Emirates Kick Starts its Fleet Retrofit Project
Emirates
has kick-started its plans to upgrade the entire interior cabins of 120 Airbus
A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft – two of the largest commercial aircraft types in
service today.
This
ambitious project, representing a multi-billion dollar investment to ensure
Emirates’ customers "fly better" for the coming years, officially
commences in November and is managed entirely by Emirates’ Engineering team.
The
target is to completely retrofit four Emirates aircraft from start to finish
every month, continuously for over 2 years. Once the 67 earmarked A380s are
refreshed and back in service, 53 777s will undergo their facelift. This will
see nearly 4,000 brand new Premium Economy seats installed, 728 First Class
suites refurbished and over 5,000 Business Class seats upgraded to a new style
and design when the project is complete in April 2025.
In
addition, carpets and stairs will be upgraded, and cabin interior panels
refreshed with new tones and design motifs including the iconic ghaf trees
which are native to the UAE.
No
other airline has handled a retrofit of this magnitude in-house, and there’s no
blueprint for such an undertaking. Therefore Emirates Engineering teams have
been planning and testing extensively, to establish and streamline processes,
and identify and address any possible snags.
Trials
began on an A380 in July, where experienced engineers literally took each cabin
apart piece-by-piece and logged every step. From removing seats and paneling to
bolts and screws, every action was tested, timed and mapped out. Potential
impediments to completing the installation of Emirates’ new Premium Economy
Class or the retrofit of the remaining three cabins in just 16 days were
flagged and documented for expert teams to review and address.
As
part of the program, new purpose-built workshops will be set up at Emirates
Engineering to repaint, re-trim and re-upholster Business and Economy Class
seats with new covers and cushioning. First Class suites will be carefully
disassembled and sent to a specialized company to replace the leather, arm
rests and other materials.
From
the trials, Engineers discovered several unexpected solutions for instance:
that existing food catering trucks could be easily repurposed to move parts
destined for refurbishment from the aircraft to the workshop for their refresh,
as these vehicles had doors of the right width and offer sufficient space.
Until
the retrofit program starts in earnest in November, a cross-disciplinary team
has been assembled to regularly review the planning process, address any
issues, and track updates on various aspects of the project such as procurement,
staffing, and training.
Emirates’
new Premium Economy cabin class, which offers luxurious seats, more legroom,
and a service to rival many airlines’ business offering, is currently available
to Emirates customers travelling on popular A380 routes to London, Paris,
Sydney. More customers will be able to experience the airline’s new Premium
Economy cabins starting from year end, as the retrofit program picks
up momentum.
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