The world’s largest passenger plane has taken to the skies with a new look.
Emirates' first retrofitted A380 entered service on Friday, departing Dubai for London Heathrow.
The jet has undergone weeks of round-the-clock work as engineers and technicians took apart and refitted its entire interior piece by piece.
Flight number EK003 is the first of 120 aircraft being refitted as part of Emirates' multibillion-dollar retrofit programme, the largest of its kind in aviation history.
The double-decker jet's fully refreshed interior now has four classes of cabin, including premium economy, which features wider seats and more legroom than economy.
Sleek cabins in first and business class sport Emirates' latest cream-coloured leather seats, while light wood finishing and carpets and stairs have been upgraded. Hand-stencilled panels featuring ghaf trees — which are native to the UAE — have been added to the first-class shower spa.
Registered A6-EVM, the aircraft is expected to land in the UK at 6.20pm local time on Friday.
“Customers will notice the difference the moment they step on board — the spacious A380 will look and feel even more impressive and comfortable,” said Tim Clark, president of Emirates. "With our latest interiors and products, this newly refurbished aircraft elevates our in-flight experience in all classes of travel, and enables us to offer more premium economy seats to meet customer demand."
The refit was undertaken in Dubai at the airline’s state-of-the-art engineering centre.
“I’m particularly proud that this refurbishment work was designed, conducted and completed in-house at our facilities in Dubai, to the highest standards of quality and safety. It reflects the world-class aviation capabilities and infrastructure that exists within Emirates, and here in the UAE,” said Clark.
Next up for a makeover is aircraft registered A6-EUW, with work expected to be completed on the second plane by the end of January.
In numbers: 4,000 premium economy seats and 728 first-class suites
The airline's operation will result in nearly 4,000 premium economy seats installed, 728 first-class suites refreshed and more than 5,000 business class seats upgraded.
As work progresses, Emirates will withdraw an aircraft from its fleet every eight days as engineers work simultaneously on two aircraft. This will allow the airline to complete work on all 67 superjumbo jets in the retrofit programme by 2024.
Attention will then turn to 53 Emirates Boeing 777s that are also due to be retrofitted by April 2025.
To master the world's biggest retrofit programme, the airline recruited hundreds of new staff dedicated to the project.
Emirates previously planned to debut its first retrofitted A380 in December on a flight to New York. The airline said that supply chain delays affected that plan.
"Due to supply chain delays impacting our retrofit programme, plans for deployment of aircraft fitted with Emirates premium economy seats changed and new timelines for the cities that were initially scheduled to receive the aircraft will be communicated in due course," a representitive for the airline told The National.
"Customers have been provided with alternative options and we hope to bring our premium economy service and newly refreshed cabins to additional cities as more aircraft roll out of the retrofit programme.”
As travel demand is at its strongest since the global pandemic, Emirates continues to ramp up its A380 services with plans to deploy the world's largest passenger jet to 42 destinations by the end of March.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Teenage%20Mutant%20Ninja%20Turtles%3A%20Shredder's%20Revenge
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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”
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
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
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Canada
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
THREE
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The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
