Emirates’ first refurbished Boeing 777 takes flight in Geneva

  • Boeing and Emirates announced today that the world’s largest 777 operator has placed an order for 90 777X airplanes, including 55 777-9 and 35 777-8 jets.
  • Business Class wide
  • Business Class personal screens
  • Economy Class
  • Premium Economy Class 2
1 / 5
Edited by Travel Weekly


The first Emirates Boeing 777 with a nose-to-tail cabin refresh that sports a new look has rolled into service in preparation for its maiden flight to Geneva.

Following a 37-day complete revamp, the aircraft enters service four days ahead of its officially announced deployment schedule.

“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,” Emirates Airline president, Tim Clark, said.

“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.”

The Emirates Boeing 777 entered refurbishment in early July, with a planned reconfiguration of the aircraft to make way for a new Premium Economy cabin consisting of 24 seats set in three rows in a 2-4-2 abreast layout. The cream leather seats, accentuated by wood panel finishings across the cabin, offer enhanced comfort with a 38-inch pitch, 19.5-inch-wide seats that recline 8 inches providing more space for stretching and relaxing, in addition to 6-way adjustable headrests.

Business Class

Business Class personal screens

Business Class personal screens.

The new Emirates 777 Business Class is set in a warm and inviting cabin featuring thoughtful refinements with enhanced privacy for customers. The cabin’s seats and colour 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 that deliver function and luxury.

Set with 38 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, each ergonomic 20.7-inch-wide seat converts to a spacious bed. The seat also features a padded headrest for enhanced comfort. Each seat features a personal mini-bar, table for dining or working, multiple charging outlets for personal devices, and more. The seat also has touch screen seat controller for in-flight entertainment and seat operation and a personal 23-inch HD screen, one of the biggest in the skies ensure every customer can fully enjoy the airline’s award-winning ice entertainment system.

Economy Class

Economy Class

Premium Economy Class.

The new Economy Class cabin features 256 seats in a colour palette of soft greys and blues. The ergonomically designed seats also include full leather headrests with flexible side panels that can also be adjusted vertically for optimum support.

Emirates will be refurbishing another 80 Boeing 777 aircraft as part of its investment of over US$3 billion (AU$4.5b) to deliver best-in-industry products that elevate the customer experience in the skies. In addition to Geneva, the airline will deploy its upgraded Boeing 777s with new cabins to Tokyo Haneda and Brussels in the next few weeks, and more destinations to be served with this aircraft type will be announced soon.

The airline has earmarked 191 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft for a full facelift as part of the largest known retrofit program the industry has seen in scale and size. Once the project is complete, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refreshed First Class suites, 11,182 upgraded Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats.

Watch the video:

Latest News

  • Sustainability
  • Wholesalers

The Intrepid Foundation launches appeal to support Northern Vietnamese communities following Typhoon Yagi

Intrepid Travel has launched an emergency appeal through its not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation, to support impacted communities in Northern Vietnam following Typhoon Yagi, which made landfall on 7 September, 2024. All funds raised through the appeal will go directly to grassroots organisation Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, to provide immediate relief to thousands without shelter, food […]

  • Aviation

Philippine Airlines and VietJet look to community connection near Western Sydney Airport

Both Philippine Airlines and VietJet will explore services from Western Sydney Airport with the airport’s proximity to the Filipino and Vietnamese diaspora in Sydney potentially beneficial to both carriers. Philippine Airlines VP revenue management and commercial planning Alex Featherstone, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, said the carrier would “explore” the potential […]

  • Tourism

Australian Cycle Tours adds new cycle trip to the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail

Australian Cycle Tours has added a new, extended cycle trip that includes all sections of the popular Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail. The new trip commences in Beechworth with the first two days cycling with a transfer back to Beechworth, before continuing to Myrtleford and Bright, with a cycle on the newest sections of […]

  • Events
  • News

Anangu Communities Foundation raises $75,000 at its third annual Sydney fundraiser

Generous supporters gathered at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour for the third annual Anangu Communities Foundation Sydney fundraiser to help raise $75,000. Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia administers the Foundation which so far has funded over $3 million in projects to support Anangu communities of Central Australia with a focus on building community capacity in healthcare, […]

  • News
  • Travel Agents

‘Virtuoso on Tour’ photos: Virtuoso showcases its best to agent base

Virtuoso hosted its second annual Virtuoso On Tour,  a destinations event at the ICC in Sydney showcasing tour operators, tourism boards and more to its agent family. The event is designed for travel agency members in Australia and New Zealand to network with Virtuoso partners across the globe. It housed six destination-themed pavilions (Australia & […]