Flying Emirates? 100 retrofitted aircraft now feature new cabins and Premium Economy
Dubai airline completes upgrades on 100 aircraft; more than half its fleet due by end-2026
Dubai: Passengers flying with Emirates are increasingly likely to board an aircraft with upgraded cabins, after the Dubai-based airline completed a major milestone in its fleet refurbishment programme.
The airline has now retrofitted 100 aircraft since work began in November 2022, with every refurbished plane receiving updated interiors and a new Premium Economy cabin.
The upgrades cover 47 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777s, two of the most widely used aircraft on Emirates' long-haul network.
The refurbishment programme is part of a wider $5 billion investment by the airline to upgrade 219 aircraft as continued delays in new aircraft deliveries from Boeing and Airbus force airlines to keep existing fleets in service for longer.
Emirates said it expects to complete work on more than half of those aircraft by the end of December 2026, with around 20 more set to be refurbished this year.
The major milestone comes as Emirates continues to expand its Premium Economy offering across more routes, giving travellers more opportunities to book the cabin without waiting for new aircraft deliveries. The world's largest international airline is actively expanding its Premium Economy cabin to serve 99 destinations by the end of this year.
Since the retrofit programme began, more than 3,800 Premium Economy seats have been installed across the refurbished fleet.
"Our commitment to deliver best-in-class products across every cabin is an ongoing endeavour, and completing full cabin retrofits for 100 wide-body aircraft in 44 months is a significant achievement," said Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline.
Four years of work
The refurbishment programme has taken 44 months and involved more than 400 engineers and technicians working at Emirates Engineering's facilities in Dubai.
According to the airline, the team has spent a combined 4.4 million man hours upgrading the aircraft. Each refurbishment involves stripping out the aircraft's interior before installing refreshed cabins, seats and fittings.
For an Airbus A380, engineers work with more than 4,000 individual parts during the upgrade, while a Boeing 777 retrofit uses more than 2,500 parts.
The project has also involved working with more than 100 suppliers, while Emirates developed specialised equipment and modified vehicles to move large aircraft components around its engineering hangars.
Programme has expanded
Emirates first announced the retrofit programme in 2021, initially covering 105 aircraft. As demand for Premium Economy grew, the airline expanded the project to 191 aircraft in 2024 before increasing the total to 219 aircraft later that year.
The first refurbished Airbus A380 entered the programme in November 2022, while the first retrofitted Boeing 777 returned to commercial service in August 2024.
The next phase of the programme is due to begin in October 2026. Emirates said aircraft will receive new 4K OLED HDR10+ seatback entertainment screens and lightweight Safran Z400 seats, along with other cabin upgrades.
Alongside the refurbishment work, Emirates said materials removed from aircraft cabins, including leather and fabric, are being reused to create limited-edition luggage and other products under its "Aircrafted by Emirates" range.
The airline has also used repurposed Economy Class seat fabric to make more than 4,000 backpacks distributed to children across 11 countries.
