• Visitors watch an Airbus A380, sporting the colors of air carrier Emirates, take off during the Dubai Air Show on November 22, 2005. AFP
    Visitors watch an Airbus A380, sporting the colors of air carrier Emirates, take off during the Dubai Air Show on November 22, 2005. AFP
  • Workers of Airbus celebrate in front of the Airbus A380 on July 28, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. The world's largest passenger liner, built by the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, is delivered to the Emirates airline. Getty Images
    Workers of Airbus celebrate in front of the Airbus A380 on July 28, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. The world's largest passenger liner, built by the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, is delivered to the Emirates airline. Getty Images
  • A general view of the economy class on board of the Airbus A380 on July 28, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. Getty Images
    A general view of the economy class on board of the Airbus A380 on July 28, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. Getty Images
  • Emirates Airlines has launched a new daily A380 service from Dubai to Munich with its first flight at Munich Airport Franz Joseph Strauss on November 25, 2011 in Munich, Germany. Getty Images
    Emirates Airlines has launched a new daily A380 service from Dubai to Munich with its first flight at Munich Airport Franz Joseph Strauss on November 25, 2011 in Munich, Germany. Getty Images
  • Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum holds a model of the Airbus Industrie's new A3XX superjumbo jet at the Farnborough Air Show, July 24, 2000. Emirates airline is buying 10 of the jets from Airbus Industrie in a deal worth more than $1.5 billion. PA Images via Reuters
    Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum holds a model of the Airbus Industrie's new A3XX superjumbo jet at the Farnborough Air Show, July 24, 2000. Emirates airline is buying 10 of the jets from Airbus Industrie in a deal worth more than $1.5 billion. PA Images via Reuters
  • Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Thomas Enders, CEO of Airbus, pose for photographers after announcing that Emirates is to purchase more Airbus A380 aircraft at the ILA Berlin Air Show on June 8, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. Emirates will buy an additional 32 A380 aircraft, bringing its total A380 fleet to 90 aircraft. Getty Images
    Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Thomas Enders, CEO of Airbus, pose for photographers after announcing that Emirates is to purchase more Airbus A380 aircraft at the ILA Berlin Air Show on June 8, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. Emirates will buy an additional 32 A380 aircraft, bringing its total A380 fleet to 90 aircraft. Getty Images
  • Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid takes a tour of the Emirates A380 airliner during the opening ceremony of the Dubai Airshow on November 17, 2013. AFP
    Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid takes a tour of the Emirates A380 airliner during the opening ceremony of the Dubai Airshow on November 17, 2013. AFP
  • Tom Enders, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Tim Clark, President of Emirates, pose for media during a delivery ceremony of Emirates' 100th Airbus A380 at the German headquarters of aircraft company Airbus in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, November 3, 2017. Reuters
    Tom Enders, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Tim Clark, President of Emirates, pose for media during a delivery ceremony of Emirates' 100th Airbus A380 at the German headquarters of aircraft company Airbus in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, November 3, 2017. Reuters
  • Emirates receives last A380 in November 2021. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates receives last A380 in November 2021. Courtesy Emirates
  • Emirates A380 Premium Economy. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates A380 Premium Economy. Courtesy Emirates
  • Emirates A380 Premium Economy. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates A380 Premium Economy. Courtesy Emirates
  • Emirates A380 Economy Refreshed. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates A380 Economy Refreshed. Courtesy Emirates
  • Emirates A380 Business Class Refreshed. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates A380 Business Class Refreshed. Courtesy Emirates
  • Emirates A380 Shower Spa First Class. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates A380 Shower Spa First Class. Courtesy Emirates

Emirates' first Airbus A380 arrives for cabin upgrade


Ian Oxborrow
  • English
  • Arabic

Emirates airline has started its two-year retrofit programme, with the first of its A380 superjumbo aircraft arriving for a full cabin interior upgrade and installation of premium economy seats.

The Dubai airline is carrying out a $2 billion upgrade of the interior cabins of 120 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft.

“After completing flight EK928 from Cairo to Dubai on Monday, A6-EVM was steered to Hanger E at the Emirates Engineering Centre where a team of specialised engineers began prepping the aircraft for its makeover,” Emirates said on Tuesday.

The airline has hired 190 extra staff to work on the project, while it has also engaged with 62 key partners for the programme.

The entire cabin interior of the A380 will be taken apart during the next 16 days and rebuilt in a “carefully planned and tested sequence”, Emirates said.

