Emirates rolls out upgraded Boeing 777s on 2 new routes

Dubai: Dubai’s flagship carrier, Emirates, will roll out its refurbished Boeing 777 widebodies to two new destinations in April and May. The airline will fly the aircraft to Seoul, South Korea, starting April 14 and London Stansted in the UK from May 7, as aircraft sporting upgraded cabins roll out of Emirates’ retrofit programme and into scheduled service.

The four-class Boeing 777 EK324/325 will fly between Dubai and Seoul thrice a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This makes Seoul the second East Asian city to receive the upgraded aircraft. Emirates said aircraft deployments may be advanced if released earlier from refurbishment.

London Stansted will become the third UK destination in Europe—alongside London Heathrow and Edinburgh—to feature Emirates’ latest cabin enhancements. Other European cities receiving the four-class Boeing 777 include Brussels, Geneva, Zurich, Vienna, and Athens.

By July 2025, Emirates expects to offer over 3,150 weekly Premium Economy seats on Boeing 777s and A380s across six Southeast and East Asian destinations: Tokyo-Narita, Tokyo-Haneda, Osaka, Singapore, Seoul, and Shenzhen. 

The retrofitted Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft features a four-class configuration, including Emirates’ signature Premium Economy cabins.

$5 billion retrofit

According to airline President Sir Tim Clark, Emirates’ aircraft retrofit programme for 220 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380s has now reached $5 billion. At Berlin ITB, Clark attributed the rising costs to aircraft delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus. 

The airline is also considering ordering more Airbus A350s and Boeing 777Xs to address these delays. “We are constrained by the availability of aircraft,” Clark said. “But as soon as we get these airplanes, we’ll be moving into the Asian theatre more than we are perhaps today.” 

Emirates recently announced plans to launch daily non-stop flights between Dubai and Shenzhen from July 1. “We have got further access into China; we’ll be pushing more in there beyond the point we just added starting in July; it’s a great market, a very buoyant market, a well-sought-after market. So, we will go there and continue to expand our operations,” Clark stated. 

Additionally, the airline will introduce four weekly flights to Da Nang, Vietnam, from June 2 and three weekly flights to Siem Reap, Cambodia, from June 3, with both routes connecting via Bangkok. 

Looking ahead to the Dubai Airshow in November, Emirates is exploring further aircraft orders to expand its global network. “What happens at the airshow? Yes, we’re looking at additional fleet, bearing in mind that we’re looking now into the mid-2030s, simply because the manufacturers are not in a position really to offer many new aircraft to any client before the turn of this decade,” Clark told Bloomberg TV. 

“So, you need to look at locking in positions for both Boeing and Airbus, given the ability to meet the current backlog … the Airshow will give us the opportunity, and probably the timing, to order some more aircraft,” he added.