Emirates has ‘wow’ed its long-haul passengers once again by unveiling the latest look of its B777 with a complete nose to tail revamp. The new B777 sporting new look has commenced commercial operations on August 7, 2024 on DXB-Geneva route.
Interestingly the entire revamp was finished in just 37 days and entered service four days ahead of its scheduled launch. The refurbishment process started in July with a planned reconfiguration of the aircraft to make way for a new Premium Economy cabin consisting of 24 seats set in three rows in a 2-4-2 abreast layout.
Some of the salient features of the revamped cabin are
- cream leather seats
- wood panel finishings across the cabin
- seats with 38-inch pitch
- 19.5-inch-wide seats that recline 8 inches providing more space for stretching and relaxing
- 6-way adjustable padded headrests for enhanced comfort
- ergonomic 20.7-inch-wide seat converts to a spacious flatbed which reclines up to 78.6 inches
- Seats arranged in four-abreast structure offering every customer direct access to the aisle.
- Each seat features a personal mini-bar, table for dining or working, multiple charging outlets for personal devices and more.
- Seat has in-built touch screen seat controller for in-flight entertainment and seat operation and a personal 23-inch HD screen
The Emirates Boeing 777 Business Class cabin will also include a small bar for customers to quickly grab mid-flight snacks and refreshments. It is set in a warm and inviting cabin featuring thoughtful refinements with enhanced privacy for customers. The cabin’s seats and colour story have been enhanced to echo the light and airy design elements of Emirates’ iconic A380 experience, with soft leather cream seats accented with champagne trim, lighter wood panelling, and modern technology touches that deliver function and luxury.
The new Economy Class cabin features 256 seats in a colour palette of soft greys and blues. The ergonomically designed seats also include full leather headrests with flexible side panels that can also be adjusted vertically for optimum support. Emirates’ signature ghaf tree motif also features prominently throughout the interiors.
“Our latest Business Class cabin offers customers a sense of exclusivity and privacy, complemented by our best-in-class suite of onboard products. The addition of our popular Premium Economy cabin, rated one of the best in the industry, injects modern sophistication to 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 experience,” says Tim Clark, president, Emirates.
Apart from Geneva, the airline will deploy its upgraded B777s to Tokyo Haneda and Brussels in the next few weeks with more destinations to be announced soon.
Emirates will be refurbishing another 80 Boeing 777 aircraft as part of its investment of over US$3 billion. The entire refurbishment work on the Boeing 777 was conceptualised, designed, and executed inhouse by a dedicated team of 175 engineers and technicians at Emirates Engineering in Dubai.
The first B777 took 37 days and 18,000 manhours to finish as teams operated round the clock in a chronological sequence of work, from the removal of interiors, all the way to reinstallation and testing of the new seats and other cabin components.
Watch this timelapse video offering a glimpse into how the first Emirates 777 cabins were gutted, fitted and refurbished by the airline’s seasoned in-house engineering team.
To deliver the first Boeing 777 refurbished aircraft, the airline used a total of:
· 330 square metres of carpets
· 340 laminate sheets
· 8,000 square feet of leather for First, Business and Premium Economy Class seats
· 800 metres of fabric for Economy Class seats
· 300 litres of paint
The airline has earmarked 191 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft for a full facelift as part of the largest known retrofit programme the industry has seen in scale and size. Once the project is complete, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refreshed First-Class suites, 11,182 upgraded Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats.
