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Australian travellers will soon benefit from Emirates’ premium economy offering on its Airbus A380 services to Dubai.
The newly upgraded seat provides passengers with more leg room, wider television screens, and a service that would “rival many airlines’ business offering”, according to Emirates.
The airline confirmed that premium economy tickets will go on sale from 1 June, with flights on its upgraded A380s to take-off on 1 August.
Flights from Sydney, London and Paris will be first off the ranks, while Christchurch services will begin in December.
“As with everything we do, Emirates premium economy will be exceptional in its class, with minute attention given to every aspect of the customer experience,” said Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates.
“We currently have six A380s equipped with this cabin class, which limits our initial deployment, but our intention is to offer this experience to many more markets across our network.
Clark said that from November, the airline will begin its retrofit program to install premium economy class on 67 of its A380s and 53 Boeing 777s.
“At the end of the program, Emirates will have 126 aircraft fitted out with premium economy cabins, as well as our latest interiors across other cabins. It is a major investment to ensure our customers continue to have the best experience in the sky,” he said.
Premium economy ticket holders will benefit from a 19.5-inch-wide leather seat with 40-inch pitch, a 13.3-inch in-flight entertainment screen, along with calf rests, footrests, in-seat charging ports and a side cocktail table.
Again, much like business class, premium economy passengers will be offered a dedicated check-in desk at Dubai International Airport and welcome drink once onboard in “fine glassware”. Meal services also closely resemble that of business class, the airline claims.
Barry Brown, Emirates divisional vice president for Australasia said: “The introduction of our premium economy seats to our Sydney service is a game changer for Australia.
“It’s an important part of our longstanding commitment to the Australian market, investing in our product and offering our travellers a world-class experience over the last 25 years of flying with us.
“We’re seeing strong sustained booking momentum as more Australians travel overseas for the first time in two years, with many now getting the chance to experience our premium economy firsthand.”
Nivsy
says:There is no such thing as a free lunch and with those changes being rolled out, I wonder if economy + fares will rise accordingly. Further, there is limited aircraft retrofit currently. What will Emirates policy be if they run the advertised flight with an aircraft without the new config formoperationalmreasons etc on the new for routes as advertised?