Summary
- Emirates’ premium economy service was a success: over 160,000 passengers, including 40,000 to and from Australia, enjoyed the larger seats, finer dining and improved service.
- Solo travelers represented the majority of premium economy passengers traveling to and from Australia, followed by couples and families. 42% of these travelers were members of the airline’s frequent flyer program.
- Emirates plans to expand its premium economy offering, retrofitting 67 Airbus A380 and 53 Boeing 777-300ER, as well as renewing first class suites and business class seats with the latest interiors.
Since Emirates launched its Premium Economy service a year ago, more than 160,000 passengers worldwide have enjoyed the product’s larger seats, fine dining and enhanced service. This includes nearly 40,000 passengers traveling to and from Australia.
The airline’s first premium economy service to Australia landed in Sydney in August 2022, followed by Melbourne in April 2023. The most popular destinations for passengers traveling in the premium economy to and from Australia since then have been:
- UK – 17.9%
- United Arab Emirates – 13.8%
- Italy – 13.3%
- Greece – 9.3%
- France – 5.6%
Photo: Emirates
Solo travelers accounted for 41.9% of premium economy flights to and from Australia last year, followed by couples (38.4%) and families (15.5%). Emirates also announced that 42% of premium economy travelers on these routes were members of the airline’s Skywards frequent flyer programme, compared to 60% across the airline’s global premium economy network as a whole.
Emirates expands its premium economy offering
20 of Emirates’ 119 Airbus A380s are currently fitted with the Premium Economy cabin. These aircraft carry a total of 484 passengers – 14 in First Class, 76 in Business Class, 56 in Premium Economy and 338 in Economy Class.
Currently, the airline’s Airbus A380s, equipped with Premium Economy equipment, fly to 11 cities worldwide: London (LHR), Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Auckland (AKL), Christchurch (CHC), Singapore (SIN), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Houston (IAH), San Francisco (SFO) and Dubai (SXB). This number will rise to 13 in October when Bengaluru (BLR) and Mumbai (BOM) are added to the list.
Photo: Mariusz Klarowicz I Shutterstock
Emirates has a strong presence in Australia, operating the following non-stop flights from its hub at Dubai International Airport (DXB):
- Sydney (SYD) – 3x daily (2x Airbus A380, 1x Boeing 777-300ER)
- Melbourne (MEL) – 2x daily (2x Airbus A380)
- Brisbane (BNE) – 2x daily (1x Airbus A380, 1x Boeing 777-300ER)
- Perth (PER) – 1x daily (Airbus A380)
This puts the airline ahead of competitor Qatar Airways in terms of the number of daily flights to Australia. The Doha-based airline’s request for more landing spots was recently denied, despite exploiting a loophole in the bilateral deal that allows it to operate more flights to major airports like Melbourne when flying onward to smaller airports like Adelaide.
An award-winning premium economy product
Emirates’ Premium Economy cabin was a success, receiving rave reviews from passengers and winning a number of awards including ‘Best Premium Economy Seats 2023’ by Skytrax and ‘Best Premium Economy’ at the Business Traveler Awards 2023 the airline had an average occupancy rate of over 90% last year.
Photo: Emirates
The airline celebrated the first anniversary of its Premium Economy cabin by releasing the following infographic:
Image: Emirates
Following the success of its Premium Economy product, Emirates plans to retrofit an additional 67 Airbus A380s in addition to 53 of the airline’s 124 Boeing 777-300ERs. The multi-billion dollar upgrade program will also refurbish over 700 first class suites and 4,000 business class seats with the airline’s latest interiors.
Have you flown in Emirates Premium Economy cabin before? How would you rate the product and the service on board? Share your experience by commenting below.
Source: ch-aviation.com
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Emirates couldn’t fly to Nigeria, so local travelers have found other ways to get to the UAE. Photo: Vincenzo Pace/Alvin Man – Easy to fly
Emirates
IATA/ICAO Code: EC/UAE
Airline type: Full service carrier
Stroke(s): Dubai International Airport
Founding year: 1985
CEO: Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Country: United Arab Emirates
Emirates couldn’t fly to Nigeria, so local travelers have found other ways to get to the UAE. Photo: Vincenzo Pace/Alvin Man – Easy to fly
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