Your Guide to Emirates Premium Economy in 2024

In 2021, Emirates revealed its stunning new Premium Economy seats. The cabin will eventually be installed on 67 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777 aircraft.

So far, Premium Economy is only available on 22 of Emirates’ A380 jets. But if you want to fly from Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland or Christchurch to London, New York or São Paulo – among other cities – Emirates can already offer you a Premium Economy experience for the entire journey.

Sydney and London were both launch markets for this product. Emirates now offers Premium Economy to a total of 14 destinations.

It’s not yet possible to redeem frequent flyer points for a Premium Economy reward seat or upgrade on Emirates. The airline says this is “due to the current limited nature of Premium Economy operations”.

As the Gulf carrier installs Premium Economy seats on more of its aircraft, as part of its massive fleet refurbishment program, we expect the airline will begin to offer Premium Economy redemptions and upgrades. But in the meantime, if you want to fly Premium Economy to Dubai or beyond, you’ll need to buy a ticket.

Here’s what you need to know about flying Emirates Premium Economy in 2024…

What you get in Premium Economy

On four-class Airbus A380s, the Premium Economy cabin is at the front of the lower deck. There are 56 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

The comfortable leather seats are 19.5 inches wide, with 40 inches of seat pitch, and offer a generous amount of recline. Each seat has an adjustable headrest, an extendable footrest, charging outlets and a large in-flight entertainment screen.

Passengers also receive complimentary amenity kits, blankets and pillows on board.

The airline offers an improved dining experience in Premium Economy, compared to Economy. This includes a welcome drink, better meals than Economy Class and Australian sparkling wine. Meals are served on proper china, with glassware and metal cutlery.

On the ground, Premium Economy passengers receive access to priority check-in counters at selected airports. There’s also a 35kg checked baggage allowance and complimentary seat selection.

Plus, as all Premium Economy tickets are currently booking into the “Flex Plus” fare category, there are no change or cancellation fees (but any fare difference would still apply with ticket changes).

Obviously, you still don’t get a lie-flat bed in Premium Economy – as you would in Business or First Class. Premium Economy passengers also don’t get access to Emirates’ in-flight bar on the A380 – another benefit reserved for passengers on the upper deck. But if you’re looking for more comfort than Economy Class – without shelling out for a Business Class ticket – this could be the “sweet spot”.

Numerous AFF members have already tried out this product. The reviews so far have generally been very positive, with some travellers commenting that it’s not just better than Emirates Economy – it’s even better than many other airlines in Premium Economy.

Here’s what a few members had to say…

Just got back from Lisbon flying PE on Emirates Melbourne to Dubai and back. The PE cabin is a huge improvement on other PE offerings, and we can highly recommend it. Plenty of leg room and recline, with a retractable leg support and footrest. The service and food were excellent. Three bathrooms for this cabin and we didn’t notice any “infiltration” from the economy cabin behind. They would have to go through the galley and two curtained areas to use the PE toilets. We had seats at row 34 which are good for privacy as they are next to the stairs with no middle row. Seat row 33 has no window. Since the PE cabin is at the front of the lower deck you get on and off easily too. The sector from Dubai to Lisbon was in economy on the 777 but not too bad apart from the fact that all other passengers seemed to have double the carry-on allowance and it was not being policed by the check in crew!
– Pug1, 23 April 2023

Ok my write up is similar, I agree with all the statements above about the product. However for me as I am 6’4, I found that with the foot rest down your legs were too far up against the seat in front of they are reclined and then if I had the calf support out, my legs got squashed between the support and the back of the seat in front. Therefore it was a challenge to sleep for me. Just something to bear in mind if you are tall.
– Logan^, 23 April 2023

Routes with Premium Economy currently available

As of January 2024, Emirates is only offering Premium Economy on 14 Airbus A380 routes:

Premium Economy is not necessarily available on every flight to those destinations. Instead, you’ll need to look for specific Airbus A380 flights where Premium Economy is offered.

As of the time of writing, these are all the Emirates flights with Premium Economy available:

Emirates will add more routes progressively.

Emirates Premium Economy pricing

There are many factors that go into airfare pricing, including seasonality and your point of origin. So, it’s impossible to tell you exactly what you could expect to pay for a ticket. But to give you an idea, we’ve compared the cost of Emirates Premium Economy to Economy & Business Class on a range of different routes, for travel on a random off-peak date.

Below are a few examples of the cost differences between the different cabin classes (note that all prices are in Australian Dollars).

As all Emirates Premium Economy fares currently book into the Flex Plus category, note that you aren’t penalised for booking a one-way ticket. You can book a one-way fare for roughly half the cost of a round-trip ticket in Premium Economy.

Sydney-London (round-trip, via Dubai)

• Economy Class: $2,051
• Premium Economy: $5,029
• Business Class: $10,035
• First Class: $19,201

Melbourne-Dubai (round-trip, non-stop)

• Economy Class: $1,949
• Premium Economy: $3,736
• Business Class: $9,937
• First Class: $17,714

Sydney-Christchurch (round-trip, non-stop)

• Economy Class: $658
• Premium Economy: $1,408
• Business Class: $1,858
• First Class: $3,298

Auckland-London (round-trip, via Dubai)

• Economy Class: $2,739
• Premium Economy: $5,545
• Business Class: $10,831
• First Class: $17,406

How to book Emirates Premium Economy

Although you can’t yet redeem Emirates Skywards miles or Qantas points for a Premium Economy ticket on Emirates, flights are available to book with money on the Emirates website and through travel agents.

Qantas codeshares are also available on selected Emirates Premium Economy flights. You can book Qantas codeshare tickets on the Qantas website.

By booking a Qantas codeshare ticket, you can earn a higher rate of Qantas points as well as Qantas status credits. If you’re a Qantas Club member, or a Gold, Platinum or Platinum One frequent flyer, booking the Qantas “QF” flight number also means you’ll be able to enjoy lounge access on your trip.

Emirates is not one of the few airlines that offer complimentary lounge access to Premium Economy passengers. However, you can purchase lounge access for a fee if you don’t otherwise have access (e.g. through Qantas status, Qantas Club membership or Emirates Skywards status).

If Premium Economy is only available for part of your journey, the Emirates website will offer a mixed-class itinerary with Economy on any flights where the higher cabin is not offered.

How many Qantas points can you earn?

If you book through Emirates on “EK” flight numbers and enter your Qantas Frequent Flyer number on the booking, you’ll be able to earn Qantas points – but not status credits. The earn rate will be based on Qantas Frequent Flyer’s Partner Airline earning tables.

Emirates Premium Economy flights with an “EK” flight number book into the W or E fare classes. This earns at the Premium Economy rate with Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Alternatively, by booking a Qantas-marketed codeshare flight with a “QF” flight number, you’ll be able to earn points and status credits as if you were on a Qantas flight. As Qantas generally sells Emirates Premium Economy codeshare flights as “W” class, you’d earn at the Flexible Premium Economy rate if booked on the “QF” flight number.

For example, when booked on a “QF” flight number, you could expect to earn at least 34,000 Qantas points and 350 status credits when flying from Sydney to London (via Dubai) in Premium Economy. But if you were booked on an “EK” flight number, you’d earn only 23,320 Qantas points and zero status credits.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.