Etihad's new A321 cabins, Emirates continues interior refresh here's news from Arabian Travel Market
You know the BIT, the International Tourism Exchange held every January in Milan? Here, multiply it [...]
Saudia
Qatar Airways
Flydubai
Emirates
Are you familiar with BIT, the International Tourism Exchange held every January in Milan? Here, multiply it by three or even four times, add to that 50,000 visitors over 4 days of exhibition and you get the Arabian Travel Market that is being held at the World Trade Center in Dubai.
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The pavilions welcome exhibitors from all over the world (including Italy, of course). But it is clear that the lion's share, given where the event is held, is taken by the tourism realities of the Middle East. And among them the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia. Including the airlines of these countries, which in Dubai have put up pavilions that are mind-blowing in size, shapes, colors, screens, light displays. And luxury, of course.
The Qatar Airways booth, for example, was set up to look like the lobby of a 5-star hotel, including the very elegant hostesses who greet visitors and guests.
Emirates is the one that has been the busiest., showcasing all its in-flight products by placing mock-ups here and there of the seats and suites of all its service classes-Economy, Premium Economy, Business, and First-but also those of the lounge that is on board its A380s and First's famous bathroom with shower.
The emirate's other airline, FlyDubai, has done the same with the lie-flat and non-lie-flat seats it mounts in Business Class on its Boeing 737 MAX (-8 and -9) and Boeing 737-800, as well as the MAX's Economy seats, which are equipped with individual screens for inflight entertainment.
Just at the Arabian Travel Market, Emirates, after announcing the first Nine destinations of the A350-900s about to join the fleet, has announced the retrofit of 43 more Airbus A380s and 28 Boeing 777-300ERs. To the former the Premium Economy cabin will be added 'at the expense' of 50 Economy seats, while on the latter the Business cabin in 1-2-1 configuration will be installed in place of the existing 2-3-2 configuration, with the elimination of the 'uncomfortable' middle seat in the middle section and direct aisle access for all passengers.
This raises from 120 to 191 (including A380s and B777s) the number of aircraft that will receive the upgrade in the coming years (out of a total of 261 aircraft in the fleet). Currently, there are 22 (out of 116 in service) A380s with the Premium Economy cabin on board (eventually there will be 67), while in July the Business retrofit will begin, affecting 53 Boeing 777s. This is the largest ongoing upgrade program in the world, and includes the installation of 8,104 Premium Economy seats, 11,182 Business Class seats, but also 1,894 First and 21,814 Economy suites.
FlyDubai, for its part, presented results for the first four months of the year, in which it carried just over 5 million passengers (+13% over the same period in 2023), announced upgrades to Business Class and Economy (which will be upgraded to MAX level) on its 29 B737-800s, and announced ten new destinations for summer 2014 including Olbia, which will be served twice a week between June 15 and August 31.
Etihad showed off its new Business Class suites that it is installing on both Boeing 787s and Airbus A350-1000s.
While Saudia, inside a pavilion the size of half a soccer field., has done the same with the suites it will mount on its Airbus A321XLRs.
