Originally Posted by
murtaza12
Assuming that the 2-class frames are NOT part of the retrofit program, I can count 79 three-class B77Ws to be retrofitted, with the oldest being A6-EGA. This of course is speculation, no idea what EKs actual plans are and whether or not they will actually manage to complete the program in a reasonable time.
It is very unlikely that any of the EBx 777s will get the new cabin. They will be long retired before the program is even halfway complete.
As IntrepidAfrican already mentioned, the only reason this is happening is because of the 777X delays. Even the A350 has been delayed twice now, it was initially expected this month, then delayed to November, and now delayed again to early December.
In a complete case of Sod’s Law, no A6-EBx 777 had flown on EK719/720 for a while until my flight when I had A6-EBR! It wasn’t too bad, and as I said before it’s good to see Emirates updated the software on those older 777’s to make the ICE a little more usable but I do think EK let themselves down a bit when people expect amazing aircraft only for them to get something that’s very old and outdated. I was pleasantly surprised though that the aircraft had mood lighting and the stars when the cabin went dark, don’t think the 773’s (which had virtually the same cabin) had that!
It also does make me wonder why Emirates didn’t start refurbishing the oldest 777’s and A380’s that they knew they were going to stay in the fleet for a good while yet. Surely that would be far better for the passenger experience than doing the newest first and keeping the older cabins flying longer?
On the A380’s that have been refurbished with PE, have they been fitted with the latest version of ICE in economy or have they kept their original screens?