Emirates has decided to ship its newest Airbus A380 aircraft with all new cabins to London-Heathrow. As of January 4, the last Airbus A380 to enter the carrier’s fleet based in Dubai will operate a daily round-trip flight between the two main cities.
Emirates sending its newest A380 to London
From January 4, the EK003 / 004 will be operated by the newest Airbus A380 to enter the Emirates fleet. The flight leaves Dubai daily at 2:30 pm local time and arrives in London-Heathrow at 6:20 pm local time. The return flight has a red night eye, leaving London-Heathrow at 20:20 local time, and arriving in Dubai the next morning at 07:20.
There are currently five daily flights to London-Heathrow from Dubai on Emirates. Of these, four are operated with an Airbus A380. One of which will feature a premium economy cabin.
The new Airbus A380
Emirates has already received an Airbus A380 with a brand new premium economy cabin. The 56-seat cabin has a 2-4-2 configuration. Each seat offers up to 40 inches in height and 19.5 inches in width. The recline in each seat is 20 centimeters.
Along with the new premium economy cabin, Emirates has also updated the rest of its cabins. In first class, the airline offers 14 suites a little wider and with higher doors for greater privacy and comfort. The on-board bathroom with shower also received a renewed design and modern accessories.
In the business class, the 76 seats maintained the same style and configuration. However, it received a design update with champagne-colored leather and wooden trim, which is similar to what the airline offers on its newest Boeing 777s.
Finally, in the economy, all 338 seats have been given a new ergonomic design with all-leather headrests and flexible side panels. This seat is a “step forward”, according to Emirates, from its economy class seats on the Boeing 777.
The premium economy is not yet for sale
Emirates has only one Airbus A380 with premium economy. Until more of its jets receive the new cabin, Emirates will offer these seats only as special upgrades to its customers, at its discretion.
The airline will not sell premium economy tickets until it can guarantee that its customers will be able to fly in premium economy class. A last minute aircraft change may mean that Emirates customers are no longer flying a premium economy plane, which can lead to problems about where to place these passengers on the new aircraft. All other cabins will be available for booking.
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Why London?
The UK is now a bit like an outcast in the midst of the ongoing health crisis following the discovery of a new strain of the virus that has made governments struggle to restrict UK arrivals or force travelers to adhere to rigorous testing or quarantine before or on arrival.
For Emirates, London is one of the carrier’s most important destinations. It is a great center for leisure and business trips, not to mention that the city has a great demand for cargo.
Although the UK also has significant entry barriers, Emirates is deploying this aircraft with renovated cabins on a route where it hopes to gain some competitive advantage compared to some of its peers, even though it may not occupy all seats on board the airplane.
Dubai, however, is open to international business and leisure visitors. Emirates is spending millions of dollars to show the world that they can travel to the city and take advantage of the abundance of offers in Dubai. Emirates hopes to get a reasonable number of travelers on vacation in the Middle East to take them to Dubai.
Will you fly Emirates newest Airbus A380 between London-Heathrow and Dubai? Let us know in the comments!