LONDON – This week has seen Emirates complete the retrofit of its first Airbus A380 aircraft, registered as A6-EVM.
A6-EVM is the first of 120 A380 aircraft that will be retrofitted by Emirates and is the beginning of the $2bn retrofit program by the airline.
Emirates’ Retrofit Process…
The airline went into detail about what this retrofit process consists of:
“The fully refreshed A380 features Emirates’ latest products and interiors across all cabins, including 56 Premium Economy class seats on the main deck and new color palettes evident in the carpeting and wall panels.”
“On the upper deck, First and Business Class seats sport Emirates’ latest cream-colored leather upholstery and lighter-toned wood finishing, similar to the airline’s ‘game changer’ product.”
“Emirates’ signature ghat tree motif also features prominently throughout the interiors, including hand-stenciled panels in the First Class Shower Spa.”
Below is a video released by Emirates regarding the makeover of A6-EVM:
Sir Tim Clark: Customers Will Notice The Difference…
Commenting on the first retrofit was Sir Tim Clark, the President of Emirates:
“Customers will notice the difference the moment they step onboard – the spacious A380 will look and feel even more impressive and comfortable.”
“With our latest interiors and products, this newly refurbished aircraft elevates our inflight experience in all classes of travel and enables us to offer more Premium Economy seats to meet customer demand.”
“I’m particularly proud that this refurbishment work was designed, conducted, and completed in-house at our facilities in Dubai to the highest standards of quality and safety.”
“It reflects the world-class aviation capabilities and infrastructure that exists within Emirates and here in the UAE.”
Next Stages…
Emirates has confirmed that the next A380 to be retrofitted will be A6-EUW.
It is understood that Emirates’ engineers will work on two aircraft at a time, which means that one aircraft in the fleet will be withdrawn from service every eight days.
By 2024, all 67 A380s assigned for the $2bn refurbishment project will have returned to service, which will then lead to Emirates beginning work on the 53 Boeing 777s that have been selected for refurbishment.
Completion of the 777 refurbishments is expected to be completed in 2025, bringing together the overall project.
A Fast & Significant Investment from Emirates…
It remains clear that Emirates is putting its money where its mouth is by beginning this retrofit program, but also the tight turnaround time of two years to get this all completed.
Looking ahead, it’s going to be interesting to see how much of an overall improvement their products will be from the existing cabins currently installed on Emirates’ aircraft.
For now, all eyes are now on Emirates to see how much further they can take their product upgrades, especially on the A380s, where considerable differences have been observed.
