Biggest in aviation history: Emirates’ $4.5 billion superjumbo upgrade

Gulf airline Emirates will keep its fleet of Airbus A380 super-jumbos flying for another 15 years following a mammoth $US3 billion ($4.5 billion) upgrade.

The United Arab Emirates flag carrier has announced plans to refurbish all 116 of its A380s after Airbus halted production of the world’s biggest passenger jets in 2021, effectively denying it the opportunity to buy more.

Emirates plans to keep its A380s flying for another 15 years.

Adnan Kazim, the airline’s deputy president, said the revamp will allow Emirates to carry on operating the aircraft, which have up to 615 seats, until 2038 or 2039.

He said: “With many airports not really investing or expanding, you need that uplift.

“We cannot replace the A380 with any other type of aircraft, so it’s important to keep it for as long as we can.”

Hanging onto the superjumbos is also vital given that the 400-seat Boeing 777X is not now expected at the airline until mid-2026 onwards, he said, six years behind schedule.

The refurbishment programme, which is the industry’s largest ever, effectively requires an entirely new interior to be built inside each aircraft.

That includes fully enclosed first-class berths, revamped lounge bars and shower spas, as well as a new premium economy cabin that the airline hopes will tap into people’s willingness to spend more on leisure travel post-COVID.

Emirates announced in May that it would retrofit a further 43 A380s in addition to the 67 it had already pledged to upgrade. Another six, the most recently delivered to the airline, came with the new interior as standard.

The A380 has played a key role in the expansion of Emirates into the world’s biggest long-haul airline, with the double-decker model allowing it to carry vast numbers of people via its Dubai hub.

Following the refurbishment programme, the oldest jets in the Emirates fleet will be withdrawn from around 2035, at which point they will be more than 25 years old.

The latest first class seats on board an Emirates superjumbo.

Mr Kazim spoke in London at the recent launch of an Emirates store, which features an A380 first-class berth and drinks bar.

The shop in South Kensington is the first in Europe, with plans to roll out 40 of the stores around the globe.

Emirates new store in London shows off its first-class A380 suites. The airline plans to roll out 40 stores across the globe.

Emirates flies A380s from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. First class return airfares to London cost more than $18,000, with business class about half that.

Mr Kazim said: “We’ve invested a lot of money at the airports but we also want to display our first-class cabin here so that we can showcase the new A380 product.”

Mr Kazim said the upgrades to the A380s will also help Emirates fend off Saudi start-up Riyadh Air, which will launch next year.

He said that while the new carrier “will come at speed, building their network and product,” Saudi Arabia will still require Emirates to provide a bridge to the country to make a success of its Vision 2030 project, which aims to lift annual tourist numbers by 50 per cent to 150 million.

Mr Kazim is one of two deputy presidents at Emirates appointed to the role in February as part of a succession plan as boss Sir Tim Clark nears retirement.

Sir Tim – who helped found Emirates in 1985 and became its president in 2003 – had been due to stand down in 2020 before COVID hit, and is now focused on strategic issues while his deputies take responsibility for commercial and operational matters, Mr Kazim said.

He said: “I think now we have a much clearer way forward. Everyone knows what they are doing and he is there for us as needed.”

The Telegraph, London