Mention Emirates’ Boeing 777 Business Class to any AvGeek or miles-and-points enthusiast, and you’re likely to elicit a wince, followed by a swift lament about the outdated 2-3-2 cabin configuration, with angled-flat beds.

That infamous middle seat – potentially sandwiched between strangers – has long felt like a relic in an era where premium travel demands privacy, direct aisle access, and beds that actually go fully flat.

That’s especially true in 2025, when rivals like Qatar Airways and Finnair have set the bar high with fully enclosed suites and innovative new layouts that prioritise privacy and space, with 180-degree lie-flat surfaces not even a question when it comes time to sleep.

But change is finally here for the Dubai-based giant, which has shaken off its complacency and finally rolled out a much-anticipated retrofit programme, with a new 1-2-1 arrangement on the Boeing 777.

This ensures every passenger now has direct aisle access, more personal space, and a lie-flat 78-inch bed. Launched in late 2024, this upgrade has now graced over 20% of Emirates’ vast Boeing 777-300ER fleet – 25 out of 120 aircraft – with plans to refit dozens more over the next year.

For a recent work trip to the UK, I found myself routed to London Stansted instead of the city’s usual Heathrow hub, a detour that fortuitously aligned with one of these refreshed 777s on my daytime sector from Dubai to the UK capital.

What better opportunity to do a full writeup?

While I started this journey in Singapore, for the sake of this review let’s pick up the journey in Dubai for this second leg to London.

Flight details

• Flight: EK65 Dubai to London Stansted
• Class: Business
• Seat: 10A
• Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-300ER
• Aircraft Registration: A6-EPU
• Aircraft Age: 8.9 years
• Departure / Arrival: 08:20 / 12:55
• Flight Time: 7h 35m

Direct aisle access at last

As alluded to at the start of this review, Emirates has embraced a smarter seat layout at last on its Boeing 777s, with every seat offering direct aisle access.

This is a real upgrade from the previous product, which many of our readers will be all too aware features a 2-3-2 configuration in Business Class, with the dreaded ‘middle seat’ in play.

The actual execution, however, is perhaps a little underwhelming.

The product itself is by Safran Seats and is basically 16 years old, first introduced on the carrier’s Airbus A380s in July 2008, but does have the airline’s latest design features, leather upholstery, and some more modern technology including large HD in-flight entertainment screens.

Was it a refresh worthy of 2025 Business Class expectations? Let’s jump on board to find out.

Booking

This was a work trip, so I was lucky enough not to pay anything for the ticket out of my own pocket. The round-trip fare from Singapore to London and back, which included this flight as the second of the four sectors in total, came in at around S$4,600.

Seat selection

The newly configured Emirates Boeing 777-300ERs have 40 seats in Business Class, and while the cabin stretches a whole further seat row back post-retrofit than the former 2-3-2 layout, that’s still two fewer seats in total than the pre-refit 42-seats, highlighting the high-density of the previous arrangement.

The seats are divided across two cabins:

• a forward mini-cabin of three rows directly behind First Class, then
• a second larger cabin of seven rows behind the galley, where the second main set of aircraft doors are located.

Two toilets serve up to 40 Business Class passengers, both located in the central galley area separating the two sections. Only two bassinet positions are at seats 3E and 3F, making the more intimate forward cabin potentially risky for those wanting a peaceful flight.

Seats 5A, 5K, 11B and 11J have a missing window, while Row 12 is directly in front of the Premium Economy bassinet seats – again a potential noise risk.

While all seats in this new configuration offer direct aisle access and individual privacy (to varying degrees), there are essentially four types of seat to choose from, as outlined below.

Emirates’ New Boeing 777-300ER Business Class Seat Types
Window Seats
Closer to the window (A / K)	Closer to the aisle (B / J)
3A, 3K 5A, 5K 6A, 6K 8A, 8K 10A, 10K 12A, 12K	4B, 4J 7B, 7J 9B, 9J 11B, 11J
Middle Seats
Closer to the aisle (D / G)	Couple middle pairs (E / F)
4D, 4F 7D, 7G 9D, 9G 11D, 11G	3E, 3F 5E, 5F 6E, 6F 8E, 8F 10E, 10F 12E, 12F

I chose seat 10A for the Dubai to London flight and seat 11B for the London to Dubai flight a few days later, so that I could try out both types of window seat – one aligned closest to the window and the other positioned more closely to the aisle.

For the return flight though, plans changed and I ended up in a middle seat – more on that later!

Boarding

Boarding was via the forward left door for First and Business Class passengers.

