Emirates First Retrofitted A380 Returns

Dubai-based Emirates has had a busy few days. First, the airline has announced that its first completely refurbished Airbus A380 has re-entered service. Emirates deployed the A380 on flight EK003 from Dubai to London Heathrow.

The retrofit is part of a USD 2 billion program to reinvent and improve the passenger experience on the series.

This aircraft is a flagship for Emirates. It’s a series the airline has featured in global and viral advertisements. 120 Emirates aircraft will undergo this process, with A6-EVM being the first on the long list. 

Customers would notice the difference the moment they step on board.the spacious A380 will look and feel even more impressive and comfortable. With our latest interiors and products, this newly refurbished aircraft elevates our inflight experience in all classes of travel. it enables us to offer more Premium Economy seats to meet customer demand.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline

By the end of January 2023, Emirates will have completed work on its secondary Airbus A380, A6-EUW. However, as the airline has so many Airbus A380s, it needs engineers working on two aircraft simultaneously.

Emirates says it will withdraw one A380 from service every eight days and transfer it to the engineering bay.

Only 67 of the Airbus A380s will undergo refurbishment, and work will be completed by 2024. This is before the first of 53 Boeing 777s enter the engineering facility and undergo a retrofit.

As per Cirium data, the airline has 35 aircraft in storage, representing 7% of its fleet, and 233 in service, representing 50%.

The other 43 are among the 200 aircraft awaiting entry into service. Currently, the airline operates only two aircraft types, the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A380.

However, that will change with the 777X, 787, and A350 entering service to diversify operations.