Dozens of Emirates Airbus A380s will be getting new business class seats. However, in typical Emirates fashion, you’ll want to manage your expectations.
New Emirates A380 business class coming to 60 jets
In recent years, Emirates has been engaged in an aggressive cabin retrofit program. I’d say the two most significant changes are that the airline is rolling out premium economy throughout its fleet, and also that the airline is finally updating its outdated Boeing 777 business class.
However, we’ve also seen A380s get retrofitted, and that largely involves incremental improvements to the experience, in terms of updating finishes and improving tech. Along those lines, Emirates has announced the next stage of its cabin retrofit program, which involves updating the interiors of 111 jets, including 60 A380s and 51 777s.
I’d say the most interesting update here (beyond what has already been announced) is that A380s are actually getting new business class seats. Up until now, we’ve simply seen A380 seats reupholstered and refreshed a little bit, but not actually a full overhaul of these seats.
The good news is that as of August 2026, the airline will actually start installing new business class seats on its A380s. The bad news is that the airline is simply installing its new Airbus A350 business class seats on the A380s, which would be the S Lounge seating concept by Safran. These are the same seats that have been retrofitted on 777s in recent times.
So Emirates is ripping out its current staggered business class seats, and replacing them with… slightly updated staggered business class seats. There’s no denying that the new seats look more modern, and will also have updated tech, from 4K ICE entertainment screens, to USB-C and wireless charging, and more.
However, this is hardly a cutting edge product, especially when you consider that these seats will be installed in 2026-2027. There are no doors, and they don’t otherwise rank among the world’s best business class seats, as I see it.
Here’s how Emirates President Tim Clark describes these latest updates:
“Emirates’ retrofit programme is about continuously elevating standards across our entire fleet. Working with our long-standing partners, we’re taking this commitment a step further with the aim of delivering product consistency at scale, in tandem with next-generation innovations in seating, entertainment, and connectivity being brought into service with our newly delivered fleet. Our customers expect an excellent experience every time they fly Emirates, and this investment ensures we deliver on that promise in the years to come, wherever they travel with us.”
My take on Emirates’ new A380 business class
The passenger experience product geek in me is always disappointed by Emirates’ new hard products. I mean, it’s 2025, and the airline is still installing what’s ostensibly a basic staggered seat in business class?
But the reality is that Emirates can and does get away with it. Emirates is the world’s most profitable airline, and the folks there run a brilliant operation. They know what they’re doing. They’re not installing these seats because they don’t realize there are better seats out there. They’re installing these seats because they know they don’t have to install better seats, despite being hyper aware of what the competition is doing.
As I see it, there are a few reasons for this:
- Emirates has a massive halo effect from its Airbus A380 fleet, as passengers love the onboard bar, and the general vibe of the plane
- Emirates’ focus is now on consistency of product across the fleet, and there is something to be said for that, as it’s quite a contrast to some other airlines
- The reality is that Emirates’ network is scaled in a way where the airline runs a one-of-a-kind operation, and Dubai is an appealing place for people to transit, so that wins the airline a lot of business
If you ask me, the more disappointing thing about Emirates’ passenger experience is how the airline introduced its “Game Changer” first class in 2017, and eight years later, nine planes have that product. Emirates is simply choosing not to retrofit this on existing 777s, even as those planes otherwise go in for cabin updates.
Why? Well, the new first class reduces capacity by two seats, and I think Emirates realizes it can get away with selling those seats. Still, I find it a bit disingenuous how the airline so widely markets the “Game Changer” seats, while intentionally not installing then on most planes.
Bottom line
Emirates Airbus A380s are getting new business class seats starting in August 2026. In reality, these are just the seats that have been installed on the A350s, and which are also being retrofitted on the 777s.
These seats represent a huge upgrade on the 777, given that Emirates previously had angled seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Meanwhile on the A380, these seats represent a very marginal upgrade, given that you have staggered seats replacing staggered seats.
I do wish Emirates would finally introduce an industry leading business class product, but it seems the airline doesn’t have to. If you get everything else right, people are perfectly happy with a good but not amazing seat.
What do you make of Emirates’ new A380 business class?
