With one more A380 on its books, Emirates has moved a step closer to taking delivery of the first A380 with premium economy onboard. The airline stated that, of the two A380s still due to be delivered in December, one will arrive with the brand new cabin product.

First A380 with premium economy this month

As Emirates welcomed its newest A380 to the fleet over the weekend, the world wondered if this would be the plane that would finally give us a glimpse of the highly anticipated premium economy product. Sadly, it is not, but it seems we won’t have to wait too much longer to check out this new introduction.

Emirates will be the first Middle East carrier to fly a premium economy cabin, and as such, its introduction on the A380 is an exciting event. The most recent arrival of A6-EVL has brought us one step closer to seeing the product fly. Emirates says that, of the two more A380s, which will be delivered later this month, one will feature the brand new cabin.

President of Emirates Sir Tim Clark commented on the forthcoming cabin, saying,

“With the space and technology on this aircraft, we've been able to introduce new concepts onboard that have transformed the flying experience for the better. We look forward to introducing our Premium Economy experience, which will make its debut on an A380 in the coming months, and we will continue to invest in our world-class A380 product experience. The A380 will remain our flagship for the next decade, and we will re-deploy it on more routes as travel demand returns."

With the airline expecting delivery of the first A380 with premium economy later this month, it could be just weeks before we get a peek inside. So far, we know that it will be an entirely separate cabin, with a new seat product featuring a 10” recline and a rest for the legs and feet.

There will likely be a soft product upgrade too, including improved meals and a larger IFE screen. For passengers who just can’t stomach the eye-watering cost of upgrading to business class, it should offer a welcome improvement over standard economy on the typically long flights of Emirates.

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Keeping an eye on sustainability

For Emirates, the arrival of its latest A380 was a first for the airline in one special way. It was delivered using a blend of jet fuel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marking the first time Emirates has powered an A380 with SAF. The biofuel was produced using spent cooking oil in Finland. Clark commented,

"Sustainability remains very much on our agenda at Emirates. We are watching developments in sustainable aviation fuel very closely, and we look forward to a time when it can be produced at scale, and in a cost competitive manner. Our latest A380 delivery flight was partially powered by sustainable aviation fuel and this is a positive step towards reducing our overall emissions."

Emirates has been openly supportive of the development of SAF, and is part of the Steering Committee of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow coalition, established by the World Economic Forum to promote the development of SAF. The airline already powers around one-third of its crew busses in Dubai using biofuels, and continues to take steps towards the reduction of emissions from its business overall.