Etihad might have stolen the "uber" first class limelight with its recent launch of The Residence, but Emirates wants to catch up.
News is emerging from Dubai's Arabian Travel Market trade show that Emirates is putting the final touches to a new luxury bedroom product which will exceed the standards of its existing first class cabins.
Timeline details are not available as yet. But we do know the new product will be installed on Emirates' fleet of A380s and B777s. And it will appear only on those routes patronised by high-fare business people.
Etihad Airways' The Residence
It is unlikely the new cabin will appear on all planes simply because some of the newer A380s will have a two-class (business and economy) configuration and not all of the B777s operated by Emirates are the most up-to-date.
Emirates is virtually certain to launch the product on one of its many A380s which, initially, will operate between Dubai and London Heathrow.
Price-wise it will be "more commercially viable" for passengers (compared with Etihad's The Residence), said Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, a divisional senior vice-president at Emirates' commercial operations centre, when interviewed by Gulf News.
Etihad’s The Residence costs US$20,000 between London and Abu Dhabi or vice-versa, although that price does include travel for one or two people. In the case of a London-Abu Dhabi-Sydney flight the expected cost (when Etihad takes its A380 down to Sydney later this year or next) is expected to be not far removed from US$50,000.
Emirates’ Al Mulla describes the new product as more akin to the accommodation found within "a private railway cabin".
Perhaps that’s an unfortunate description. Regular rail users know that private cabins are being phased out by railway operators in place of open-plan accommodation.
No clarity yet on how many seats will be removed from the current first class or what will happen to the A380s' showers. Will they stay or be removed to increase cabin space?
Alex McWhirter
