2 extra A380 seats
 

Noticed this in the EK News section.

"The A380 will offer an additional 135 seats to San Francisco and 137 to Houston, representing a 38 percent increase in overall passenger capacity, and 80 percent more seats across the premium cabins. In addition to offering a choice of 14 First Class Private Suites and 76 lie-flat Business Class seats, the aircraft offers 399 spacious Economy Class seats to San Francisco and 401 to Houston."

Is this a slight variation in the configuration of the latest A380s and also dedicating specific aircraft to the Houston route?

Answered in various threads: in the latest iteration of the A380, as in, everything delivered to EK after A6-EEU has had the rear compartment of the lower deck redesigned by moving rows 80-88 back a bit to add in seats 80A and 80K. The main benefit for EK though is that these newer frames have a higher MTOW which I assume is being utilised at IAH.

Thanks eternaltransit, obviously I need to pay more attention to what I am reading as I hadn't picked up on that change.

The increased MTOW took effect from A6-EEL and did not change with EEU. Two distinct changes albeit within a short while of each other.