As demand for international traffic continues the road to recovery (reaching 65% of 2019 levels according to the latest IATA data released for June), Emirates is preparing for this new phase by launching a program to upgrade and improve the passenger cabins of 67 Airbus A380s, its flagship aircraft, and 53 Boeing 777s.
The project will start next November and will run for approximately two years, with four aircraft scheduled to be retrofit each month. The A380s will be worked on first, followed by the 777s. The company reported that this will involve the installation of around 4,000 new Premium Economy seats, the refurbishment of 728 first class suites and the upgrade of more than 5,000 Business seats with a new style and design. Cabin interior panels will also be renovated with new tones and designs, as well as carpets and staircases.
This is the first time an airline has undertaken a project of this magnitude in-house, so last July Emirates used an A380 to test the processes, dismantling the cabin piece by piece and logged every step, from removing the seats and panels to the bolts and screws, testing and timing each action. They also documented potential impediments to completing the installation of Emirates’ new Premium Economy and the upgrade of the other three cabins in just 16 days for teams of experts to review and resolve.
Emirates noted that, for example, the tests found that the catering trucks can be reused to move parts to be refurbished from the aircraft to the workshop, as they are of adequate width and provide sufficient space.
This work will involve the construction of new workshops at Emirates Engineering to repaint, re-trim and reupholster the Business and Economy seats. On the other hand, the First Class suites will be disassembled and sent to a specialized company to replace the leather, arm rests and other materials.
