Passengers flying between India and Dubai will be able to have more access to Premium Economy seats later this year as Emirates expands the upgraded cabin to additional routes and introduces its Airbus A380 on the Delhi-Dubai network.
The airline announced that from October 25, Delhi will join Mumbai and Bengaluru as the only cities to receive scheduled Emirates A380 services. The double-decker aircraft will provide services as EK512 and EK513. The other remaining Delhi flights will continue to use refurbished Boeing 777 aircraft equipped with Premium Economy.
The expansion means travellers booking any of Emirates’ four daily Delhi-Dubai flights will get an option of travelling in one of four cabin classes, including Premium Economy.
More Indian cities to get Premium Economy
Emirates is expanding the availability of its Premium Economy cabin beyond Delhi.
By the end of October, passengers will be able to choose the cabin on services to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, in addition to Delhi.
The airline mentioned that it will operate four daily flights from Delhi, 22 weekly services from Mumbai, 12 weekly flights from Kolkata, nine weekly services from Ahmedabad, seven weekly flights from Bengaluru and two weekly flights from Kochi.
What does Premium Economy offer?
As per Emirates’ official release, passengers who are booking Premium cabin can expect:
–Extra legroom in comparison to Economy Class
–Meals will be served in chinaware as part of an upgraded dining experience
–For a more relaxed journey, greater seat recline will be offered
–Wider cream leather seats that are designed for added comfort
–Additional onboard amenities over the standard Economy offering
Aircraft upgrade planned for Kolkata route
The carrier is also slated to launch another aircraft type on its Kolkata operations. Commencing from October 25, the daily EK570/EK571 service between Kolkata and Dubai will be operated using the Airbus A350 instead of the Boeing 777 currently deployed on the route.
Along with the five times a week EK572/EK573 service operated by a refurbished Boeing 777, every Emirates flight between Kolkata and Dubai will be inclusive of a Premium Economy cabin.
Emirates on increasing India travel demand
Explaining the decision, Emirates Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim stated Delhi’s addition to the A380 network indicates increasing passenger demand.
“We are pleased to introduce our highly anticipated A380 services to Delhi, a vital gateway in our network, from October,” he stated.
Kazim further added that India remains an important market for the airline. He also said that Premium Economy would soon be available at six Indian gateways and on “close to half of our scheduled weekly flights.”
He also mentioned that Emirates has “ a host of other service enhancements in the pipeline” for Indian customers.
Emirates also expanding customer support in India
Apart from upgrading aircraft, Emirates is investing in customer-facing services.
The airline has opened travel stores in Delhi and Mumbai. Similar outlets are planned in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. It is also planning to launch a dedicated customer call centre in Mumbai.
As per Emirates, passengers flying from its nine Indian destinations can also enjoy Indian-inspired onboard meals, multilingual cabin crew and an inflight entertainment library consisting of more than 6,500 channels. Content in several Indian languages is also available.
At present, Emirates connects Ahmedabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram with Dubai through its 167 weekly flights.