In case you’re wondering whether Emirates also took the opportunity to install its ‘gamechanger’ fully-enclosed First Class Suites as part of this refit (see our review here) – here’s the answer from my quick snap on embarkation.

It’s a no unfortunately – but the First Class seat has been spruced up in line with the carrier’s latest Airbus A380 refits, and still features a large closing privacy door, though it doesn’t fully enclose the suite from floor-to-ceiling.

Progressing back to the Business Class cabin and the first impression – very nice finishes, with the Emirates ‘bling’ toned down a little compared to previous iterations with cream leather seats and a darker wood effect on the side consoles, around the IFE screens and at each individual window.

I found the cabin quite light and airy in comparison to Emirates’ older designs, as I made my way back into the second cabin section to my seat for the morning – 10A.

Even the seats closer to the aisle still looked to have decent privacy with a large ‘wing’ at headrest level.

I also noticed that the divider between the ‘couple’ middle seats was very large, extending well beyond head height, which would certainly minimise privacy concerns if you happened to be seated here alongside a stranger.

Settling in

On boarding, a pouch containing slippers and an eye mask were waiting at each seat on the side console, alongside the noise-cancelling headset. Shortly after settling in the crew came round with welcome drinks.

Champagne, water and a ‘vitality juice’ were offered, and I opted for a glass of champagne.

I must say I was struck by the high quality of the finish in these seats, and the softness of the cushioning and the leather upholstery, which seemed high quality. A large fluffy pillow was also welcome and everything appeared ‘brand new’ – not surprising given the recency of this aircraft’s refit.

A blanket was also provided.

Menus were then distributed, with a separate food and wine list provided, followed by a hot towel.

The huge, sharp quality IFE screen was also impressive.

I noted that there were individual overhead air nozzles (two for each window seat and three for the middle seats, reflecting the aircraft’s former 2-3-2 seating!).

Here are the headphones, slippers and eye mask unpacked and laid out on the table.

The footwell was also notably sizeable, and does not taper or narrow towards the end.

Personal minibar

Emirates Business Class seats have long had a personal minibar feature, and this new version is no exception.

The minibar is stocked with two bottles of Evian still water and one bottle of Perrier sparkling water, plus the following small bags of snacks.

The main drawback? The products are stocked at room temperature, so you’ll still be asking the crew if you want anything properly chilled, though it’s still useful to be able to grab a water when you wake up thirsty, without having to wait.

It also takes up a fair amount of space that might otherwise have been better used for additional storage. In reality, it’s more of a novelty feature than a genuinely practical one, especially given how quick and attentive Emirates’ crew usually are when you press the call button anyway.

Seat controls

The seat controls are in a piano-key arrangement at the edge of the console, including some pre-set positions for sitting upright, relaxing and the all-important bed mode.

It’s also possible to move the seat backwards and forwards, which can be useful during dining if you find yourself too close or too far away from your meal.

Other controls on this panel are for lighting and the cabin crew call function, plus you can actually pause the IFE and / or adjust its volume from the controls here, rather than having to lean forward to do so on the TV itself or via the side tablet controller, which is quite handy when the crew come round to serve you something or answer the call bell.

Above the personal minibar is an adjustable reading light with different intensity settings, controlled via its own push switch alongside.

Above the tablet there are buttons to control the window shades, which have a ‘day curtain’ and blackout mode as required.

At the middle seats these are replaced with control switches for the privacy divider between the seats, which is electrically controlled.

Table

The table in this seat extends from the side console, providing a sturdy service for dining or working on a laptop.

Once the tray is extended, it blocks your path to the aisle. In other words – no mid-meal toilet breaks.

This issue appears less pronounced in the aisle-aligned seats (B / J or D / G), where the table pivots away from the aisle instead. In those cases, it looks as though you could still slip in and out of your seat even while dining – something to bear in mind when choosing where to sit in this cabin.

Storage options

Storage space on Emirates’ latest 777-300ER Business Class seat is unfortunately quite limited, and that’s an area where this product really lags behind some of its competitors.

There is a small cubby under the footstool which is designed for shoes, though it’s not especially deep.

A latch-closing compartment at seat level provides an enclosed space for valuables, but it’s tiny – barely enough for a phone, passport and wallet.

The largest usable spot is actually the shallow tray above the personal minibar, where you can rest a phone or perhaps a small tablet. That said, it’s not very practical for larger items, and during the flight I found myself keeping my laptop and tablet on the footstool instead.

That’s fine while seated, but when it’s time to convert the seat to a bed, anything bulky has to go back in the overhead locker – meaning you’ll be up and down if you want to retrieve or stow your device.

