Emirates will debut its new Premium Economy cabin on flights to and from India in October, nearly three years after the Dubai-based carrier first unveiled its luxe cream-coloured leather recliners.
Starting October 29, Emirates will start flying Airbus A380s equipped with Premium Economy cabins on daily flights to Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Initially, however, the new Premium Economy cabin will only be available on one of five daily flights to Mumbai and one of three daily services between Dubai and Bengaluru.
- Dubai to Mumbai (EK500) departing at 9:50 pm and arriving at 2:15 am
- Mumbai to Dubai (EK501) departing at 4:15 am and arriving at 6:05 am
- Dubai to Bengaluru (EK568) departing at 9:25 pm and arriving at 2:30 am
- Bengaluru to Dubai (EK569) departing at 4:30 am and arriving at 7:!0 am
Since its debut in late 2020, Emirates has rolled out its Premium Economy on flights to nine destinations, including New York JFK, San Francisco and Houston in the United States, as well as London Heathrow, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne and Singapore.
Emirates has aggressive plans to install its Premium Economy on 105 aircraft as part of a $2 billion retrofit programme which will see 67 double-deck Airbus A380 aircraft and 53 Boeing 777 aircraft get a complete head-to-tail refurbishment.
In February 2021, Emirates’ president, Sir Tim Clark, said that passengers were “clamouring” to experience Premium Economy, and Sir Tim has since admitted that it was a mistake to wait so long to develop a Premium Experience cabin.
On the Airbus A380, Emirates has installed a 56-seat Premium Economy cabin in a 2-4-2 layout that comes with two dedicated lavatories at the front of the aircraft. Each seat measures 19.5 inches in width and comes with a 13.3-inch seatback screen, up to 40 inches of pitch, and a six-way adjustable headrest.
