Emirates introduces the A350 to Hangzhou

The A350 took its time to get into the Emirates fleet but it's rapidly becoming central to the Dubai based airline's operations. More and more destinations are getting flights served by these brand new Airbus A350-900s. A landmark new service for the Emirates A350s is their first service to mainland China, specifically to Hangzhou.

Emirates A350 Launches on Dubai–Hangzhou Route

Emirates is putting rapidly to good use its newest fleet additions, the Airbus A350-900s. Its first arrived in early 2025 and is rapidly introducing it to many secondary destinations.

What I mean by secondary destinations is cities that might have difficulty filling up a Boeing 777-300ER year round. Destinations where you might have often encountered the smaller and very old 777-200s Emirates still owns.

Among these destinations is Hangzhou which has become a milestone destination for Emirates as it is the first in mainland China to be served using an Airbus A350-900.

Emirates will be replacing the much larger Boeing 777-300ER with the A350-900 on flight number EK310. The switch will happen on October 26th 2025.

Premium Economy Introduced to Hangzhou with Emirates A350

What this means is that Hangzhou will also be receiving a product upgrade. Travelers flying Emirates from and to the Chinese city will now have the added option of flying Premium Economy.

Among other perks Emirates Premium Economy offers:

• In-seat charging points
• A side cocktail table
• 13.3-inch TV screen
• Generously sized pillow and blanket
• Complimentary amenity kits on select flights
• Exclusive sparkling wine – Chandon Vintage Brut 2017

Cabin Layout and Passenger Experience

The Emirates Airbus A350-900s come with the airline's brand new 3-class cabin interiors capable of welcoming aboard 312 passengers on a full load. Those are then divided in:

• 32 Business class seats
• 21 Premium Economy seats
• 259 Economy Class seats

Business class comes in the new Emirates layout that has finally decided on retiring, albeit progressively, the 2-3-2 layout in favor of a much more modern 1-2-1 setup. They are not the most private of seats, it does feel like Emirates is milking it's brand strength with this setup.

Premium Economy comes in a 2-3-2 setup which is very generous when compared to what other airlines do with their premium economy cabins. Generally you'll see one more seat per row as an industry standard.

Also in economy Emirates hasn't gone with the 3-4-3 layout, preferring to leave more extra space to each passenger fitting a 9-abreast 3-3-3 configuration.