The Emirates retrofit team with the first A380 set to be worked on. Courtesy Emirates
The Emirates retrofit team with the first A380 set to be worked on. Courtesy Emirates

Window seats in the economy section will be removed first to free up space for the cabin's side panels to be taken out. The panels will then be laminated in Emirates’ latest colour tones.

To make room for the 56 premium economy class seats, 88 economy seats at the front of the main deck will be removed.

“On the upper deck, business and first-class seats will be dismantled and loaded on to a modified catering truck to lower them to the ground, where other vehicles will shuttle them to bespoke workshops,” Emirates said.

“Business class seats will be repainted and reupholstered with new leather at Emirates Engineering, while first-class seats will be sent to a specialist at Dubai World Central for refurbishing.”

All carpets and floorings will be replaced before the new seats are put back in.

The aircraft will be inspected and certified by aviation authorities before it re-enters service.

The second aircraft scheduled for a makeover, A6-EUW, will roll into Emirates Engineering Centre on December 1.

As the project progresses, engineers will work simultaneously on two aircraft. This means that every eight days, one aircraft will be grounded and towed to Emirates Engineering for retrofitting.

All 67 A380s earmarked for the retrofit programme will be back in service by May 23, 2024, according to Emirates.

It will then begin work on 53 of its Boeing 777s. By March 2025, all 120 retrofitted aircraft will be back in service.

Premium economy is currently available on A380 routes to London, Paris and Sydney.

The airline has announced plans to introduce the premium economy service on its routes to New York, San Francisco, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore by the end of March 2023.

Emirates expects to return to 100 per cent of operations and network capacity in 2023 as demand for travel and tourism recovers from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

It carried more than 10 million passengers on about 35,000 flights to 130 destinations during the summer.

WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
%3Cp%3EVara%20will%20cater%20to%20three%20categories%20of%20companies%20in%20Dubai%20(except%20the%20DIFC)%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECategory%20A%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Minimum%20viable%20product%20(MVP)%20applicants%20that%20are%20currently%20in%20the%20process%20of%20securing%20an%20MVP%20licence%3A%20This%20is%20a%20three-stage%20process%20starting%20with%20%5B1%5D%20a%20provisional%20permit%2C%20graduating%20to%20%5B2%5D%20preparatory%20licence%20and%20concluding%20with%20%5B3%5D%20operational%20licence.%20Applicants%20that%20are%20already%20in%20the%20MVP%20process%20will%20be%20advised%20by%20Vara%20to%20either%20continue%20within%20the%20MVP%20framework%20or%20be%20transitioned%20to%20the%20full%20market%20product%20licensing%20process.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECategory%20B%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Existing%20legacy%20virtual%20asset%20service%20providers%20prior%20to%20February%207%2C%202023%2C%20which%20are%20required%20to%20come%20under%20Vara%20supervision.%20All%20operating%20service%20proviers%20in%20Dubai%20(excluding%20the%20DIFC)%20fall%20under%20Vara%E2%80%99s%20supervision.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECategory%20C%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20New%20applicants%20seeking%20a%20Vara%20licence%20or%20existing%20applicants%20adding%20new%20activities.%20All%20applicants%20that%20do%20not%20fall%20under%20Category%20A%20or%20B%20can%20begin%20the%20application%20process%20through%20their%20current%20or%20prospective%20commercial%20licensor%20%E2%80%94%20the%20DET%20or%20Free%20Zone%20Authority%20%E2%80%94%20or%20directly%20through%20Vara%20in%20the%20instance%20that%20they%20have%20yet%20to%20determine%20the%20commercial%20operating%20zone%20in%20Dubai.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi

Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi

Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain

Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni

Rating: 2.5/5

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

MATCH INFO

Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')

Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')

Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)

Griselda
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Andr%C3%A9s%20Baiz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ESof%C3%ADa%20Vergara%2C%20Alberto%20Guerra%2C%20Juliana%20Aiden%20Martinez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Voice of Hind Rajab

Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania

Rating: 4/5

War 2

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

Rating: 2/5

The biog

Age: 32

Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.

Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas

Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The specs

Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder

Power: 220 and 280 horsepower

Torque: 350 and 360Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT 

On sale: now

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

The biog

Age: 30

Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium

Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology

Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging

Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi

Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

While you're here
Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp

Torque: 730Nm

Price: Dh649,000

On sale: now  

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Updated: November 01, 2022, 12:14 PM