In Photos: Behind the scenes of Emirates’ Airbus A380 aircraft retrofit project

Amid aircraft supply shortages and soaring demand for travel, Dubai’s flagship carrier embarked on the largest known fleet retrofit project as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment, seeking to extend its lifespan into the early 2040s.

Since then, the airline has retrofitted 30 Airbus A380 aircraft, and in July of this year, the first Boeing 777 will undergo an interior refresh, said Emirates Engineering – the Emirates Group subsidiary tasked with the mammoth project - officials when Gulf News toured the facility on Friday.

Each Boeing 777 aircraft will take approximately two weeks to refurbish before entering service. Plans include refurbishing the First-Class cabin, introducing all-new Business Class seats in an updated 1-2-1 seating configuration, and installing 24 of the latest Premium Economy seats.

From re-leathering aircraft seats to fitting brand new cabin upholstery, ‘almost everything’ of the ambitious undertaking is done in-house, inside Emirates Engineering’s 500,000 square metre workshop, said John Walker, VP of Base Maintenance at EK Engineering.

At a sprawling hangar near Dubai Airport, at least two Airbus superjumbos A380s are being gutted and retrofitted with everything from new berths to fresh stairwells. Gone are the gold trimmings and wood panelling that dominated the first iteration. Emirates has opted for lighter tones, fresh carpeting and mood lighting, and depictions of local nature motifs.

Given the size of the planes—a typical A380 has about 550 seats on two decks—the overhaul produces vast amounts of recyclable materials. The airline said one aircraft alone sheds more than 250 kilograms of seat leather and more than 600 kilograms of other fabric, which it has decided to use for a limited-edition collection of shoes, belts, and backpacks fitted with onboard trimmings like seat belts or the lambskin covers on pilot seats.

Even as the airline undergoes the retrofit project, the airline’s base maintenance team keeps the Emirates fleet in the best possible condition. This includes aircraft A and C checks and maintaining the aircraft's appearance in the engineering facility’s paint shops.

One retrofit usually takes 16 days to complete. During the process, all the seats, lavatories, galleys, and monuments are ejected, leaving the entire interior bare. The seats are stripped down, repainted, refurbished, trimmed, and finished before being sent back into the aircraft.

After removing the materials, Emirates Engineering staff put them in its workshop to refurbish them as part of its regular maintenance cycle so they can be returned to pristine cabin condition.

The final product: The entire colour scheme of the aircraft interior has changed. Emirates, well known for its dark wood panelling and gold finishes, has adopted lighter colours, giving it a contemporary look and feel. This makes the cabins feel significantly larger and more open. The seat covers have also been changed to a lighter cream colour.

Premium Economy, a new addition to the airline, is found at the front of the aircraft on the lower deck. The cabin features a 2-4-2 configuration. Business and economy classes have seen similar upgrades with lighter colours and changes to the carpet and window panelling.

Last month, the airline announced that it would completely refurbish another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777 aircraft, expanding its retrofit programme to 191 aircraft.

Once the last aircraft rolls out of the retrofit programme and the project is fully complete, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refreshed First Class suites, 11,182 upgraded Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats.