Emirates’ ‘Mercedes-Benz’ first class finally arrives in Australia

Almost eight years after they were originally unveiled, Emirates’ Mercedes-Benz-inspired first-class suites have finally touched down in Australia.

This week a retro-fitted Emirates Boeing 777, featuring four classes – first, business, premium economy and economy - touched down at Melbourne Airport for the first time. The aircraft will fly the Melbourne-Dubai route daily.

Emirates first class on the Boeing 777 features floor-to-ceiling walls and sliding doors.

First unveiled in late 2017, the first-class suites have gradually been installed on the airline’s 777-300ER aircraft as part of a multibillion-dollar program to upgrade the carrier’s fleet, including a plan to extend the life of its Airbus A380 superjumbos.

Emirates is the world’s largest operator of 777s and A380s. The airline’s other flights from Melbourne will be flown by A380s, which feature a different version of first class. The previous Emirates route from Melbourne to Dubai via Singapore, finished at the end of last month, with flights now going non-stop between the United Arab Emirates city and Melbourne.

The 777’s first-class suites were created in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz and inspired by the design of the car company’s S-Class luxury sedan. The suites feature a private cabin with floor-to-ceiling walls and doors, hardwood floors, multiple mood-lighting options and leather seats.

Although in a 1-1-1 configuration, even the middle seat gets a (virtual) window, with a live stream of the view available on panels within the suite. Naturally the seats convert to a fully flat bed, with mattress top, duvet and feather pillow.

Naturally, the seats convert to fully flat beds.Credit: Supplied

Unlike some other airlines’ first-class offerings, such as Singapore Airlines, there is no option to convert the two adjacent first-class seats into a double bed, with Emirates saying the suites are designed for single passengers but pointing out there is room for two people to have a meeting in the suite.

The plane also features new business-class seats, bringing the 777 into line with the airline’s A380 offering, with a 1-2-1 layout offering direct aisle access for all business-class passengers.

The 777 also features 24 premium economy and 256 economy-class seats. Emirates’ Melbourne-based regional sales manager Dean Cleaver said with the addition of the 777 service the airline now offers 4000 premium economy seats weekly from Australia with three flights daily from Melbourne, two from Sydney and one from Brisbane.

Emirates has flown in the face of current trends in aviation, which have seen many airlines removing first-class offerings in favour of more business-class and premium economy seats.

Those who are persisting with the top-end class, however, are going all-out as demand for luxury travel surges in the wake of the pandemic.

Qantas now only offers first class on its A380s and only on long-haul routes to the US and Britain. However, the airline has a new first class coming for its ultra-long-range Airbus A350s, which will fly the “Project Sunrise” non-stop routes from Australia’s east coast to London and New York.

“The demand for first class is there and with fewer airlines offering it, that demand will continue to grow,” Cleaver said. Despite this, the airline’s newest aircraft – a fleet of Airbus A350s – do not feature a first-class cabin.

A first-class flight from Melbourne to London with Emirates for July costs about $19,000 return.