Dubai headquartered Emirates, the largest foreign carrier operating to India, unveiled its Airbus A350 in Dubai. Registered A6-EXA, it is the first of 65 such aircraft which Emirates will induct over the next few years and will help the airline add capacity. The 777X from Boeing is heavily delayed and the airline top management has talked about these delays impacting the airline’s expansion repeatedly. The airline has activated its A380s as a stop gap arrangement and is investing in product improvement of existing fleet as it looks to extend the lifespan of planes as a stop gap arrangement.
Though delayed from the original date, the airline is now advancing its deployment to Edinburgh with Jan 03, 2025 being the revised date. The Emirates A350 will be rolled out to 8 other destinations including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kuwait, Bahrain, Colombo, Lyon, Muscat and Bologna. Emirates flight EK 23 will depart Dubai at 14:50hrs and arrive in Edinburgh at 19:05hrs, local time. The return flight, EK24, will depart Edinburgh at 20:40hrs and arrive in Dubai at 08:05hrs, the following day. Emirates serves eight destinations in the UK.
The aircraft is scheduled to operate flights to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, effective February 01, 2025, subject to changes.
What to expect in the A350?
Emirates A350-900 will feature three spacious and comfortable cabin classes, accommodating 312 passengers (32 business, 21 premium economy and 259 spacious economy class seats). Emirates will also be the first airline in the Middle-East to introduce Airbus’ new HBCplus satcom connectivity solution, offering seamless, high-speed global connectivity.
Business Class
Business Class on the Emirates A350 will feature 32 luxurious leather ‘S Lounge seats’, inspired by the Mercedes S Class for an exceptional travel experience. The A350 aircraft will feature brand new additions of wireless charging on the side cocktail table in Business Class, and in-seat lighting controls with 5 streams of light. The 1-2-1 seat configuration in the A350 Business Class ensures a very private, exclusive experience where customers can enjoy the latest iteration of the Emirates Experience including lie-flat seats, 4k ice screen, multiple sockets and charging ports including a wireless port, minibar, improved storage, inflight shopping and an abundance of multi award-winning food and beverages served with world class Emirates hospitality.
More chances to try Emirates Premium Economy
Emirates Premium Economy Class has been widely hailed as an outstanding product and has already won multiple awards since its introduction in 2022. All 65 incoming Emirates A350s will feature Premium Economy Class, making luxury travel more accessible to a wider audience. For a competitive price, Premium Economy offers a travel experience similar to Business Class on many airlines, with spacious leather reclining seats with full leg and footrests and adjustable headrests. It features in-seat charging points, a side cocktail table, a 13.3-inch TV screen, a generously sized pillow and blanket, complimentary amenity kits on select flights and a globally exclusive sparkling wine – Chandon Vintage Brut 2017. The award-winning catering onboard features a selection of generous meals made with seasonal ingredients served on Royal Doulton chinaware, accompanied by Robert Welch cutlery wrapped in a linen napkin. Onboard the A350, Premium Economy Class will have a maximum of 28 seats, providing an exclusive and intimate feel for customers.
Newly designed, more comfortable Economy Class seats
Economy Class customers will notice two distinct improvements to their seats on the Emirates A350. Firstly, similar to the newest Emirates 777 and A380 aircraft, the Emirates A350 Economy Class seat has a new fabric in an uplifting and elegant light blue, with luxurious bronze-coloured armrests creating a very sophisticated look. Secondly, Emirates will soon introduce a brand new 6-way adjustable headrest to Economy Class on the A350, designed with customer comfort at the forefront and allowing customers the option of sleep with full neck support. Expected in early 2025, this new headrest is set to significantly improve customer experience in Economy Class and eliminate the need for neck pillows.
More space and storage
With extra high ceilings and wider aisles in all classes, the Emirates A350 is sleek yet spacious inside. Customer comfort is a top priority, and the seat configurations offer more space and privacy to every traveller. In the Emirates A350 Business Class cabin, the configuration is one seat by the left window, 2 seats in the middle, and one seat by the right window (1-2-1). In Premium Economy, the configuration is 2 seats by the left window, 3 seats in the middle, and 2 seats by the right window (2-3-2). In Economy Class, the configuration is 3 seats by the left window, 3 seats in the middle and 3 seats by the right window (3-3-3). With this configuration, all customers have easier access to the aisle. The A350 galley area is notably spacious, offering Economy Class customers an area to stretch their legs and grab a complimentary snack on long haul flights. Storage has been improved on the Emirates A350, with compartmentalised pockets and larger overhead storage bins.
Seamless technology at every touch
The Emirates A350 takes technology to another level. Customers can now adjust their electric window blinds at the touch of a button. The aerBlade dual blind system will feature in Business and Premium Economy Class offering two shaded options, and the aerBlade single blind systems will make a debut in Economy Class, with all blinds showing the Emirates Ghaf tree motif when closed. Customers will also enjoy new touchscreen call bell buttons for cabin crew service, on the ice inflight entertainment screens. Other features include the ability to instantly view your inflight menu on your screen, digital newspapers and magazines from around the world, 5 aircraft camera views and improved inflight live map experience, and 60-watt USB C charging in every seat, with the ability to pair two Bluetooth connections for personal headphones.
The next generation of Inflight Entertainment on ice
The Emirates A350 will introduce an impressive, next-generation version of the ice inflight entertainment system with a suite of ground-breaking features designed to enhance the customer experience. Offering a cinematic display to Emirates customers, this includes the best picture quality on any aircraft with stunning 4K and 4K HDR, ultra-responsive touchscreens for seamless navigation and a vast media selection—up to triple the current content capacity. Customers will also enjoy handy new features like ‘eye comfort mode’ to reduce blue light exposure, the ability to skip credits and intros on videos, enhanced live TV, and simplified volume and brightness controls. An improved search function is complemented by iceMoments, a revolutionary way to explore content on ice in a short form video format. Kids will enjoy a new pictorially driven interface, while parents will appreciate the seat side parental controls for family-friendly settings.
Faster wi-fi
Marking a first in aviation history, the Emirates A350 will feature a high performance, new generation antennae which will significantly improve inflight connectivity taking full advantage of ViaSat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network. Customers will enjoy uninterrupted global connectivity across all destinations, including over the North Pole for flights going to the Americas. At an investment of more than USD 2 million per aircraft, customers will notice an improved user portal with a faster sign in for new users and a swifter log in for Skywards customers. Improved Wireless Access Points (WAPs) onboard will mean more customers can connect at the same time with the potential to enjoy up to 10 times the current total aircraft bandwidth on average, whether for work or to stay connected with family and friends.
More inclusive, accessible travel
A new user interface on ice has been designed in partnership with Thales and advocacy groups for visually impaired customers, to ensure all customers have an intuitive, high quality inflight entertainment experience. This imparts best practice experiences for visually impaired customers including audio-cue navigation assistance, voice metadata feedback, touch and swipe gesturing support and presents the large selection of audio-descriptive (AD) content available on ice.
More complimentary snacks
Business Class customers will have their own minibar on the Emirates A350, which includes still and sparkling water, and 2 snack packs – one sweet and one savoury, as well as a new snack display area at the back of the cabin, where customers can come and grab fresh fruit, sandwiches and sweet treats anytime they like. Premium Economy customers will have a snack service on long haul flights and Economy Class customers will also be able to access complimentary snacks on long haul flights on a newly designed island in the galley area.
All images courtesy: Emirates
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