Nine Years Later, Emirates’ “New” First Class Is Still On Just Nine Planes: Why?

On December 1, 2017, Emirates operated its first flight with its “Game Changer” first class. The product is phenomenal, and I rank it as being among the best first class experiences in the world.

In just under three months, we’ll celebrate the nine year anniversary of the airline introducing its “new” first class. There’s only one problem — these seats are still only available on a total of nine Emirates aircraft. Nine. For those not good at math, let me crunch the numbers for you… that’s the equivalent of introducing it on one aircraft per year.

I’d like to talk about that for a bit, because I think we probably don’t shame the airline enough for this, especially given what a great reputation it has. I mean, we joke about Lufthansa taking so many years to roll out Allegris, but that looks downright speedy compared to Emirates. Heck, Emirates has just announced its second new premium economy seat in a matter of years, while it’s “crickets” for the new first class.

What’s going on here, how does the airline get away with this, and why isn’t the Dubai-based behemoth installing this product on more planes?!

Why Emirates’ “Game Changer” first class is only on nine planes

Emirates hasn’t actually retrofitted a single aircraft with its “Game Changer” first class. Instead, the last nine Boeing 777-300ERs that the airline took delivery of — in late 2017 and 2018 — all feature this product. So the planes came delivered with these cabins installed.

Initially, the plan made perfect sense, as Emirates was supposed to start taking delivery of new Boeing 777Xs as of 2020, and those would then feature the new first class. So there was sort of a continuous plan for all new delivery 777s to get this product.

However, that’s not how things played out. Of course the 777X has since endured endless, rolling delays, and the current plan is for the first 777X to be delivered in 2027 (of course that could be pushed back again, just as it has been repeatedly in the past). Emirates is more reliant on the 777X than any other airline, as it has 270 of these jets on order, and the long term plan is for them to replace the Airbus A380 (once those are retired).

Now, if Emirates had simply opted not to retrofit its existing 777s, you might not think much of the lack of rollout of the new first class. However, Emirates has undertaken an aggressive cabin retrofit program on these planes, as the airline introduces a new business class product, adds a premium economy cabin, etc.

As the airline updates those 777s, it’s simply lightly refreshing the existing first class with a new color scheme and technology, while maintaining the same “bones.” In other words, the airline is intentionally not installing its new “Game Changer” first class on these planes.

What are Emirates executives thinking with this rollout?

Why is Emirates electing not to install its new first class product on existing 777s, as they’re retrofitted? The short answer is “because they can.” That comes down to two factors:

• First class airplane seats are insanely expensive (we’re talking up to mid-six figures each), so installing the cabins is a huge investment
• Not only that, but the new first class takes up more floor space; the first class cabin that otherwise has eight of the old first class suites can only accommodate six of the new first class suites

So it’s not too hard to figure out what’s going on here, because a company doesn’t want to spend a lot of money installing a new product, only to then see revenue go down. Now, hear me out, because I’m not giving Emirates management a free pass here.

Emirates executives are insanely smart. It’s one of the world’s most well-run airlines, and President Tim Clark knows exactly what he’s doing (which isn’t to say I always agree with him, but he’s incredibly deliberate).

The reality is that Emirates’ old first class suites are still excellent, they’re way better than business class (so they’re not cannibalizing demand), and Emirates invests a huge amount in the soft product, both in meaningful ways, and in ways that create headlines (unlimited caviar, the world’s best alcohol selection, etc.).

The thing is, I wouldn’t criticize Emirates management if the airline had simply decided to not introduce this first class product in the first place until the 777Xs entered service. What rubs me the wrong way about the rollout is that the airline did decide to introduce this cabin on 777s, continues to heavily advertise it, and then doesn’t actually follow through on the investment of installing it on a widespread basis.

I 100% believe Emirates intended to roll this all out pretty quickly with its fleet renewal, and the 777X delays got in the way. But of course choosing what product to advertise is completely within Emirates’ control.

As a company, Emirates is the master of creating “halo effects.” For the most part, these are things that are actually widely available, like the A380 business class lounge and A380 first class shower. That’s different than having that halo effect be a product that’s available on 3% of aircraft.

If you go to Emirates’ dedicated page for first class, the first picture you’ll see at the top is of the “Game Changer” first class.

Then if you scroll down, you’ll see sections dedicated to both the A380 and 777, and you’d be led to believe that the primary first class on the 777s is the “Game Changer” one. Admittedly there’s a small note about how it’s only “available on selected routes depending on aircraft type, model and configuration.”

But still, when you click to “explore our Boeing 777 First Class,” the entire page is about the “Game Changer,” rather than about the product that a vast majority of passengers will experience. Yes, technically there’s the disclaimer that not all planes have this product, though given how strict some advertising regulators are, I’m kind of shocked Emirates hasn’t faced more scrutiny over this.

Emirates isn’t making a good faith effort to introduce this product. The airline is trying to create a halo effect and milk this for good PR, without actually investing in installing it. And it’s fine if they don’t want to install it on other 777s, but in my opinion, don’t then act as if this is somehow the standard first class product. That’s the crux of the issue, as I see it.

Bottom line

Nine years ago, Emirates introduced its “Game Changer” first class. It’s a great product, but perhaps what’s most “game changing” is the glacial pace at which it has been introduced. We saw nine planes enter service with the product within around a year, and then… nothing.

I get what happened — Emirates was planning on installing this product on newly delivered 777Xs, and those were delayed year after year. But still, as Emirates retrofits existing 777s with new cabins, first class is basically staying the same. The airline isn’t really making a good faith effort at introducing this product.

I understand the logic — the seats are expensive to install, and capacity is reduced — but the issue is that the airline is still trying to heavily market this product, and would have you believe that this is available on well over 3% of the fleet.

What do you make of Emirates’ “Game Changer” rollout… or lack thereof?