Emirates Completes First Airbus A380 Two Class Retrofit
- Joe Breitfeller
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Emirates has announced the completion of their first-ever two class Airbus A380 retrofit, which introduces Premium Economy seating to the upper deck in a 2-3-2 layout.
On Wednesday (May 20, 2026), Emirates announced that they have reached a new milestone in their multi-billion dollar retrofit programme with the reconfiguration of their very first two-class Airbus A380 aircraft. The newly refurbished aircraft (A6-EUX) has taken to the skies operating as EK 39/40 between Dubai and Birmingham, featuring sparkling new interiors with Emirates’ latest products in three cabin classes, including 76 Business Class, 56 Premium Economy, and 437 Economy Class seats. This is the first of 15 two-class A380s in the Emirates fleet that will be refreshed, as part of the airline’s commitment to offer customers a consistently superior experience in the sky.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Emirates Airline’s President, Sir Tim Clark, said,
“The Emirates retrofit programme revolves around the central premise that we will offer our customers a truly elevated experience every time they choose to travel with us. To this end, our engineering team has been working continuously and at pace in close collaboration with an ecosystem of partners and suppliers to meticulously refresh and integrate the best-in-class products to each aircraft in the programme. Our retrofit programme has raised the bar at every step, in terms of complexity, scale and detailed craftsmanship. The reconfiguration of our two-class A380 into three-class layout that brings our popular Premium Economy seating onto the upper deck illustrates the extensive capabilities of our team.”
With the retrofit, Emirates’ award-winning Premium Economy cabin will be featured, for the first time, in the upper deck of the A380. Featuring spacious leather seats with generous recline in a 2-3-2 configuration, customers can enjoy features including full leg and footrests, 6-way adjustable headrests, built-in charging ports, side cocktail tables as well as elevated dining experiences and an unmatched entertainment system via a 13.3 inch personal screen. Emirates reconfigured three class A380 features upgraded interiors across all cabins including the latest generation seats and updated cabin finishings. From fresh carpets to ceiling panels, Emirates’ new signature elements are evident throughout the cabin including modern colour palettes, specially designed Ghaf tree motifs, along with premium wood finishes.
Emirates Engineering completed the retrofit of the first two-class A380 over a period of two months, including comprehensive planning and testing. It took a team of around 50 engineers and technicians investing an approximate 35,000 man-hours and utilizing more than 2,500 different types of parts. With lessons learned from the first retrofit, the reconfiguration of the other two-class A380 aircraft are expected to take around half the time at 30 days. By the end of 2026, all 15 two-class A380 aircraft in the Emirates fleet will be retrofitted.
The Cabin Interiors of Emirates First Refurbished Two-Class Airbus A380 - Courtesy Emirates
Managed entirely in-house by Emirates Engineering in Dubai, Emirates' multi-billion dollar retrofit program has already completed work on 95 aircraft, including 42 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777s, representing more than one third of the airline's current fleet.
Source: Emirates
