Emirates Will Offer Its New First Class Cabin To/From The Maldives This Summer

a bed in a plane

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Emirates offers three daily non-stop flights between Dubai and the Maldives during the summer season (in winter this increases to four) and all of these flights are currently operated by the airline’s standard 777-300ER aircraft.

These aircraft all offer a First Class cabin which has been around for some time (and which is similar but not identical to the cabin on the airline’s A380s) and they offer a poor Business Class cabin which has been out of date for most of this decade….but things are about to change.

a seat with a pillow and a pillow on it
Emirates 777 Business Class – image courtesy of Luke Lai via Flickr

Emirates has announced that, from 1 June 2019, it will be deploying a refitted Boeing 777-300ER on one of its three daily flights to/from Male and this aircraft will offer premium cabins which are a notable step up from what is being offered right now.

The Emirates Dubai/Male summer season schedule:

EK656 DXB 02:30 – 07:40 MLE
EK658 DXB 04:20 – 09:30 MLE*
EK652 DXB 09:45 – 15:00 MLE

EK657 MLE 09:10 – 12:10 DXB
EK659 MLE 11:00 – 14:00 DXB*
EK653 MLE 23:00 – 02:00+1 day DXB

*Flight offering the new reconfigured Boeing 777-300ER

a man lying in a chair with a cup of tea
Emirates new 777 First Class – Image Emirates

If you take a look a the seat maps on ExpertFlyer the First Class cabin on flights EK658/EK659 show a 6-seat layout rather than the more standard 8-seat layout we’re used to seeing and that’s because you’re looking at the new Emirates First Class cabin.

a white tree on a wall
Emirates new 777 First Class – Image Emirates

This is the First Class cabin where travelers have floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, a bed with a “zero gravity” position designed by NASA and central suites with virtual windows so no traveler misses out on the views – it’s a remarkable product.

a bed in a plane
Emirates new 777 First Class – Image Emirates

The reconfigured 777-300ER aircraft also comes with a new Business Class cabin with true lie flat beds, touchscreen controls for the seats and a personal mini-bar.

a plane with seats and a screen
Emirates new 777 Business Class – Image Emirates

As you can see from the images the new Business Class cabin still comes with a highly disappointing 2-3-2 layout meaning that at least half the cabin doesn’t have direct access to the aisle and at least 3 people in every row will have someone clambering over them if they wish to get out of their seats.

a plane with many seats and monitors
Emirates new 777 Business Class – Image Emirates

Still, as behind the times as this Business Class cabin still is, it’s a step up from the current 777-300ER Business Class cabin and very obviously offers a considerably better way to travel than the Economy Class cabin so it does have its positive points 🙂

Emirates currently operates its reconfigured Boeing 777-300ER aircraft complete with the latest First Class and Business Class cabins on its routes to Brussels, Geneva, Vienna, Tokyo (Haneda), London Stansted and Riyadh and it will also deploy this aircraft on flights to Kuwait from 1st June 2019.

Bottom Line

If you’re planning on flying in an Emirates Premium cabin to or from the Maldives from 1 June onwards you should do what you can to book flights EK658 and EK659 – the cabins on offer on these flights will be noticeably better than the cabins on the other two daily flights.

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