Emirates to deploy refurbished Boeing 777s to Kuwait and Dammam
Kuwait and Dammam are the second, third cities in GCC to get the Boeing777s
Dubai: Emirates on Thursday announced plans to debut its newly retrofitted Boeing 777s to Kuwait and Dammam, Saudi Arabia, featuring the latest Business Class and Premium Economy cabins. The airline said that Kuwait and Dammam are the second and third cities in the GCC to be served by the refurbished Boeing 777s.
Moreover, Dammam is the second destination in Saudi Arabia to be served with the retrofitted Emirates Boeing 777. The services to Kuwait will begin on October 27, and the flights to Dammam will operate daily starting November 22.
The airline’s 777 fleet entered refurbishment in early July, and so far, six aircraft have fully rolled out into service, flying to Geneva, Zurich, Brussels, Haneda and Riyadh.
The world’s largest long-haul airline has built its fleet on Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s and decided to undertake the $4 billion refurbishment project to extend the lifespan of the aircraft amid Boeing and Airbus’s jet delivery delays.
The four-class configuration on the 777s features 24 Premium Economy seats set in a 2-4-2 abreast layout. The 19.5-inch-wide cream leather seats have a 38-inch pitch and an 8-inch recline to stretch and relax. They also have 6-way adjustable headrests.
Emirates said it would also be growing its network of cities featuring latest generation products in Business Class and Premium Economy, with the introduction of refurbished Boeing 777s on six routes in the US, including Chicago, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Athens/Newark and Miami/Bogota. Customers connecting from Kuwait and Dammam to the United States through Dubai can enjoy a seamless experience across Premium Economy and Business Class cabins, said the airline.
Adel Ahmad Al Redha, Deputy President and Chief Operations Officer of Emirates Airline, told Gulf News in an earlier interview that all retrofit projects took place in-house at the Emirates Engineering Centre.
“We’re making changes to the Emirates Engineering Centre plans. The strategy is to do more in-house, expanding our capabilities and facilities. The plan includes 24 hangar bays at DWC to meet future maintenance needs and support retrofit programmes,” he said.