Overall, storage is rather disappointing. If you’re travelling with a backpack or anything beyond the bare essentials, you’ll almost certainly have to rely heavily on the overhead lockers for much of the time.

Power and device charging

Charging options are all within easy reach in this seat, alongside the lower edge of the personal minibar at the back of the side console table.

There are two USB-C sockets, a USB-A port and a universal multi-socket provided.

It’s great to see USB-C charging, but 27W is really only enough for phones and tablets. Some very small or efficient laptops can run and even charge slowly at this wattage, but most require 45–65W+ for full-speed charging.

For a larger laptop like my MacBook Pro, 27W barely maintains the battery – or just trickle-charges when the lid is closed.

If you’re plugging in something bigger than a tablet, stick to the AC multi-socket. Otherwise, after a few hours you might be surprised to find this USB-C port has barely added any charge!

It’s a shame Emirates has not installed a wireless charging pad on the side console in this refresh, something its new Airbus A350 Business Class does have.

Amenity kit

Emirates does not offer an amenity kit on daytime flights between Dubai and Europe, so I was not offered one on EK65 from Dubai to London. I was expecting to receive one on my overnight return flight EK68, but I swapped to the earlier flight EK66 which is not classed as an overnight service, so once again I missed out.

However, I did receive a kit on both my SIN-DXB and DXB-SIN flights, one of each variety of the current BVLGARI male kits (the pouch on SIN-DXB and the bag on DXB-SIN).

The kit’s contents are very extensive, especially when compared with the lacklustre Singapore Airlines Business Class amenity kit!

• BVLGARI ‘Man in Black’ scented aftershave
• BVLGARI aftershave balm
• BVLGARI body lotion
• BVLGARI lip balm
• A Gillette razor
• Gillette shaving foam
• Rexona deodorant
• A dental kit
• A foldaway hairbrush
• Earplugs
• Tissues

I understand you can expect to get an amenity kit in Business Class on Emirates on all flights in excess of around eight hours, regardless of the departure and arrival timing, but for shorter services like this it’s restricted to overnight flights.

Toilets

There are two toilets serving up to 40 Business Class passengers, located ahead of Row 6, equating to a 20:1 passenger-to-toilet ratio. That’s less generous than many others – including Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ERs, which offer a 16:1 ratio in this cabin.

The toilets themselves are relatively standard with a full-length mirror on one side, in addition to the mirror above the sink. The Emirates Ghaf Tree emblem is adorned across the back wall, which looks to be a new addition in this cabin refit.

In the toilet you can also pick up a dental kit, comb and VOYA hand lotion.

There are also VOYA fragrances provided, for men and women.

Wi-Fi

The Emirates Boeing 777 fleet is equipped with OnAir satellite Wi-Fi, based on the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband system, which is quite dated by modern connectivity standards.

The good news is that unlimited Wi-Fi is free in Business Class for Emirates Skywards members, so with my Skywards number attached to my booking there was no issue getting online by entering my date of birth, seat number and email address.

The connection can only be used on one device at a time, unless you purchase a separate connection. To switch between devices, I found it’s best to pause the connection on the first device via the Wi-Fi portal page (which you can keep open), before attempting to start the connection on the other device.

Here’s how the speed test results looked, taken at two separate points on the journey to London, with the first test shortly after reaching cruising altitude and the second test as we overflew Brussels around an hour before landing.

For an older system, the speeds were surprisingly strong – better than those we typically see on Singapore Airlines. That said, the long ‘ping’ inherent to satellite connections still makes web browsing feel sluggish.

Emirates has upgraded to Inmarsat’s GX Aviation Ka-band system on its new Airbus A350s. While this is a step up from the older OnAir setup, it’s notable that rivals like Qatar Airways have already leapfrogged to Starlink’s low-earth orbit (LEO) network, which delivers home-broadband speeds in the air. That leaves Emirates at risk of falling behind in the in-flight connectivity race.

The Wi-Fi portal also shows how many passengers are currently connected. Naturally, the more users there are, the slower the connection tends to be, since everyone is sharing the same bandwidth. To ease congestion, some airlines install two Wi-Fi channels per aircraft, effectively doubling the available capacity, though I’m not sure if Emirates does this.

Non-Skywards members need to pay for Wi-Fi access on board, which was available at the following rates on this flight:

• US$16.99: Whole flight; unlimited data
• US$9.99: 30 minutes; unlimited data
• US$4.99: Whole flight; text chat apps only (no web browsing / email)

In-flight entertainment

The latest Emirates Boeing 777-300ER Business Class has 23″ HD screens, which are among the largest in the industry these days.

