Profits may be plunging as oil prices remain low and the competition catches up, but Emirates made a U-turn today in its cost-cutting direction with the announcement of a newly redesigned bar onboard its Airbus A380 aircraft. Color me impressed.
When you think of the Emirates A380, most people picture either the onboard bar or the onboard shower suites. Although Qatar also has an (arguably nicer) bar on its A380 and Air France and Virgin Atlantic had it first in more recent times (a smoking area on Air France), Emirates seems to have marketed it better.
The newly designed Emirates A380 bar is “out with the bling and in with the yacht”. Less gold and bright woodgrain, more white and subtle tones. I like it it a lot.
Emirates’ CEO Sir Tim Clark had this to say about the new bar–
The A380 Onboard Lounge is hugely popular with our customers, and has become an iconic feature of Emirates’ A380 offering. Particularly on long-haul flights, our customers tell us they appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs and mingle in the relaxed, yet classy lounge area.
Since we first launched the product in 2008, our A380 Onboard Lounge has gone through small but successive enhancements in line with customer feedback to increase the amount of space for our customers to interact in the lounge. In our latest revamp, we have taken inspiration from private yacht cabins, and amongst other thoughtful touches, we have increased the seating space, and also made it more intimate and conducive for our passengers to socialise or enjoy our lounge service
Very importantly, the new bar will have “soundproof curtains” along with new surround-sound systems, mood lighting, and live TV. I’m sure the passengers in the last row of business class will greatly appreciate that.
The new Emirates A380 bar will debut at ITB in Berlin next month. With rumors that both Qatar and Emirates will be debuting new premium seats, I am very tempted to head there myself.
(H/T: One Mile At A Time)
Leave a Reply