Since Emirates introduced its premium economy service one year ago, more than 160,000 passengers worldwide have enjoyed the product's larger seats, fine dining, and upgraded service. This includes almost 40,000 passengers traveling to and from Australia.

The airline's first premium economy service to Australia touched down in Sydney in August 2022, followed by Melbourne in April 2023. In that time, the most popular destinations for passengers traveling in premium economy to and from Australia have been:

• UK - 17.9%
• UAE - 13.8%
• Italy - 13.3%
• Greece - 9.3%
• France - 5.6%

Photo: Emirates

Solo travelers made up 41.9% of those flying in premium economy to and from Australia over the past year, followed by couples (38.4%) and families (15.5%). Emirates also revealed that 42% of premium economy travelers on these routes were members of the airline's frequent flyer program, Skywards, compared to 60% on the carrier's global premium economy network overall.

Emirates is growing its premium economy offering

20 of the Emirates' 119 Airbus A380s are currently equipped with its premium economy cabin. These aircraft carry a total of 484 passengers - 14 in first class, 76 in business class, 56 in premium economy, and 338 in economy class.

At present, the airline's premium-economy-equipped Airbus A380s fly to 11 cities worldwide - London (LHR), Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Auckland (AKL), Christchurch (CHC), Singapore (SIN), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Houston (IAH), San Francisco (SFO), and Dubai (SXB). This figure will rise to 13 in October, when Bengaluru (BLR) and Mumbai (BOM) will be added to the list.

Photo: Mariusz Klarowicz I Shutterstock
 

Emirates has a significant presence in Australia, operating the following direct services from its hub at Dubai International Airport (DXB):

• Sydney (SYD) - 3x daily (2x Airbus A380, 1x Boeing 777-300ER)
• Melbourne (MEL) - 2x daily (2x Airbus A380)
• Brisbane (BNE) - 2x daily (1x Airbus A380, 1x Boeing 777-300ER)
• Perth (PER) - 1x daily (Airbus A380)

This puts the airline ahead of rival Qatar Airways in terms of the number of daily flights to Australia. The Doha-based carrier recently had an application for more landing slots rejected, although it has been taking advantage of a loophole in the bilateral agreement, which allows it to operate more flights to major airports like Melbourne if they continue onto minor airports, such as Adelaide.

An award-winning premium economy product

Emirates' premium economy cabin has been a success, attracting rave reviews from passengers, and winning a series of awards, including Best Premium Economy Seats 2023 by Skytrax and Best Premium Economy at the 2023 Business Traveller Awards. The airline has also seen average load factors of over 90% over the past year.

Photo: Emirates

The airline celebrated its premium economy cabin's first birthday by releasing the following infographic:

Image: Emirates

Following the success of its premium economy product, Emirates is planning to retrofit a further 67 Airbus A380s, in addition to 53 of the carrier's 124 Boeing 777-300ERs. The multi-billion-dollar retrofit program will also see over 700 first class suites and 4,000 business class seats refurbished with the airline's latest interiors.

Have you flown in Emirates' premium economy cabin? How would you rate the product and service onboard? Share your experiences by commenting below.

Source: ch-aviation.com