Emirates has won two major awards at the annual AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards for 2024 and has been ranked 5th in the Top 25 Best Airlines.
The world’s largest international airline was awarded Best In-Flight Entertainment and Best Premium Economy.
This is the ninth year that Emirates has won Best IFE for its ICE system and the airline was one of the first to introduce seat-back videos for economy passengers back in the early 1990s. It has led the field ever since and today the system has 6,500 channels making it a clear winner for Best Inflight Entertainment.
Passengers enjoying an Emirates flight can access a world-class entertainment library with more than 45 Academy Award® winning films, 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment, over 1,500 movies and 1,500 hours of TV, as well as music, podcasts and audiobooks across 40 languages, 5 channels of live TV including news from BBC, CNN and Sky News Arabia, and two channels with live sports coverage- Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra.
Passengers can also curate their own ice experience before their flight, simply by browsing and pre-selecting movies or TV shows on the Emirates app, which can then be synced to ice the moment they board, maximising the seamless travel experience.
READ: REVIEW: EMIRATES CONSISTENTLY EXCELLENT!
Airlineratings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas commenting on the award said “Our editors were unanimous in their praise for Emirates ICE system as a step above.”
“That early investment in inflight entertainment has paid off for Emirates and just when you think it can’t do it better – it lifts the bar once again.
Late in 2021 the airline introduced its new Premium Economy on a handful of newly delivered A380s and is now refitting 110 A380s and 81 777s.
Emirates recently added 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777 to what is now an extensive cabin retrofit programme lifting the total to be done to 191.
The original plan called for 120 aircraft – 67 A380s and 53 777s to undergo full refurbishment.
Emirates has retrofitted 22 A380 aircraft so far, and in July 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 Premium Economy seats, giving passengers more premium options.