Michmutters

Emirates’ all-new premium economy is now available on selected A380 flights between Sydney, London and Paris and the airline’s Dubai hub.

And the Gulf carrier has high hopes for this ‘in-between’ class which improves on economy in every respect, from comfort to meals and drinks: more cities will join the A380 premium economy network, starting with Christchurch in December, while the stylish cream-coloured sleeperette premium economy seats will also find their way onto the Boeing 777s.

For now, Emirates premium economy appears to be limited to the following A380 flights and routes to and from Dubai:

• Sydney: EK412/EK413
• London: EK1/EK2 and EK3/EK4
• Paris: EK75/EK76

Each of the four-class Emirates A380s features 56 premium economy seats arranged in a 2-4-2 layout across seven rows, nestled in their own private cabin at the front of the lower deck.

Interested in the upgraded Emirates premium economy experience? here‘s what you need to know.

Emirates premium economy: what is it like?

The Dubai carrier’s new premium economy class is a bold and strategic move for the Gulf airline, which across its 35-year history has only ever offered first class, business class and economy.

Like other airlines offering similar seats, Emirates is targeting economy passengers who may be tempted to part with a little more of their money in exchange for an improved long-range travel experience.

“[Premium economy is] probably where business class used to be, and in some cases where first used to be in the old days, 30 years ago,” Emirates President Sir Tim Clark has previously told executive traveler, describing the seat as akin to a railway-style ‘sleeperette’.

Emirates premium economy: how is it different to economy?

Passengers looking to upgrade from economy will find themselves cradled in this more spacious seat with a pitch of “up to 40 inches” compared to the 32-34 inches of economy.

Seats are a little wider than their economy counterparts – 19.5 inches compared to 18 inches – and arranged in a 2-4-2 layout rather than the more crowded 3-4-3 of economy.

Seat pitch – a reliable if not perfect stand-in for legroom – is around 38 inches for most rows (about standard for premium economy on most airlines) with an extra two inches for the front row, so there’s definitely less squeeze around the knees compared to economy class.

Emirates premium economy: the seat

Emirates premium economy seat has been calibrated to be a noticeable improvement on economy without cannibalizing the appeal of business class. In other words, it’s for upgraders rather than downgraders.

The cabin adopts a similar color scheme to Emirates’ latest business class design, with clad seats in cream-coloured anti-stain leather with stitching details and a wood panel finishing. “The seats look like in a Mercedes, with striking colors also on the walls,” Clark says.

While flatbeds remain the domain of business class, the extra eight or so inches of recline and a generous leg-rest which swings up at the front helps travelers get from A to B with plenty of Zzz.

This is complemented by a padded six-way adjustable headrest and a nifty platform for your feet to set a comfortable stage which will help you gently doze off.

You’ll find USB-A and USB-C ports nestled below the 13.3″ seatback video screen, with one universal AC power socket shared between every two seats.

Meals from the premium economy menu are served on a polished woodgrain dining table which folds up from the side, with a separate side table able to handle your drink or a snack.

The airline’s Airbus A380 superjumbos sport 56 premium economy seats at the front of the lower deck, in a dedicated cabin with two exclusive lavatories.

(On those relatively few A380s which lack first class, premium economy will be added to the upper deck, with three toilets where the two first class shower suites would otherwise be.)

At the time of writing, only six of Emirates’ A380s feature the new premium economy seating, but 61 more are on the way.

The airline’s fourth class will also be installed on 53 of its 124 Boeing 777 jets as part of a US$1.5 billion, 18-month retrofit program due to commence at the end of 2022.

The single-level Boeing 777 will feature up to 24 premium economy seats in a dedicated cabin nestled between business and economy class.

Emirates premium economy: meals and service

in Emirates’ premium economy can select from a rotating menu of Guests dishes served on Royal Doulton china with stainless steel cutlery.

With mealsinspired by business class” you can expect inflight dining to be seriously elevated beyond economy, along with a number of wines not available further back.

Prior to take-off, guests will be welcomed onboard with a drink served in fine glassware.

There’s a self-service snack bar if you get peckish, although premium economy passengers aren’t admitted to Emirates’ iconic onboard lounge at the back of the upper deck, which remains the exclusive domain of business and first class flyers.

Emirates premium economy: how much does it cost?

At the time of writing, Emirates appears to be able to pricing premium economy almost halfway between economy and business class.

Pricing in the middle of October 2022 on the busy London-Dubai route shows economy fares at £520 and £867, depending on how flexible the fare is with regards to changes – that represents an ‘average’ economy fare of £693.

Emirates’ premium economy lists at £1,326 (this is a fully flexible fare, equivalent to the more expensive economy option), while business class is pegged at £2,648.

Emirates premium economy: lounge access

Lounge access is not included with Emirates premium economy fares, however travelers can always pay extra to use these facilities.

The airline currently sells access to its flagship Dubai business class lounge, and others like it around the world for US$130 per person, discounted to US$100 for Emirates Skywards members.

Retail sales are 12 per cent higher over the year to June. Data due on Wednesday will show how much of the recent strength owes to higher prices rather than consumers buying more goods.

“There are some people who through COVID lost their job, lost their car, and ended up in a worse financial position,” Ms Timbrell said.

‘Helping spending stay a lot stronger’

“But there were also a lot of people who stayed home, got essentially a discount on their mortgages through low cash rates and ended up with more money than they would have had if COVID had never happened.

“That second group is helping spending stay a lot stronger than it would be under these cost of living pressures.”

Ms Timbrell said a pullback in spending was likely later in the year, at which point households would cut back on discretionary purchases such as cars and furniture.

“One thing we saw through COVID was lots of people purchasing cars and renovating their homes – those big things tend to be the first things to go,” she said.

“We’ve also seen a real increase in dining and takeaway spending. We’re seeing some real increases in clothing and fashion spending. These kinds of discretionary items also may have not as good of a time under a pullback in total spending.”

Lower economic growth

The slowdown in consumer spending will feed into lower economic growth, which the RBA is forecasting to average just 1.75 per cent over next year and 2024.

Surveyor Daniel Jung and solicitor Dominique Salvestrin are among the Australian families concerned about the effects of high inflation and rising interest rates.

“We’re making a conscious effort to cut back on dining out,” Ms Salvestrin said. “We’re eating more meals at home and doing extra food preparation.”

The couple just settled on their first home in Orange, NSW, and are worried prices will start to fall as interest rates rise.

The RBA raised rates multiple times during their settlement period and attempts to fix their home loan rate have faced delays.

“Because of interest rate rises, we are certainly more aware that any potential savings we would have at the end of the year will be significantly decreased than what we would have had otherwise,” Ms Salvestrin said.

“The effect of that on our budget is that we have less long-term financial security.”

The couple are “scrupulous” with how they manage their money. But they are also dealing with the extra costs associated with having a newborn child, Giustina.

“With a newborn, it’s quite important to keep the house warm, so with the increased costs of electricity and gas that will affect the budget as well,” Mr Jung said.

JPMorgan’s Bryan Raymond said there was not much evidence that higher interest rates and cost of living pressures had caused a slowdown in consumer spending. But the retail analyst expects households to start pulling back by the end of the year.

“If your view was the consumer is doing it really tough, you’d expect people to trade down into lower price, lower quality items, or buy less, but we aren’t seeing that yet,” he said.

Mr Raymond also expects a slowdown from the end of this year, with a through somewhere around March next year.

He expects the largest falls to be in housing-related categories such as furniture, electronics, hardware and clothes.