The next tranche of Emirates‘ retrofits will be a bit different inside. The carrier announced plans at the 2025 Dubai Air Show this week for tweaks to the seating and inflight entertainment offerings, set to fly on 111 A380 and 777-300ER aircraft from August 2026. The aircraft will also be fitted with Starlink for inflight internet, though that program schedule suggests it will be fitted separate from the cabin retrofits.
Emirates’ retrofit program 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.
– Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline
Astrova for IFE
On the IFE front Emirates will deploy the Astrova solution from Panasonic Avionics.
Astrova features a range of 4K OLED HDR10+ displays, starting at 13.3″ in economy class. It also includes Spatial Audio, including an option for linking via Bluetooth at every seat. A 67W USB-C charging port at every seat ensures devices stay charged throughout the journey.
The system’s modular design enables independent upgrades to display, power delivery, and connectivity as the technology evolves.
Emirates also selected Panasonic’s Arc 3D 4K Moving Map for an interactive and immersive flight-tracking experience.
Read more: Emirates boosts cabin retrofit program nearly 60%
The Astrova platform It also offers improved analytics and reporting. Real-time engagement insights allow Emirates to continuously refine its entertainment library, while integration with Emirates’ Skywards program supplements the intelligent recommendation engine learns to suggest personalized content throughout the flight.
Ultimately the goal is to ensure passengers will always see content surfaced in the ice IFE experience that is engaging and enjoyable.
Somewhat notable, Emirates continues to work with multiple IFE suppliers. The carrier’s A350 fleet flies with the Thales AVANT Up and its 360Stream content platform.
Safran Seats’ Significant Success
Safran Seats continues to be the supplier of choice for the business class cabins on the retrofit planes with its S-Lounge model. In economy class the planes will be fitted with a refreshed (and lighter) version of Safran‘s Z400 seat, including the Crystal Cabin Award-winning U-Dream headrest.
While the seats will be mostly the same as current retrofits, they’re also tied to arguably the biggest news around the program: seats on Emirates’ planes will eventually be manufactured in Dubai.
The order announcement includes an MoU for Safran Seats to establish a manufacturing line in Dubai in partnership with Emirates. It is billed as the first step towards developing an aerospace manufacturing cluster in Dubai.
The companies note the facility “will initially concentrate on Business and Economy Class seats for cabin retrofit projects, with plans to expand to line-fit in the future.” For retrofits His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group notes it will “directly support” the active cabin refresh program.
The space is not expected to come online until Q4 2027. At the current pace (see below) Emirates will be just past halfway in its retrofits by the time the facility is producing seats to be installed.
The retrofit program demand will consume the full initial output of 1,000 business class seats annually, likely for a few years after it opens. After that – or as capacity expands – the companies also intend to support other airlines in the region.
Read more: Emirates first 777 retrofit returns to service
Mention of support for line-fit programs is also notable, as seats produced in the facility would need to be transported to the aircraft final assembly lines for installation. That happens with other seating manufacturers as well, but most are closer to the final installation location than Dubai will be.
Retrofit Progress Update
Emirates shares that 76 aircraft are confirmed with the new interiors today “with each A380 requiring approximately 22 days and each Boeing 777 taking 18 days to retrofit.” The carrier also describes a “steady cadence” of work, with “two freshly refurbished aircraft emerging each month.”
Read more: Emirates Celebrates Premium Economy Expansion, Despite Slow Progress
PaxEx.Aero tracking of the retrofit program suggests each plane is out of service for longer in the retrofit process. The 777s are on the ground in Dubai for 21-23 days while the A380s are more than double that. It is worth noting that recent A380 work is progressing faster; the last six average just 45 days between arrival in Dubai for the work and return to service.
It is also worth noting that the 2/month pacing described in the release undersells actual progress by the carrier. In a 1 July 2025 release it shared that 60 aircraft were completed. In this week’s announcement that number rose to 76. PaxEx.Aero tracking confirm the 76 retrofit number is accurate, with Emirates delivering just over three per month in that period, not two. That said, the overall pacing of the work has been inconsistent with multiple aircraft overlapping at times. On average, the two/month number holds, with 76 aircraft completed in just over three years.
More news from the 2025 Dubai Air Show
- Emirates Confirms Starlink Inflight Internet Upgrade
- Gogo Adds First Middle Eastern BBJ for Galileo FDX
- SkyFive, flynas (re)Commit to Inflight Internet
- flydubai Picks Starlink to Bring Back Inflight Internet
- Vallair, AeroX Team for Starlink Install Services
- Emirates Taps Safran Seats, Panasonic Avionics in Updated Retrofit Plans
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