Emirates begins its A350 era with updated seats, entertainment, internet offerings

The next generation of Emirates travel is here. The carrier took delivery of its first A350 on Monday, the first new aircraft type to join Emirates’ fleet since 2008. With the new aircraft comes a number of changes to the inflight experience, across all three classes of service.

Today is an exciting milestone for Emirates as we showcase our first A350 and usher in a new era for our fleet and network growth. This aircraft sets the stage for Emirates to spread its wings farther by offering added range, efficiency and flexibility to our network, enabling us to meet customer demand in new markets and unlock new opportunities in the cities that we serve. Onboard, our updated interiors and seating configurations will help us deliver a more elevated and comfortable experience to travellers across every cabin class. – His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group

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Seating updates, nose-to-tail

Emirates will offer tweaks to the seats, touching all passengers’ experience on board. The updated business class, for example, features the carrier’s “S Lounge seats,” inspired by the Mercedes S Class. The 32 seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, offering direct aisle access for everyone. They also feature wireless charging on the side table for passenger devices, as well as more lighting options.

Read more: Emirates picks AVANT Up for next generation IFE on A350 fleet

Premium economy will fly in a 2-3-2 layout, with either 21 (initial deliveries) or 28 seats in the cabin. While Emirates’ claim that “Premium Economy offers a travel experience similar to Business Class on many airlines” is suspect, the offering does come with additional space on board compared to economy class, plus in-seat charging points, a side cocktail table and a 13.3-inch TV screen, similar to the retrofits being deployed on the carrier’s A380 and 777 aircraft.

Read more: Emirates selects Inmarsat GX for A350 inflight WiFi

In economy class passengers will have a 3-3-3 layout and 259 seats on board. The carrier also touts the planned introduction of a six-way headrest (a distinction that typically refers to a patented offering from Recaro) for its coach cabin. It is unclear, however, why that would not have been included in the original seat installations for the planes. Emirates also highlights a larger galley at the back of the A350, providing space for economy class passengers to stretch their legs or grab a snack during the flight.

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Emirates is also changing the way passengers close their windows on board with an electronic solution. The aerBlade dual blind system will feature in Business and Premium Economy Class offering two levels of darkness. The aerBlade single blind systems will make a debut in Economy Class. All blinds will show the Emirates Ghaf tree motif when closed.

New IFE, Connectivity flying on Emirates A350

Entertainment and connectivity will also get a boost on board the new Emirates A350. Every seat will have a 4K HD screen, powered by the Thales AVANT Up offering. The screens all include a dual headset Bluetooth pairing option, as well as 60W USB-C charging. The IFE system will also include a new touchscreen call bell buttons for cabin crew service and the ability to instantly view your inflight menu on your screen.

Emirates also touts several additional features of the updated ice entertainment platform, including:

• ‘Eye comfort mode’ to reduce blue light exposure
• The ability to skip credits and intros on videos
• Enhanced live TV,
• Simplified volume and brightness controls
• An improved search function
• iceMoments, a revolutionary way to explore content on ice in a short form video format

The new ice also offers an updated kids mode, with a pictorially-driven interface and parental controls.

Read more: Airbus hits 125 aircraft commitment milestone for HBCplus Ka-band connectivity

For those keen to shop while en route, an updated version of EmiratesRED will offer an catalog of luxury gifts via the inflight entertainment portal. Passengers can shop via the screens, create a basket, and then transition to their personal device to complete the checkout and payment process, including payment via ApplePay and G-Pay.

Emirates is also one of the first carriers to go live with inflight connectivity delivered via the Airbus HBCplus program. That solution will be delivered on the Viasat GX constellation (initially built by Inmarsat). It is backed by a new generation of wireless access points on board, as well as a terminal from Safran, including the ThinKom Ka2517 antenna.

In addition to promising improved speeds compared to the current IFC offerings, the A350s will be able to take advantage of the latest Viasat GX satellite constellation growth, including coverage over the North Pole.

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The first Emirates A350 is set to enter commercial service to Edinburgh from 3 January 2025. It was previously filed to fly on 15 January per Cirium data, but Emirates advanced that schedule now that the plane is in-house.

The carrier holds orders for 65 A350s.