Emirates expands its massive cabin retrofit programme to 111 more aircraft
November 18, 2025
Emirates has announced an expansion and acceleration of its multi-billion-dollar fleet retrofit programme at the Dubai Airshow. An additional 111 aircraft—comprising 60 Airbus A380s and 51 Boeing 777s—will be updated with the airline’s latest cabin products.
Starting from August 2026, this next phase of modernisation will introduce new seating, enhanced connectivity via Starlink, and a state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system, ensuring a consistent, elevated passenger experience across the majority of its fleet.
This additional investment in the airline’s cabins builds on an already extensive programme that now targets a total of 219 aircraft for refurbishment.
Emirates will improve comfort across all classes
The cabin retrofit includes upgrades across business, premium economy, and economy classes, supported by the airline’s aircraft interiors suppliers, including Safran, Recaro, and Panasonic.
The airline will update its business class on both the A380 and Boeing 777 fleets with Emirates’ latest-generation seating, inspired by the luxurious leather S Lounge seats found on the airline’s new A350 fleet.
These new seats promise increased privacy and thoughtful details such as integrated wireless charging, customisable lighting, 4KState-of-the-art in-flight entertainment and connectivity, ice in-flight entertainment screens, minibar amenities, and multiple charging ports, including USB-C.
In addition to the seating upgrades, 60 A380s will receive a newly designed onboard lounge, a signature feature of the aircraft’s luxurious premium air travel experience.
The premium economy cabin, Emirates’ latest offering, will be added to the refurbished aircraft. It features Recaro’s advanced seating technology, providing a mechanical recline, integrated leg and footrests, adjustable headrests, in-seat charging, a side cocktail table, and a 13.3-inch entertainment screen.
Economy class customers will also see a substantial upgrade with the introduction of new, lightweight Safran Z400 seats. Explicitly designed for long-haul operations, these seats prioritise comfort and convenience, featuring an adjustable eight-way headrest for superior neck support and enhanced technological touches.
State-of-the-art in-flight entertainment and connectivity
A key component of the retrofit is the deployment of cutting-edge technology for in-flight entertainment (IFE) and connectivity. Emirates has selected Panasonic Avionics’ Astrova platform to enhance the IFE experience on the A380s and Boeing 777s.
Passengers can look forward to improved visual clarity rivalling premium home cinema systems on 4K OLED HDR10+ displays. The system also includes Spatial Audio, enabling immersive sound through Emirates’ premium headsets or passengers’ personal wireless headphones via Bluetooth.
Passengers can also keep their personal electronic devices topped up with powerful 67W USB-C charging at every seat. The Astrova platform integrates the Arc 3D 4K Moving Map and a seamless link with the Emirates Skywards programme, offering intelligent content recommendations tailored to individual preferences.
Emirates is also improving connectivity fleet-wide by concurrently installing Starlink WiFi across both the A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft during the cabin retrofit programme. This coordinated strategy accelerates the delivery of high-speed, reliable WiFi across the airline’s global network.
Emirates is ensuring a consistent passenger experience on a massive scale
Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates, commented on the development:
“Emirates’ retrofit programme is about continuously elevating standards across our entire fleet,” he said. “Working with our long-standing partners, we’re taking this commitment a step further with the aim of delivering product consistency at scale, in tandem with next-generation innovations in seating, entertainment, and connectivity being brought into service with our newly delivered fleet.
“Our customers expect an excellent experience every time they fly Emirates, and this investment ensures we deliver on that promise in the years to come, wherever they travel with us.”
Emirates’ expanded refurbishment program now covers 219 aircraft, up from 120 announced in 2021. Seventy-six aircraft have already been refurbished. Each A380 retrofit takes about 22 days to complete, and each Boeing 777 takes 18 days. The airline currently refurbishes two aircraft monthly.
Emirates and Safran strike a deal to bring seat production to Dubai
In support of its passenger experience enhancements, the airline also announced it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a manufacturing and seat assembly facility in Dubai. Safran supplies premium seating for Emirates’ fleet refurbishment and new A350s.
The new facility will increase Safran Seats’ production capacity for Emirates and other airlines. The industrial cooperation, initially focused on retrofitting business and economy class seats, will expand to line-fit installations.
“We’re bringing world-class seat production capabilities and supply chain to our doorstep, creating highly skilled jobs, and developing capabilities to support Emirates and produce seats for export to other carriers,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group. “The partnership will directly support our retrofit programme and the evolution of our onboard cabin interior requirements.”
Emirates and Safran expect the facility, which will be around 20,000-25,000 square meters, to be complete by Q4 2027. Initial phased assembly will produce up to 1,000 Business Class seats annually.
The agreement is the first step toward creating a broader aerospace manufacturing cluster in Dubai. “Our goal is to further develop aerospace manufacturing to attract component suppliers, technology companies, and talented, skilled professionals from around the world,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Olivier Andriès, CEO of Safran, said of the agreement: “This initiative not only reinforces our shared commitment to operational excellence but also aligns with our industrial strategy as we adapt and prepare our business to support the current and future worldwide market ramp-up.”
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Featured Image: Emirates
