Emirates Starts Offering Premium Economy on GCC Routes

Emirates will start offering Premium Economy airfares on GCC routes.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier announced the news on Tuesday, August 13. Moreover, it will deploy a newly retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft on additional routes to Zurich and Riyadh beginning October 1.

In addition, Emirates will fly the Boeing 777s to all its flights headed for Brussels and Geneva. These flights mark the debut of the refurbished planes. This supports the strategy of offering Premium Economy seats and newly configured Business Class cabin seats to more destinations. The overall objective is to provide this offering to 28 cities by the end of 2024.

Reconfigured Emirates seats

The Emirates jets feature 24 Premium Economy seats following a 2-4-2 arrangement, while there will be 256 Economy Class seats. The planes will also feature 38 Business Class seats in a four-abreast layout and six or eight First Class suites.

Business Class passengers will enjoy more spacious seats, added privacy, and more relaxing sleep with 180-degree fully reclined flat beds. Removing the middle seats, every 20.7-inch-wide leather seat now gives every passenger access to the aisles. In addition, they each also have a personal mini-bar, dining/working wooden table, several charging outlets, and new seat button controls.

Emirates Business Class flyers also get access to full table service featuring Royal Doulton fine bone china and exclusive cutlery. In addition, they also have the luxury of enjoying the best champagne and wine in the aviation tourism industry.

Meanwhile, those sitting in Premium Economy get to relax in 19.5-inch-wide cream leather seats with a 6-way adjustable headrest. They can recline their seats up to eight inches and enjoy the in-flight cradle position. Moreover, passengers can use the calf and footrest, the in-seat charging outlet, and the wooden dining-side cocktail table.

For its in-flight dining service, Premium Economy offers a welcome drink, gourmet dishes, and fine beverages served using fine tableware.

An unmatchable onboard experience

Emirates will introduce the retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft on the EK 85 and EK 86 flights to Zurich. Meanwhile, these planes will also start operating on flights EK 819 and EK 820 to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These flights will carry the new Premium Economy offering for GCC passengers.

In contrast, Emirates will start using its second retrofitted Boeing 777 on its flights EK 181 and EK 182 to Brussels. These flights will operate six times weekly beginning October 9.

As of August 15, 25 of the Boeing 777 have been retrofitted. 17 more of the aircraft will be refurbished by December 2024.

Emirates Airline President Tim Clark remarked, “Emirates continues to carry out our commitment to deliver an unmatchable onboard experience with the introduction of our latest Boeing 777 with new signature interiors, raising the industry benchmark when it comes to premium travel.”

“Our latest Business Class cabin offers customers a sense of exclusivity and privacy, complemented by our best-in-class suite of onboard products,” he added.

“The addition of our popular Premium Economy cabin, rated one of the best in the industry, injects modern sophistication [into] the flying experience and is carefully designed for more comfort. With more Boeing 777s and A380s refreshed to sport our latest generation onboard products, customers can consistently have the very best experiences in the sky across both aircraft types.”

Photo by Muhammad Ahmad on Unsplash