Emirates doubles its Premium Economy service in Melbourne

Emirates now offers two Premium Economy services from Melbourne, alongside two from Sydney, placing Australia at the forefront of the airline’s multi-billion dollar aircraft retrofit programme

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, will introduce an additional Premium Economy service between Melbourne and Dubai, available from the 1 February 2024 on EK408 and EK409.

The additional service follows the debut of Emirates’ Premium Economy service from Melbourne in April 2023, when the new cabin was made available on the daily EK406 and EK407 services. This latest development means Emirates now offers close to 800 weekly Premium Economy seats between Melbourne and its Dubai hub.

The Premium Economy cabin offers a signature experience unmatched in the industry, offering plush cream leather seats and a wood veneer, a generous baggage allowance and an exceptional dining experience, staffed by a team of Cabin Crew dedicated to Premium Economy passengers.

The added Premium Economy service means that the airline will be serving Australia with close to 3200 seats, including two daily services from Sydney and two daily services from Melbourne, maintaining Australia’s position as one of the key markets served with the airline’s best-in-class Premium Economy cabins. 

Since tickets for the Emirates Premium Economy service went on sale in Sydney in August 2022 and in Melbourne in April 2023, the new cabin class has exceeded expectations and forecasts with more than 90,000 passengers flying to and from Australia opting for the new cabin experience. Premium Economy seats from Sydney and Melbourne have averaged over 80 per cent load factors and the airline continues to anticipate consistently high demand for the new cabin class in Melbourne as consumer confidence and travel demand continue to accelerate in the new year.

Barry Brown, Divisional Vice President Australasia at Emirates, says “As one of the most important markets in our global network, we are committed to offering Australians not only greater connectivity but also more choice and differentiated offerings.

“With the extraordinary success of the Premium Economy cabin so far in Australia, the additional Premium Economy service in Melbourne will give more customers the opportunity to experience our unique premium products.”   

The introduction of the additional Premium Economy service to Melbourne is part of Emirates’ multi-million dollar retrofit programme, where a total of 126 aircraft, including 67 A380s and 53 Boeing 777s, will be fitted out with Premium Economy cabins. Currently, 22 A380s flying across the network have been fitted with our Premium Economy cabin.

Emirates Premium Economy Experience

On a four-class Emirates A380 flying from Melbourne or Sydney, the Premium Economy cabin is located at the front of the main deck with 56 seats laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Onboard, customers are offered a quiet luxury, with each 19.5 inch seat designed to provide optimal comfort and support, with 6-way adjustable headrests, a footrest and a generous recline. Each seat has a 13.3 inch screen, one of the largest in its class, in addition to in-seat charging points and a walnut wood-finished side cocktail table. The décor is inspired by Emirates private jet service, with cream-coloured leather and a wood panel finishing similar to Business Class.

The Premium Economy dining experience includes a welcome drink served in fine glassware, and a selection of meals made with seasonal ingredients, served on Royal Doulton china tableware with stainless-steel cutlery. Premium Economy customers are also offered an extended beverage list that includes vintage wines from Emirates’ Business Class list, including a sparkling Chardon and Chandon Vintage Brut 2016.

Boarding and leaving the aircraft offers a step up from Economy. Flying with Emirates on its flagship A380 and passengers even beat the Business and First Class passengers off with the Premium Economy cabin situated at the front of the lower deck meaning passengers can leave from the lower front door.

Premium Economy customers are provided with complimentary amenity kits made with sustainable and recycled materials and soft, alongside sustainably made blankets and a generously sized pillow, both designed uniquely for Premium Economy. On the A380, passengers also have greater bathroom access, with three restrooms dedicated to up to 56 Premium Economy travellers.

The Emirates A380 experience has long been taking passenger comfort to new levels, with an extensive suite of products that turn the journey itself into a destination, including one of the industry’s largest screens for customers to enjoy the airline’s award-winning in-flight entertainment system, ice.

Ongoing commitment to Australia

The additional service of Premium Economy to Melbourne adds to a bumper period of increased operations from Emirates in Australia, reaffirming its ongoing commitment to growing its services down under and providing eager travellers with more access to and from the country. In March last year, Emirates added a third daily service from Melbourne which introduced a stopover in Singapore, as well as restoring the airline’s daily connection from Christchurch to Dubai via Sydney. From May, the airline introduced a third daily service to Sydney, before boosting available seats by upgrading this service to an A380 in November. A second daily flight was also added to Brisbane in June, and in September Emirates announced its planned return to Adelaide in summer 2024, further building on its commitment to provide customers expanded access to its route network.

Emirates currently operates 63 weekly services to Australia with the capacity to transport close to 56,000 passengers per week to and from its major cities.

Bookings can be made on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via both online and offline travel agents.