It has been almost three years since Emirates announced it would be retrofitting its A380s and many of its Boeing 777s with new cabin interiors. The new cabin interiors introduce the airline's new Premium Economy product on the 777 along with bringing a much-needed upgrade to the business class product. The first refurbished Airbus A380 returned to service in early 2022, now though it's the turn of the Boeing 777s. Also, we finally have some images of the cabin interiors to comment. So, let's get to it.
The First Emirates Retrofitted Boeing 777 Returns to Service
We've known already for some time which destinations these retrofitted Boeing 777s would serve first. Finally, the day for the first flight of the first of these planes has come with the first flight scheduled on August 7th 2024 to Geneva.
Emirates' first retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER is registration number A6-EQH. An aircraft delivered to the Dubai based airline in November 2017, making it just under 7 years old. It was pulled out of service on June 29th 2024 when it performed its last duty flying back from Karachi to DXB.
Since then, it has been in the maintenance facilities getting its cabin upgrade. In a swift 37 days Emirates has replaced all the cabin interiors and returned the flight to service 4 days ahead of schedule.
Its first commercial flight post-retrofitting will be EK83 from Dubai to Geneva on August 7th. However, this isn't the planes first time flying since June 29th. It has in fact flown a test flight to make sure all is in order on August 6th 2024.
A6-EQH is the first of 53 planes to get the new cabin interiors. Emirates will complete the refurbishing of the remaining 52 by the end of 2025.
Other Destinations Also Getting the Retrofitted Emirates Boeing 777s At a Later Stage
A list of other destinations that will also be served by these retrofitted Emirates Boeing 777 at a later stage has also been published. They are:
- Zurich – Flights EK85 – Starting October 1st 2024
- Riyadh – Flights EK819 – Starting October 1st 2024
- Geneva – Flight EK89 – Starting September 22nd 2024
- Brussels – Flight EK181 – Starting October 9th 2024
Goodbye Infamous Business Class Central Seat (You Won't be Missed)
The cabin upgrade finally will allow us to say goodbye to the infamous central middle seat. All seats in this new configuration have direct aisle access as each business class row is in a 1-2-1 layout.
Emirates finally brings a more consistency to its fleet as cabins on the A380 and 777s look much more alike now than they were before.
The airline had to accept reducing its total number of seats in the cabin by four units to accomodate the new interiors. Business class on the 777s now seats 38 passengers against the prior 42.
A Good Cabin but No Wow Factor in It
The cabin looks much nicer than it did before but somehow, I feel like it is missing a bit of a wow factor. I personally feel like Emirates played it very safe regarding how to furnish these new cabins on the 777s. Although improved privacy is mentioned in the press release, seats close to the aisle are quite exposed. Something that other airlines solved by installing a privacy door. I can think of quite a few more attractive Boeing 777 business class cabins if I must be honest.
One interesting feature is the minibar that makes its entrance in the Boeing 777 business class cabins coming from the A380. It will allow passengers quick access to drinks and snack directly at their seat during the flight. The IFE screens are nice and big too at 23″.
What does looks much nicer than seen on many other airlines is the premium economy cabin. The seats look very comfortable and the cabin roomy. The colors chosen are nice, but in such a light tone we'll have to see how they hold up to usage and unavoidable staining.