Indeed they are only just being pipped in size by the latest 24″ versions found on JAL, ANA and the upcoming “United Polaris 2.0” cabins.

Emirates claims its ICE system has over 4,000 hours of entertainment, and I certainly wouldn’t doubt it! The selection is extremely extensive including whole-season box sets of several shows, like all three seasons of The White Lotus, for example.

The system allows Bluetooth headphone pairing, but I didn’t try it, as I found the noise cancelling headsets provided were comfortable and good quality.

There’s also a tablet at each seat, which can be used to control the seat, the IFE system, or follow the in-flight map, even while something different is playing on the main screen.

Food and drink

There were two meals served on this flight, Breakfast after takeoff and Lunch prior to landing.

Here’s the food menu for both meals.

A separate wine list is provided, but rather than show that one here’s how the full champagne, wine and dessert wine selection on this flight stacks up on our favourite comparison website Vivino, out of 5.

Champagne
	Veuve Clicquot Cuvée Saint-Pétersbourg Brut Champagne N.V.	4.2 stars
White Wine
	Jermann Pinot Grigio 2023	4.0 stars
	Vivier Chardonnay 2023	4.0 stars
Red Wine
	Château Laroze Saint-Émilion Grand Cru	4.2 stars
	Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2022	4.5 stars
Port
	Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny Port	4.3 stars

The ratings here are broadly excellent, as you can see.

The breakfast was essentially just cold cuts and cheese, served with bread and fruit.

At first, I wasn’t sure if the dish was meant to be eaten by hand, but quickly realised that couldn’t be the right. I asked the cabin crew for cutlery, and they immediately apologised before dashing off to fetch some for me!

A selection of pastries was accompanied by freshly brewed tea and coffee, with the option to order any beverage from the bar – though at this hour, an apple juice sufficed for me!

The main dish may not have looked especially elaborate, but I have a soft spot for a continental-style breakfast of cold cuts and fresh bread, which reminded me of holidays in Germany in years gone by!

That said, for those craving a heartier start to the day, the lack of a hot alternative felt rather underwhelming by Business Class standards, and it was a little disappointing that this was the sole option offered.

Lunch was served around 2 hours 20 minutes before landing, and I opted for the sliced roasted veal, followed by the kingfish curry.

A bread roll and salad were served alongside, and the crew then came round with three additional bread options – garlic bread, focaccia and sourdough.

The veal looked a bit dry with capers and parmesan on top, but actually my fears were allayed as I discovered that the tuna mayonnaise sauce was hiding beneath the veal strips.

Overall the dish was fresh and tasty, and the capers gave it a nice ‘zing’.

I usually make a point of choosing at least one of the Middle Eastern options when flying Emirates, since in my experience they’re often the standout dishes.

This time I went with the kingfish machbous – a traditional spiced rice dish. The flavours were aromatic and well-balanced, though the kingfish itself was cooked a little too long, leaving it slightly firmer than ideal, while the rice was slightly mushy.

Still, it was a flavourful dish, even if the preparation was on the disappointing side.

I rarely go for dessert, since I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but for review purposes I chose the raspberry tonka mousse cake.

It turned out to be a real highlight – petite in size but beautifully balanced, with fresh berries on either side for a burst of flavour and a nice addition to the presentation. As you can see, I had no trouble polishing it off!

Bed mode

The new Emirates Boeing 777-300ER Business Class seat reclines into a fully-flat bed measuring 78 inches (198 centimetres) long.

A mattress pad is provided, which in addition to the relatively soft seat fabric provides a very comfy surface. If you’re a fan of softer beds, you can always check with the crew whether they have a second mattress pad spare, which they sometimes do on emptier flights like this. That improves padding comfort even more!

There’s one downside to this bed though – the armrests are fixed in the upright position, with no retraction function.

This restricts bed width to around 21 in (53 cm) right at the torso and shoulder area, which won’t be that comfortable for larger-framed travellers.

I managed around 2.5 hours of sleep on this flight between breakfast and lunch, a nice supplement to the 4 hours or so I had slept on the overnight Singapore – Dubai sector the night before, so I felt quite refreshed on landing in London.

Service

The service provided by the cabin crew on this flight was very attentive and friendly. I only used call bell once and it was quickly answered.

I fly regularly with Emirates in Business Class and frankly the service can range from outstanding to disinterested – but one thing I do note from my experiences is that service is almost always better on the Boeing 777 than on the Airbus A380.

There are a few exceptions here and there of course, but I find this general rule to be true.

The downside of the Boeing 777 in Business Class has always been that 2-3-2 layout, especially on a busy flight, but thankfully the rollout of this new product effectively solves that issue at last!

