Emirates bringing back A380 fleet with new Premium Economy
Emirates has 56 Premium Economy seats in its A380 cabin
Emirates today announced plans to debut its newly retrofitted A380s featuring its latest Premium Economy cabins to five new cities starting in December - New York JFK, San Francisco, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore.
“The airline will also add more Premium Economy seats on services to London Heathrow and Sydney, as its newly enhanced aircraft sporting refreshed cabins roll into scheduled service,” said a release from Emirates.
The airline aims to offer passengers more opportunities to experience its Premium Economy product, and its latest deployment plans will also see 85 A380s back in the sky by December.
Emirates’ enhanced A380s with Premium Economy to New York JFK, San Francisco, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore will operate as follows:
- To New York JFK, Emirates will operate with its newly retrofitted A380 on EK203 and EK 204, starting from December 1.
- To Auckland, Emirates will debut its Premium Economy cabin on EK 448 and EK 449, starting January 15, 2023.
- From February 1, 2023, Melbourne will become the second Australian destination to be served with the signature Emirates A380 featuring Premium Economy. Services will be deployed on EK 406 and EK 407.
- San Francisco will become the second US destination to be served by the retrofitted A380 with refreshed interiors on EK 225 and EK 226, starting on February 15, 2023.
- Emirates’ enhanced A380 with Premium Economy will land in Singapore for the first time on March 1, 2023, operating as EK 354 and EK 355.
Emirates will also update its schedules to London Heathrow, Sydney and New York JFK with its retrofitted A380 aircraft operating on the following services:
- From December 15, Sydney will become the first city in the Emirates network to offer Premium Economy seats on all flights, with the introduction of the airline’s retrofitted aircraft on EK 414 and EK 415.
- From January 1, 2023, London Heathrow will receive its third daily service with Premium Economy, with the new product debuting on EK 005 and EK 006.
- From March 15, 2023, Emirates will operate its second A380 with Premium Economy to New York JFK on EK 201 and EK 202.
Emirates will also start A380 services with a Premium Economy debut to Christchurch, New Zealand from March 26, 2023, as an extension of the Dubai to Sydney service, operating with EK 412 and EK 413.
With travel demand the strongest it’s been in more than two years, Emirates says it will provide passengers more choice and a better experience as it ramps up A380 services to 42 destinations by the end of March 2023. In tandem, the airline is optimizing its network to meet demand and enhancing its existing schedules to over 400 A380 departures from Dubai, offering 460,000 weekly A380 seats by March 2023, including 81,000 seats across its premium cabins, offering the very best in customer comfort.
By year end, the airline will be serving close to a third of its network with 85 A380s as it unlocks more destinations like Houston, Bengaluru, Perth, Auckland, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, with additional cities to be announced in the coming weeks. With an expanded list of cities, Emirates will have recovered 75 percent of its pre-pandemic A380 network. The airline is also adding frequencies to popular cities already served by its flagship, bringing greater resiliency and stability to its operation.
On a four-class Emirates A380, the Premium Economy cabin is located at the front of the main deck with 56 seats laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration. Customized features include in-seat charging points and a side cocktail table. The experience is rounded off with curated in-flight amenities, and a specific menu and extensive beverage options.
