Emirates Airline has just unveiled its first, retrofitted, four-cabin Boeing 777 aircraft. The plane, a Boeing 777-300ER with the registration A6-EQH, is currently operating its first revenue flight from Dubai (DXB) to Geneva (GVA) as EK 83. This plane is the first of many 777-300ER retrofits that the airline has in the pipeline and, according to the press release, A6-EQH took 37 days to fully retrofit, entering commercial service four days ahead of schedule.
If the Geneva route sounds familiar to you, it’s also the route that the airline launched its new “Game Changer” First Class on. This indicates that the airline is retrofitting its newest aircraft first, to provide the most premium experience possible on these routes across cabins. The new, four-cabin 777-300ER’s also feature Premium Economy and Economy class seating.
Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said this about the newly retrofitted aircraft:
“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.”
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline
Emirates Retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER Business Class Seat
The most anticipated cabin on the retrofitted plane is the new Business Class cabin. While Emirates has long billed itself as one of the most premium airlines in the world, Business Class on the 777-300ER is woefully uncompetitive, especially considering some of the long routes that the airline operates. Before today, Emirates had a 2-3-2 layout in Business Class with no direct aisle access. That has changed with the introduction of its new Business Class, arranged in a 1-2-1 layout.
If you’re an Emirates frequent flyer and the cabin looks familiar to you, it probably is. While other Middle East carriers like Qatar have announced a new Next Gen Qsuite, Emirates is using a slightly updated version of its A380 Business Class seats on the retrofitted Boeing 777s.
The retrofitted Business Class cabin features 38 seats spread across 10 rows in a 1-2-1 layout (row 5 only has 2 seats). Each seat is 20.7 inches wide and can convert into a 78.6 inch fully-flat bed. A personal mini-bar and 23-inch HD inflight entertainment screen are available at each seat.
The Emirates Boeing 777 Business Class cabin also has a small bar for customers to grab mid-flight snacks and refreshments. Unfortunately, this isn’t the full-bar found on the A380.
Emirates Adds Premium Economy Cabin to Retrofitted Boeing 777s
In addition to the upgraded Business Class cabin, Emirates has added Premium Economy to its retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft. The new Cabin features 24 seats spread across three rows in a 2-4-2 layout (only one more abreast than the old Business Class cabin on these planes).
Premium Economy seats are 19.5 inches wide and come with eight inches of recline and a six-way adjustable headrest along with 38 inches of pitch.
Retrofit Timeline and Routes
Emirates will be refurbishing another 80 Boeing 777 over the next couple of years as part of the airline’s investment of over US$3 billion to retrofit its Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleets. In addition to Geneva, upgraded Boeing 777s with new cabins are expected to fly to Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Brussels (BRU) in the next few weeks. More destinations will be announced as additional planes come online. Each retrofit is expected to take around two weeks going forward.
Summary
Emirates has just unveiled its first retrofitted Boeing 777 featuring a new Business Class seat and Premium Economy cabin. While the Business Class seat isn’t groundbreaking, it marks a massive improvement over the old 2-3-2 angled Business Class seats currently found throughout the carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER fleet.
Emirates is the last of the ME3 carriers that I have yet to fly so I need to find a way onboard to see these seats for myself soon.
(Images courtesy Emirates Airline)
