining table, and side cocktail table.

    On their 13.3-inch personal seat-back screen, one of the largest in its class, customers can enjoy the unmatched array of music, movies, TV, news and other content on Emirates’ award-winning ice.

    By end of December 2021, Emirates’ A380s with Premium Economy will be operating on the airline’s flights to Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York JFK and Paris.