Emirates has named Cape Town and Johannesburg as the first destinations in Africa to be served by retrofitted Emirates 777 aircraft.
The launch of the retrofitted aircraft also coincides with the launch of Emirates’ premium economy cabin class in South Africa.
The refurbished four-class Emirates 777 features upgraded interiors with new design elements.
Each aircraft offers 260 economy seats, 24 premium economy seats, 38 business class seats in 1-2-1 configuration, and eight first class suites.
Emirates’ $5bn retrofit programme is one of the largest in the industry. Begun in November 2022, it aims to retrofit 219 Boeing 777s with “nose-to-tail upgrades”, the airline said.
Handled in-house by Emirates Engineering, more than 270 engineers and technicians are engaged in the project, investing a total of more than 1,800 manhours per day on retrofitting activity.
When the retrofitting programme is complete, Emirates will have installed 8,512 next-generation premium economy seats, 2,034 refreshed first class suites, 12,720 upgraded business class seats with new configurations, and 68,364 economy class seats.
To date, 67 aircraft have been delivered by Emirates Engineering – 32 A380s and 35 Boeing 777s.