Male’, Maldives, 16th August 2022 – With the promise to passengers to ‘Fly Better’, Emirates has embarked on yet another initiative to enhance customer experience. The airline has invested over USD 2 billion on a programme to provide passengers with new experiences, starting from August 2022. Some of the airline’s latest initiatives include elevated dining experiences with a brand new vegan menu and more meal options, a ‘cinema in the sky’ experience, cabin interior upgrades and sustainable choices.
Emirates’ latest initiative involves retrofitting over 120 aircrafts with the latest interiors as well as an array of other service improvements to take inflight customer experience to the next level. Some of the upgrades include: elevated meal choices, a brand new vegan menu, a ‘cinema in the sky’ experience, cabin interior upgrades, sustainable choices and a generous approach to the little touches that make travel memorable. These changes will be seen across all cabins, aiming to make trips with Emirates even more memorable.
Sir Tim Clark President of Emirates Airline stated: “While others respond to industry pressures with cost cuts, Emirates is flying against the grain and investing to deliver ever better experiences to our customers.” Emirates has continued to launch new services and initiatives throughout the pandemic, including digital initiatives to improve on-ground customer experience. The airline is now ready to roll out its next series of intensive programmes to take its signature inflight experiences to greater heights.
New Menus:
With a team of award-winning chefs, world-class catering and a range of suppliers, Emirates is ready to deliver the best fine dining experience amongst the clouds. Its new menus will be available on select routes in First Class, featuring dishes such as pan-fried salmon trout with moqueca sauce and creole rice, roasted duck breast with orange thyme jus, steamed broccolini and fondant potatoes. Economy and Business Class passengers can look forward to the launch of the new menu on 1st September.
Vegan Choices:
Emirates’ new vegan menu is carefully curated to cater to the growing numbers of customers pursuing this thoughtful lifestyle. Vegans, or anyone interested in a delicious and healthy plant-based meal, can now enjoy handcrafted gourmet dishes such as pan-roasted king oyster mushrooms, flavoursome jackfruit biryani and sliced kohlrabi garnished with burnt orange. Choice of decadent desserts include chocolate truffle cake with hazelnut, pistachio and gold leaf, or green grape tart adorned with candied rose petals, vanilla custard, and berry compote glistening with yuzu pearls.
Champagne and Caviar Experience:
A benchmark for service excellence, the airline’s First Class experience has been upped a notch this year. Customers can now savour unlimited portions of Persian caviar as part of the ‘dine on demand’ service, with an exquisite pairing of the world-renowned Dom Perignon vintage champagne. Emirates is the only airline with an exclusive agreement to offer the luxury brand on-board.
Sustainable Choices – Farm to Fork:
Passengers departing from Dubai can now enjoy fresh greens harvested from Bustanica, the world’s largest vertical farm and newly-opened US$40 million joint venture investment through Emirates Flight Catering. The airline is continuing to invest in sustainable operations and supply chains, seeking local food suppliers and farms wherever possible to serve the freshest produce on board.
Cinema in the sky:
First Class passengers can create a memorable movie moment on-board by ordering cinema snacks as they enjoy the 5,000 channels on Emirates’ ice inflight entertainment system. The cinema snack menu includes moreish classics such as lobster rolls, juicy sliders, edamame, and salted popcorn, and can be ordered on demand. Passengers can also curate their own ice experience before their flight, by browsing and pre-selecting movies or TV shows on the Emirates app, which can then be synced to ice the moment they board, maximising the seamless travel experience.
Specialised Hospitality Training:
The airline has partnered with Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, one of the top hospitality management schools, to craft the new Emirates hospitality strategy and encourage inspiring customer experiences. Emirates Cabin Crew have already begun engaging in intensive training programmes focused on delivering the four service pillars: Excellence, Attentiveness, Innovation and Passion.
Upgraded Cabin Interiors:
The most significant investment is an extensive and record-breaking refurbishment of the aircraft fleet interiors. Cabins will be retrofitted with new or reupholstered seats, new paneling, flooring and other cabin features, as well as new Premium Economy cabins. After the retrofit, the airline will have a total of 120 aircraft offering Premium Economy seats, making it the only airline in the region to offer this cabin class, and enhanced interiors and features across all other cabins. With its first aircraft scheduled to roll into the Emirates Engineering Centre for retrofitting in November, planning work and trials are well under way.
