Emirates and Safran Seats, a manufacturer of aircraft seating, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a new manufacturing and seat assembly facility in Dubai.
The announcement was made on the second day of the Dubai Airshow 2025. In a statement, Emirates said that the joint industrial cooperation, which is the first of its kind, will initially focus on business and economy class seats for cabin retrofit projects, with plans to extend to line-fit installations in the future.
The facility will provide capacity to serve Emirates and other customers of Safran Seats and marks the first step in creating a larger aerospace manufacturing cluster in Dubai.
According to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, the airline aims to further develop aerospace manufacturing to attract component suppliers, technology firms, and skilled professionals from around the globe.
“We’re bringing world-class seat production capabilities and supply chain to our doorstep, creating highly skilled jobs, and developing capabilities to support Emirates and produce seats for export to other carriers,” Maktoum said.
Emirates said that Safran has played a crucial role in its fleet refurbishment efforts, providing premium seating for the airline’s retrofit program and its new A350 fleet.
Both companies plan to complete the facility by Q4 2027, which will cover around 20,000-25,000 square meters of industrial space.
The ramp-up will occur in phases, starting with the assembly of up to 1,000 business class seats annually.
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