Inside Emirates' new Airbus A350: From 'cinematic' screens to faster Wi-Fi

Emirates has unveiled its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft at an event in Dubai, displaying the cabin features of the newest model to join its fleet of wide-body planes.

The new plane will have faster Wi-Fi, a quieter cabin, Mercedes S Class-inspired leather seats in Business class and a “cinematic” in-flight entertainment system. The three-class configuration is split into 32 lie-flat seats in Business, 21 seats in Premium Economy and 259 in Economy.

"Today we're embarking on a new chapter that will once again elevate the travel experience – it's the next era of Fly Better with Emirates," Tim Clark, Emirates airline's president, said at the Emirates Engineering centre, where the aircraft was displayed.

“Emirates is rather demanding about customisation, so when it comes to our product and customer experience, an off-the-shelf or cookie-cutter approach is not for us. On the A350, we have customised the cabin design and layout and added many individual features to delight our customers and help our crew deliver better service."

A light colour palette makes for brighter interiors, with features including customised blue lighting, a new inflight entertainment system and automated window blinds.

“From the moment you step on-board the Emirates A350, you will notice the sense of space and light and see the many thoughtful features and luxury touches in all our cabins," Mr Clark said.

Emirates expects 64 more A350s to be delivered over the course of the next three and half years.

“These will accelerate the next phase of growth as they run off the Airbus line and into our fleet … it offers Emirates a versatile mix of capacity and range that allows us to consider new destinations previously not considered viable,” Mr Clark said.

The Emirates A350 will be delivered in two versions – one for regional routes and one for ultra long-haul routes.

"The first batch of A350 aircraft are designed for flight missions of about 12 hours and later on we will receive our ultra long-range version which will really take Emirates to new corners of the world, non-stop from Dubai to almost anywhere on the planet except Central America," Mr Clark said.

The A350 will give Emirates "the ability to unlock our new network growth, the ability to offer our latest product of the Premium Economy [class] to even more customers around the world and the opportunities to expand Dubai's air connectivity."

In pictures shared on social media on Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, was seen inspecting the facilities of the wide-body aircraft.

The new model joins Emirates' all-wide-body fleet of Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s, both of which it is the largest operator globally. The A350 is the first new aircraft type to join Emirates’ fleet since 2008.

The A350 handover is Airbus's 175th delivery to Emirates since the first one 37 years ago in 1987, Phillipe Mhun, executive vice president of programmes and services for Airbus said at the event.

"The A350 will perfectly complement the A380... Now the A350 will enable new destinations to be served economically," he said.

Scheduled to enter service in January, the A350 will serve nine destinations across the Middle East, Gulf, West Asia and Europe, starting with its debut flight to Edinburgh on January 3.

The Dubai-based airline will introduce its A350 aircraft on routes including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kuwait, Bahrain, Colombo, Lyon, Muscat and Bologne – with more to follow, it said.

The new aircraft, registered as A6-EXA, is the first from an order of 65 A350s.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, inspected the aircraft at Dubai International Airport, taking a close look at its new design details and technologies, as well as the next-generation on-board products, the Dubai Media Office said in a statement.

Faster Wi-Fi

Emirates said its A350 will feature a high performance, new generation antennae that will significantly improve in-flight connectivity taking full advantage of ViaSat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network. Passengers can get faster Wi-Fi with uninterrupted connectivity across all destinations, including over the North Pole for flights going to the Americas.

At an investment of more than $2 million per aircraft, passengers will see an improved user portal with a faster sign in for new users and a faster log-in for Skywards customers. Improved Wireless Access Points on board will mean more flyers can connect at the same time with the potential to get up to 10 times the current total aircraft bandwidth, the airline said.

Inclusive in-flight entertainment

Emirates' in-flight entertainment system, ICE, has a new user interface that gives visually impaired passengers a better experience. It includes audio-cue navigation assistance, voice metadata feedback, touch and swipe gesturing support and a large selection of audio-descriptive content.

The A350 will introduce a next-generation version of ICE with new features designed to improve the customer experience. Offering a “cinematic display”, Emirates said the system includes the “best picture quality on any aircraft” with 4K and 4K HDR, ultra-responsive touchscreens for seamless navigation and a vast media selection – up to triple the current content capacity.

New features include “eye comfort mode” to reduce blue light exposure, the ability to skip credits and intros on videos, enhanced live TV, and simplified volume and brightness controls.

An improved search function is complemented by iceMoments, a new way to explore content in a short form video format. Children will get a new interface, while parents will have seat-side parental controls.

The plane features extra high ceilings and wider aisles in all classes.

Improvements in the cabin

With a colour palette of light-blue fabric seats and bronze-coloured armrests, the economy class has a bright and airy look and introduces a new six-way adjustable headrest.

Premium Economy class comes with a spacious galley area where passengers can get a snack on long-haul flights, better storage with larger overhead bins, a side cocktail table, calf and footrests and cream-coloured reclining leather seats.

Business class on the Emirates A350 will feature 32 leather seats inspired by the Mercedes S Class. The 1-2-1 seat configuration ensures a private experience with lie-flat seats, 4k screen, multiple sockets and charging ports including a wireless port, minibar, improved storage and inflight shopping.