Emirates adds premium economy seats on its A380 flights between Sydney and London and Paris
Emirates has finally introduced Australia to its highly anticipated premium economy seats.
In its 35-year history, the Gulf carrier has
never offered the "in-between" cabin class before the seats were
introduced in January 2021.
The first service off the line was Emirates'
London-Dubai flight, with seats initially available as optional upgrade slots.
The cabins will make their debut on Australia's Sydney to London and Paris A380
services on August 1.
Over the upcoming months, the airline with its
base in Dubai will roll out the cabins more widely. With 67 more superjumbos
and 53 further Boeing 777s to be gradually retrofitted, six superjumbos already
have the seats installed.
Middle Eastern airlines have been sluggish to
adopt premium economy, and Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates, once expressed
concern that a product like that may eat into sales of its more lucrative seats.
The airline is currently counting on economy travellers upgrading (rather than
business trading down).
According to Clark, there has been
"tremendous" demand for the cabin's cream-hued leather seats since it
was shown
According to him, "Emirates premium economy
will be outstanding in its field, with minute attention paid to every aspect of
the passenger experience."
Passengers who upgrade from economy to premium
economy will get a seat cushion that is two inches larger, seven inches more
legroom, larger pillows and screens, a swinging leg rest, and a six-way
adjustable headrest.
Additionally, business class features have been
incorporated, such as the welcome drink, fine china, stainless steel cutlery,
and enhanced anddrinks
According to him, "Emirates premium economy
will be outstanding in its field, with minute attention paid to every aspect of
the passenger experience."
The debut, according to Emirates' divisional
vice-president for Australasia, Barry Brown, is a "game changer" for
Australia and demonstrates the airline's dedication to the country.
The airline recently committed $US2 billion ($2.8
billion) in onboard improvements as part of its most extensive upgrade effort
to date. The PE deployment is a taste of what's to come.
According to Clark, the decision goes against the
trend of other airlines, who have instead trimmed costs.
Every cabin is being renovated. This features
upgraded plant-based options, new chef-designed dishes, unlimited Persian
caviar and Dom Perignon pairings in first class, and refurbished cabin décor.
Viewed in English at emirates.com/au
By committing more than US$2 billion ($2.8
billion) to improve its inflight experience as part of a significant
refurbishment effort, the airline today defies an industry-wide trend to reduce
soft product costs.
The Boeing 777-300ER will have 24 seats, whereas
the new A380 premium economy cabins have 56 seats in a 2-4-2 layout over seven
rows.
At some point, he said, "I may have
miscalculated the need for premium economy," and he added that Emirates'
offer would be "unique."
They are the only airline from the Middle East to
achieve this. While Qatar Airways has insisted it has no plans to introduce a
premium class offering, Etihad Airways has chosen Economy Space with more
legroom.