Emirates has completed the first retrofit of a two-class Airbus A380 aircraft as part of its fleet refurbishment programme, introducing Premium Economy seating to the upper deck.
The refurbished aircraft, registered A6-EUX, has entered service on Emirates flight EK39/40 between Dubai and Birmingham. It now operates with three cabin classes comprising 76 Business Class seats, 56 Premium Economy seats and 437 Economy Class seats.
The aircraft is the first of 15 two-class A380s scheduled for renovation under Emirates’ wider retrofit programme.
The work was carried out by Emirates Engineering in Dubai. Under the fleet refurbishment programme, retrofit work has now been completed on 95 aircraft, including 42 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777s, representing more than one-third of its current fleet.
Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, said:The Emirates retrofit programme revolves around the central premise that we will offer our customers a truly elevated experience every time they choose to travel with us. To this end, our engineering team has been working continuously and at pace in close collaboration with an ecosystem of partners and suppliers to meticulously refresh and integrate the best-in-class products to each aircraft in the programme. Our retrofit programme has raised the bar at every step, in terms of complexity, scale and detailed craftsmanship. The reconfiguration of our two-class A380 into three-class layout that brings our popular Premium Economy seating onto the upper deck illustrates the extensive capabilities of our team.
A key feature of the retrofit is the addition of Premium Economy seating on the upper deck of the A380. The cabin is arranged in a 2-3-2 layout and includes leather seats with adjustable headrests, leg and footrests, charging ports, side tables and 13.3-inch personal entertainment screens.
The refurbishment also includes updated interiors across all cabins. Changes include new carpets, ceiling panels, revised colour schemes, wood finishes and design elements inspired by the Ghaf tree.
The retrofit required significant alterations to the aircraft’s upper deck configuration. Emirates Engineering removed 120 Economy Class seats to create space for 56 Premium Economy seats and an additional 18 Business Class seats.
The project also involved repositioning and upgrading galley modules, storage areas, overhead bins and partitions, alongside modifications to the aircraft’s electrical and plumbing systems.
Around 50 engineers and technicians worked on the aircraft, contributing approximately 35,000 man-hours and using more than 2,500 types of parts during the process.
The first two-class A380 retrofit took two months to complete, including planning and testing. Emirates expects future projects to take around 30 days as experience from the initial refurbishment is applied across the remaining aircraft. All 15 two-class A380s are expected to be retrofitted by the end of 2026.
Emirates first announced its fleet retrofit programme in 2021, initially covering 120 aircraft. The programme was later expanded, reaching 219 aircraft. Emirates said a team of around 270 staff supports the programme, with an average of two refurbished aircraft completed each month.
As part of the programme, Emirates also evaluates materials removed during refurbishment for reuse. The airline said this has led to initiatives including its “Aircrafted” collector range and “Aircrafted for Kids” backpacks made from repurposed seat fabric. Around 4,000 backpacks have been donated to children across 10 countries.
