Emirates launches upgraded, yet predictable 777 interiors

There’s been a lot of hype and speculation over Emirates’ 777 interiors, and well the time has finally arrived for us to be wowed by the carrier’s evolution (not revolution) of its tired 777 product that has been long overshadowed by the A380 cabins, which became the aircraft of choice – where possible – for Emirates premium passengers. Yet, the recent reveal sadly lacks the punch we were expecting, and seems to instantly date the carrier in comparison to its global network rivals.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “Emirates continues to carry out our commitment to deliver an unmatchable onboard experience with the introduction of our latest Boeing 777 with new signature interiors, raising the industry benchmark when it comes to premium travel. Our latest Business Class cabin offers customers a sense of exclusivity and privacy, complemented by our best-in-class suite of onboard products.

The addition of our popular Premium Economy cabin, rated one of the best in the industry, injects modern sophistication to the flying experience and is carefully designed for more comfort. With more Boeing 777s and A380s refreshed to sport our latest generation onboard products, customers can consistently have the very best experiences in the sky across both aircraft types.” 

And that’s the thing, this is about consistency. It’s clear that the remit from Emirates consumers was that a regular experience was more important, and it seems Emirates has taken it to heart, and instead of leapfrogging the existing A380 product, the airline has opted to align the cabin experience – albeit using newer hardware.

The cabin’s seats and colour story have been enhanced to echo the light and airy design elements of Emirates’ iconic A380 experience, with soft leather cream seats accented with champagne trim, lighter wood panelling, and modern technology touches. Although in the rather bafflingly woeful images that Emirates has released of the experience seem to show more of a golden touch to the veneers rather than champagne per se.

Sure, this is an enhancement and the addition of the Game Changer First Suites and Premium Economy will make the 777 basically the same core experience, I would find myself still leaning towards the A380, with its iconic bar, showers and great overall passenger comfort over these refreshed 777s. And that defeats the point of this entire retrofit. When the future of Emirates fleet renewal is based on this single-decked aircraft, it is important for it to stand the test of time, and these seats just aren’t as competitive as rivals Qatar Airways or Etihad in the region.

Set with 38 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats aren’t super wide sadly. At just 20.7-inch-wide the width is the equivalent to many premium economy seats. But the seat does convert to a flat bed which reclines up to 78.6 inches. Just like the A380, each seat features a personal mini-bar (not chilled) and a touch screen seat controller for in-flight entertainment and seat operation as well as a personal 23-inch HD screen. The Emirates Boeing 777 Business Class cabin will also include a small bar for customers to quickly grab mid-flight snacks and refreshments.

However the construction looks shiny, plastic and there’s little synergy with all the elements within the seat. There aren’t clear lines that make the seat feel ergonomic or considered. It feels clunky, overly designed and somewhat akin to a teenager’s very first car that’s been customised with a scattering of accessories from Amazon over the years.

In short, there’s an improvement here, but also a missed opportunity to further improve and enhance the airline’s interiors. Many airlines will take an opportunity with such a large retrofit program to make major marked improvements and the airline opted for consistency rather than advancement and this will most likely mean that the airline will be chasing the curve for the decade ahead at least.