Emirates is expanding the number of destinations served by its refurbished Boeing 777 aircraft, adding London Stansted Airport to the network. The London airport is the third UK destination to be served with the retrofitted widebodies. 
Emirates will also fly the aircraft to Seoul, South Korea.
A third UK destination
The Dubai-based carrier continues to serve new destinations with its refurbished aircraft as more roll out of its retrofit program into scheduled service. 
London Stansted Airport will be the next UK destination to join the network, with flights starting May 7, 2025. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Emirates currently operates two daily 777 flights from 
Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Stansted. However, the airline did not specify how many flights the refurbished aircraft will be deployed on.
The retrofitted Triple Sevens are in a four-class configuration, including the latest premium economy offering. They also feature Emirates’ new business class, which was upgraded from a 2-3-2 to a 1-2-1 configuration. It offers enhanced comfort, more privacy, aisle access for each passenger, and a personal mini-bar. Some aircraft also offer the exclusive Emirates first class suites with enhanced luxury and comfort.
Across all cabins, passengers can benefit from upgraded interiors with new design elements, including modern color palettes, specifically designed Ghaff tree motifs and wood finishes. Stansted will be the third airport in the United Kingdom to receive Emirates’ latest product, after London Heathrow and Edinburgh. Other European destinations served by the four-class 777s include Brussels, Geneva, Zurich, Vienna, and Athens.
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Second East Asian destination
Flights to Seoul with the new 777s will start on April 14, operating three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Flights EK324 and EK325. The South Korean capital is the second East Asian destination to be served with the refurbished widebodies. By July 2025, eastbound travelers will have access to over 3,150 weekly premium economy seats on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 to six key destinations, including Tokyo-Narita, Tokyo-Haneda, Osaka, Singapore, and Shenzhen.
Launched in September 2024, Tokyo-Haneda was the first Asian destination to be served with the retrofitted 777s. It was among the first three destinations, with Geneva debuting in August 2024 and Brussels launching in September 2024 after Tokyo. Cirium data shows that Emirates has up to ten weekly flights from Dubai to Seoul Incheon (ICN), including daily A380 and three weekly 777 flights.
New products on other routes
Emirates launched its unprecedented fleet retrofit program in August 2022 as part of a $2 billion investment to enhance its products and offer passengers an elevated travel experience. The original plan called for 120 aircraft (67 A380s and 53 B777s) to be refurbished, but the program was expanded to retrofit 191 widebodies (110 A380s and 81 B777s).
At the end of the program, the airline would have fitted 21,814 new economy class seats, 8,104 premium economy seats, 11,182 business class seats, and 1,894 first class suites. The first fully refurbished aircraft, an A380 registered as A6-EVM, entered service in January 2023, debuting on the Dubai-London route. Today, passengers can fly the refurbished superjumbos to various destinations, including:
- New York-JFK
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Sydney
- Auckland
- Melbourne
- Singapore
- Mumbai
- São Paulo
- Tokyo
Emirates had initially scheduled the first 777s to enter the workshop after the first 67 A380s had been refurbished and re-entered service. The airline introduced the new aircraft with premium economy on its US routes last year. Chicago was launched in November 2024, Boston in December 2024, Dallas and Seattle in January 2025, and Newark/Athens and Miami/Bogotá in February 2025.
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With this deployment, ten of Emirates’ 12 US destinations feature premium economy. The airline had about 27 destinations served with premium economy by the end of 2024, utilizing 48 aircraft, including the 777, A380, and the new A350. The Airbus twin-engine, which features three classes, currently flies to Edinburgh, Kuwait, Bahrain, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad. Several more destinations will be added in the future.
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