Which Emirates flights have these seats?

At the time of writing, Emirates has refitted 25 of its 120 Boeing 777-300ERs with these new seats, and while this new variant is not currently used on the carrier’s Singapore route it does now feature quite extensively on the network to and from Dubai:

It’s quite an impressive list for a product that only first rolled out a year ago – in August 2024.

Emirates is not stopping here though – 81 of these aircraft will eventually feature the new Business Class seats, with the airline promising to turn out a refitted 777 every two weeks over the coming years, in order to achieve this.

That will leave around 40 Boeing 777-300ERs without a refit, though these will be the first to be replaced by the carrier’s upcoming Boeing 777-9s and Boeing 777-8s, when they enter service from 2026 onwards.

Kuala Lumpur and Phuket will be among the next destinations for the new product later this year, from 15th October and 1st December respectively.

Return flight EK66

For the return flight I was initially booked on the 9.10pm departure from Stansted (EK68), this time in Seat 11B to try out the aisle-aligned ‘window’ seat. However, with my meetings in central London wrapping up unexpectedly early around midday, I decided to attempt a switch to the 2.55pm service (EK66).

Emirates happily accommodated the change, which was excellent news since it meant touching down in Singapore by mid-afternoon, rather than close to 10pm, the following day. The compromise though was seat availability – only middle seat pairs remained available on EK66 as it was quite full.

I was assigned 8F, with 8E still unoccupied at the time, and obviously I hoped the pair might remain mine alone. Even in the event of a neighbour, the substantial divider between the centre seats, which I’d already noted on the outbound flight, promised to provide a decent level of privacy.

Either way, the earlier arrival back home in time for dinner made the trade-off worthwhile.

While other passengers were boarding, I took the chance to retract the divider between the seats to take a photo of the couple arrangement.

As you can see this is a really sociable experience if you’re travelling with a partner or friend, but the divider is somewhat essential if you’re seated next to a stranger.

Once all passengers had boarded it was good news – seat 8E was still unoccupied which gave me space to stretch out and store more of my things alongside me for the flight to Dubai.

The experience on this flight was very similar to the previous one. Only a single meal service was offered this time, which was lunch.

I wasn’t too hungry so skipped the starter and opted for the Sea Bass main course.

Fish can be a little tasteless in the sky and this one was no exception. I had hoped the sauce would give it a bit more flavour but it didn’t really – however the vegetables and salad were nice – just not the best Business Class meal overall.

I saved room for dessert and enjoyed the malted chocolate brownie, which went down very nicely with the rest of my French burgundy.

After lunch the cabin lights were dimmed and a short nap was called for, with the bed at seat 8F seeming more spacious than the one on my previous flight, but probably only because there was no fellow passenger in 8E!

Emirates has finally addressed the elephant in the room with its Boeing 777 Business Class product. The transition from the dreaded 2-3-2 configuration to a sensible 1-2-1 layout is long overdue, but undeniably welcome.

Direct aisle access for every passenger and fully-flat 78-inch beds represent a fundamental improvement that brings the carrier in line with modern Business Class expectations. The high-quality finishes, comfortable seating, and impressive 23-inch HD entertainment screens are solid improvements.

However, this retrofit feels more like catching up than leading the pack. The 16-year-old Safran seat design, while functional, lacks the innovation we see from other carriers. Limited storage space, fixed armrests that restrict bed width, and the absence of wireless charging feel like outdated concepts in 2025.

The personal minibar, while a nice touch, comes across more as novelty than necessity, especially when it occupies valuable storage real estate!

The service quality remains consistently strong on the Boeing 777 fleet, with attentive crew and mostly excellent food and beverage offerings that justify Emirates’ premium positioning. The complimentary Wi-Fi for Skywards members adds good value, even if the connection speeds can’t match newer satellite systems like Starlink.

Ultimately, this retrofit represents a significant step forward for Emirates’ Boeing 777 fleet, transforming what was once an actively avoided product into a respectable Business Class experience.

If you’re booking Emirates and spot a refitted 777 on your route, it’s finally no longer the poor cousin of the A380 – and in some respects, I’d now prefer it.

While it may not set new industry benchmarks, it successfully eliminates the major pain points that previously made these aircraft less desirable. It may be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, but sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed.

Review Summary

4 / 5 among long-haul Business Class seats

Emirates New Boeing 777 Business Class Emirates’ new Boeing 777 Business Class ditches the dreaded 2-3-2 layout for 1-2-1 seats with direct aisle access, and while it’s evolutionary rather than revolutionary, I’ll seek out this product in future thanks to good comfort, food and service.

Flew: August 2025

(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)