Emirates' first refurbished Boeing 777

Emirates' first Boeing 777, completely renewed and with a new design, took off on August 7 from Dubai bound for Geneva, with flight EK83. The restyling of the aircraft took a total of 37 days, and was completed four days ahead of schedule.

 

A timelapse video released by the airline shows the entire transformation process of the cabins of Emirates' first B777, highlighting how they have been dismantled, refurbished and modernized by a team of specialized engineers.

 

 

The modernisation of Emirates' Boeing 777 began in July, and the new Premium Economy cabin now offers 24 seats arranged in three rows in a 2-4-2 configuration. The seats, upholstered in cream-colored leather with wood trim, offer superior comfort thanks to a space of 38 inches, a width of 19.5 inches and a recline of up to 8 inches, ensuring greater relaxation and an optimized flight experience. In addition, the headrests are adjustable in six directions.

 

Emirates' Boeing 777 Business Class features a welcoming and refined cabin, with detailed finishes that enhance passenger privacy. The seats and cabin colour palette have been updated to reflect the airy and modern style of the Emirates A380 experience, with cream leather seats enhanced with champagne-coloured details, lighter wood panelling and advanced technology that combines functionality and luxury.

 

 

With a 38-seat configuration arranged in 1-2-1 rows, each ergonomic seat, 20.7 inches wide, can transform into a comfortable bed, up to 78.6 inches long. Each place is equipped with a personal minibar, a table for eating or working, numerous sockets for charging devices and much more. The in-flight entertainment system includes a touchscreen seat controller and a 23-inch personal HD screen, one of the largest available in flight, allowing you to fully enjoy Emirates' award-winning ice entertainment system.

 

The Boeing 777 Business Class also has a small bar to allow customers to conveniently access snacks and drinks during the flight.

The new Economy Class cabin offers 256 seats in a variety of colours ranging from soft grey to blue. The ergonomically designed seats feature leather headrests with flexible, vertically adjustable side panels for optimal comfort.

The motif of the ghaf tree, Emirates' symbol, has been integrated throughout the interior of the aircraft.

 

 

Emirates plans to retrofit an additional 80 Boeing 777s as part of an investment of more than $3 billion to offer cutting-edge products that make the flight experience unforgettable for customers. In addition to Geneva, Boeing 777s with the new cabins will soon also fly to Tokyo (Haneda) and Brussels, with further destinations to be announced soon.

 

The Boeing 777 retrofit work was designed and executed in-house by a team of 175 engineers and technicians at Emirates Engineering in Dubai, with a focus on the highest standards of quality and safety. The project has had a significant impact on the local aviation ecosystem, involving over 10 partners who have employed hundreds of skilled workers and set up workshops both at Engineering's facility and in external locations to support the various aspects of the programme.

 

The first refurbished B777 took 37 days and 18,000 hours to complete, with teams working tirelessly, performing a chronological sequence of operations ranging from the removal of the interior to the installation and testing of the new seats and other cab components.

 

 

For the retrofit of the first Boeing 777, Emirates used a total of:

• 330 square meters of carpet
• 340 sheets of laminate
• 750 square metres of leather for the Prima, Business and Premium Economy Class seats
• 800 metres of fabric for Economy Class seats
• 300 litres of paint.

Emirates has allocated 191 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft for a complete refurbishment, part of the largest retrofit programme ever seen in the industry in terms of size and scope. By the end of the project, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 completely redesigned First Class suites , 11,182 new Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats.

 

Currently, Emirates operates its modernised aircraft on routes to New York (JFK), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, London (Heathrow), Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore, São Paulo, Tokyo (Narita), Osaka, Geneva, Zurich, Riyadh and Dubai.

 

The new refurbished Boeing 777s in the two cities of Zurich and Riyadh, are starting from 1 October 2024. The airline will also deploy the refurbished B777s for operations to Geneva and Brussels, making them the first two cities in the airline’s network to feature refurbished B777 cabins on all flights.

Text source: Emirates Airlines Press Office

Photos and visuals: Copyright © Emirates Airlines / The Emirates Group

Photo Dubai: Copyright © Sisterscom.com, Shutterstock

Update: August 30, 2024