Summary

  • Emirates is expanding its premium economy service to Sao Paulo and Tokyo Narita, marking its debut in Latin America and Japan respectively.
  • The airline has been pleased with the popularity of its premium economy offering, with over 160,000 passengers choosing to upgrade since its introduction.
  • Emirates aims to have premium economy seating on over 120 planes by the end of 2024, retrofitting its aircraft in-house as part of a multi-billion retrofit program.


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Emirates will introduce its Airbus A380 premium economy service for its two destinations in Latin America and the Far East, representing the increasing popularity of its relatively new product offering. This news comes with the airline’s ongoing effort to retrofit its Airbus A380 cabins by incorporating premium economy seating.


Two more premium economy destinations

The introduction of the carrier’s new premium economy offering will mark its debut in São Paulo, Brazil, making it the first of its kind in Emirates’ Latin American network and the fifth in its North and South American network.

Passengers traveling between Dubai (DXB) and São Paulo (GRU) can experience this new cabin class on Airbus A380 aircraft beginning November 19, 2023. Initially, these seats will be offered three times a week, with daily flights commencing in December.

An Emirates Airbus A380

Photo: GagliardiPhotography/Shutterstock

Furthermore, Tokyo Narita (NRT) will become the airline’s 14th destination to offer its Airbus A380 premium economy service, with daily flights operating between DXB and NRT starting on December 20, 2023. Tokyo Narita marks the carrier’s first gateway in Japan to feature premium economy, following the product’s introduction in Singapore back in July.

The UAE-based airline currently operates its A380 with premium economy seating on routes, including London (LHR), Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Auckland (AKL), Christchurch (CHC), Singapore (SIN), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Houston (IAH), and San Francisco (SFO). Notably, the premium economy will make its first appearance on Emirates flights to Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) starting October 29.

Attracting more popularity

A new entrant to the fleet, premium economy is under two years old at Emirates. Since the introduction of this product, Emirates has been pleased with the results, with over 160,000 passengers choosing to upgrade from economy class to experience the enhanced cabin.

Emirates Airbus A380

Photo: Thiago B Trevisan/Shutterstock

While currently only on select Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, the cabin is set to be on over 120 planes by the end of 2024. It is worth noting that Emirates’ aircraft fleet is being retrofitted in-house in Dubai’s Emirates Engineering facility as part of its multi-billion retrofit program.

Out of the 119 Airbus A380s in its fleet, 20 have been retrofitted with premium economy cabins. Among these 20 retrofitted aircraft, only six were originally delivered with these cabins directly from Airbus. The airline’s refurbished A380s are capable of accommodating a total of 56 passengers in its premium economy cabin, according to ch-aviation.com. The little premium economy oasis is located at the front of Emirates’ A380 lower deck.

Emirates seems to have gained a competitive edge among rival Middle Eastern airlines through its premium economy offering, drawing in a distinctive customer demographic.

What are your thoughts on Emirates’ premium economy cabin? Have you ever experienced it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Sources: ch-aviation.com

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