Emirates Upgraded A380 - World’s Largest Aircraft Retrofit Program

Emirates is upgrading its popular A380 fleet! The largest known retrofit program in the industry is well underway at Emirates Engineering. I toured inside the A380 superjumbo during its maintenance.

Project Phoenix oversees 67 A380s and 53 Boeing 777s being refurbished. Concerning the A380, a total of 728 first class, 5,092 business class, 1,608 new premium economy, and 24,000 economy seats are involved in the procedure. The program began in November 2022 and is set to be wrapped up by May 2025.

Emirates Engineering explained that every time an A380 comes in for a six-year or 12-year check. All the seats, lavatories, galleys, and monuments are ejected to leave the entire interior bare for floor panel check. When the materials are removed, Emirates Engineering will replace or refurbish them to keep the cabin in pristine condition. After seeing an A380 under heavy maintenance check, I toured a refurbished A380 that is ready in service to see the difference.

Next, I visited the cabin interior seat shop where you can find all the seats came in bare skeleton form. The engineer also demonstrated how to inflate safety evacuation slides in just 6 seconds. Last, some of the old seat covers and materials are being turned into collectibles and memorabilia!

Emirates is looking to keep at least 90 A380s in the air by the 2030s and plans to fly the A380 until the 2040s.

[joebarrett]

So pleased that Emirates are extending the life of their beautiful A380s.

[Jin]

Many people criticize Sam's review videos for being too kind to the Airlines, but he's the only one who's liked by them and therefore gets access to the behind the scenes of aviation.

[fowowe]

I am an African / Nigerian working as an aircraft helper in Emirates engineering .
I have the opportunity to see Mr sam chui once and all I can say he is a very diligent individual who is dedicated to his task.
And I am so glad to be part of this great company ( Emirates engineering)
Am a transguard staff and I am looking forward to join Emirates engineering on direct employment.
Big up Mr sam🎉🎉

[michaejackson]

After what we saw in Japan, the slides inflating in such a short time is critical. I'm a retired airline pilot. I never used them as pilot or passenger. They were/are so lucky, only 3 of the 8 slides were used, they got everyone off! Amazing, great training by JAL! And the sustainability of reusing materials for shoes and bags, well done Emirates!

[victornyaga]

I salute the 🇰🇪 Kenyan ladies in the retrofit team. Thank you Sam for inspirational videos.

[jackson]

Unlike others, Sam Chui is truly a plane enthusiast. He is like a kid checking out new toys and getting excited. That is the reason, I believe he gets access to all these wonderful places. He is not using negative clickbait words. His videos are informative and plain enjoyable.

[robertholtz]

Nobody does aviation videos at your level, Sam. You are truly world class at what you do, giving us in-depth views of things we might otherwise never see. Thank you so much.

[RoryHanna]

It's mad how much the a380 just looks like an empty flat when stripped down. Mental how big that plane truly is.

[swampfuel]

The A-380 is such a nice departure from the twin engine cookie cutter aircraft of today. There once was a time when there was such diversity in the types of aircraft. 3 engines, 4 engines and some twin engines.
My favorite aircraft, the 757, has a uniqueness amongst the two engine planes. Then the 747 and finally the A380. Thank you Sam for all your hard work. Cheers brother, Stay Strong!

[ryanhebert]

I am so impressed by Emirates. This is how you maintain for fleet for decades to come. Their attention to detail is unmatched. 🙂🙂

[jacksonm.]

My favourite plane (the A380) gets another 20 years of service. Greatest news to hear today! I wish there was an MK2 version of the A380, but I understand it's not possible. Emirates have kept this airplane afloat while the others complain about it being unprofitable.

[iyanmanzano]

Awesome that Engineers are getting love! Quite a task for a full cabin reconfiguration in a week in-house at Emirates. Top stuff!

[InternationalKarl]

It’s a shame they don’t make anymore A380’s it’s an amazing plane

[nurrizadjatmiko]

This is totally awesome 1st video in 2024, sir. I am still never spot or onboard the Airbus A380 in my life. With 90 A380s are active, hopefully Emirates can bring back 30 other A380s this year.

[billhart]

Sam, as a control systems engineer for more than 40 years and frequent flyer through the mid-east for much of the last 20 years I found this very enjoyable and I'm impressed with the professionalism throughout! Thank you and thanks to Emirates for setting such high standards!

[kennethbrennan]

I've flown from New Zealand heaps of times with Emirates and i have to say it was the best long haul flights ever. The A380 is pure magic.

[raexpress]

Emirates wil never be Emirates without their amazing A380s❤

[recration]

The new A380 is absolutely gorgeous. Best plane I've ever been on. I had the privilege to fly on it last week to Dubai and the business class is simply stunning. Especially, the new 1-2-1 from the old 2-3-2 configuration makes it so most of the time you don't even have a neighbor and you have direct isle access. Idk how Emirates is planning to cover the costs with less business class seats, but I can assure them that it 100% is worth the money. Love that Emirates is keeping the A380 alive. The bar area is incredible too. There is nothing like it in the skies. Nothing comes close to the A380 in terms of spaciousness and comfort. The cabin crew was simply so nice too. We even got to take some pictures with them.

[davidsolis]

Very interesting how they are so precise in accommodating so many passengers, and yet each individual seat and passenger is given appropriate attention. Great "behind the scenes" video. Thanks Sam!

[panatswa]

I just recently flew on this new A380 and I can tell you, it definitely feels like a brand new aircraft. So smooth and so clean!