Emirates has reflected on its first year of full-service operations with its Premium Economy class, stating that more than 160,000 customers upgraded from Economy to its premium offering over the year.
The airline’s Premium Economy seating was introduced in August 2022.
In a release published on August 2, 2023, the airline noted that cabin crews served more than 192,000 meals for its passengers during the same period, as well as over
Currently, 20 Emirates Airbus A380s are equipped with Premium Economy seats, 14 of which have been retrofitted by the airline’s own maintenance arm, Emirates Engineering.
Passengers looking to fly the double-decker aircraft in a Premium Economy seat currently have 11 options, including four destinations in the United States, London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), and four destinations across Australia and New Zealand.
By the end of 2023, Emirates will introduce flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) and Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) with A380s fitted with the fancier economy seats. The airline noted that additional destinations “will be announced soon”.
“Since Emirates debuted its Premium Economy Class, customer response has been overwhelmingly positive with demand exceeding expectations and bookings growing month on month, demonstrating its appeal to a broad range of traveller segments who want to try out its understated luxury and meticulously elevated experience at great value,” the airline said.
According to Emirates, 50% of travelers using Premium Economy are traveling alone, while the other half are families.
Furthermore, 60% of travelers traveling on Emirates’ Premium Economy are members of the Emirates Skywards loyalty program.
Emirates officially launched the cabin in May 2022, teasing that Premium Economy would offer “luxurious seats, more legroom, and a service to rival many airlines’ business offering”.
“As with everything we do, Emirates Premium Economy will be exceptional in its class, with minute attention given to every aspect of the customer experience,” Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, said in May 2022.
Clark added that since the airline introduced the cabin in January 2021, “the positive response and demand” was “tremendous” at the time.
The introduction of a Premium Economy cabin is part of the airline’s multi-billion retrofit program, which aims to upgrade the interiors of 67 Airbus A380 and 53 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. By the end of the program, Emirates said that engineers will install over 4,000 Premium Economy seats, as well as 700 First Class and 5,000 Business Class seats that will be upgraded to the latest interior.