Emirates developing “game-changer” economy seat
More pitch and recline? “We’ve got to do better than we’re doing at the moment,” says Emirates boss Sir Tim Clark.

Having launched what is considered one of the world’s best premium economy offerings, Emirates now hopes to reinvent the economy seat.
The airline has already developed a prototype of the new economy seat, which president Sir Tim Clark describes as a “game-changer”, and has been doing the rounds of the seat manufacturers to bring it to life through a co-creation partnership.
But the task is proving to be quite a challenge for the industry veteran, who is credited with building Emirates from a tiny two-plane start-up in 1985 to one of the world’s leading airlines.
“I’ve been pulling the remains of my hair out,” Clark reflects with a smile, in trying to get manufacturers to accept the changes he wants to the new seat’s “pitch and recline.”
Speaking at a media briefing in Melbourne following the Australian Open, which his airline sponsors, Clark also confirmed an all-new Emirates business class suite with sliding doors was on the way.
But when he looked to the back of the plane – which can range from 304 economy seats in the workhorse Boeing 777 to as many as 557 seats in the Airbus A380 superjumbo – “I thought, we’re missing a trick or two.”
Fixing the pain points of economy travel
“We have to deal with all the things that really niggle the economy passengers, and particularly (for) long-haul travel.”
“If you’ve got people sitting in a very tight cabin for 16-17 hours, we’ve got to do better than we’re doing at the moment.”
“The trick is to take modern technology, our learnings in geometry and load, to be able to come up with a seat that will hopefully meet expectations,” Clark explained.
“So we’ve taken the initiative on that… it requires a lot of seat geometry to come into play, and at the moment I’m confident I can get it out through the hangar doors.”
However, a significant hurdle remains in ensuring the seat can pass strict air safety regulations, and “I can't say whether that’s going to be successful or not.”
Clark suggested aviation regulators “are now really concerned about innovation because of the problems they’ve had” – presumably with the likes of the Boeing 737 MAX and 777X – “so it’s not an easy process.”
Keeping his powder dry
Naturally, Clark wouldn’t be drawn on those claimed innovations for improving pitch and recline.
“I’m not saying how we’re going to do it,” he laughed.
However, he described the notion of a pre-recline, where the seat is initially reclined by several degrees as a starting point, as “difficult.”
Clark says Emirates effectively “redesigned” long-range economy seats some two decades ago, both for passenger comfort and to make the seats lighter so the aircraft would burn less fuel.
“These seats used to weigh about 29-30kg with the IFE system, we got that down to 13kg,” Clark said, citing better design techniques and “metallurgical improvements” which influenced the seat’s physical construction, along with ergonomic tweaks to the seat cushion and back.
Clark believes that Emirates’ re-engineered economy seat “became the benchmark” for other airlines, “but since then, nothing has really changed.”
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2014
Total posts 205
This is from the airline that invented 10 abreast in 777 economy...yeah right
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 May 2013
Total posts 387
The best thing they could do to improve their economy cabin is to reconfigure their 777’s to a 3-3-3 layout, like Singapore Airlines. Give me a slightly wider seat than another inch of seat pitch any day.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 Oct 2016
Total posts 127
Exactly. Elbow room or lack of, is by far the biggest problem.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 503
While you would obviously be happy to pay a higher airfare due to Emirates reducing capacity if 3-4-3 went down to 3-3-3, that would not apply to most people who are shopping around for the lowest airfare. Emirates could make the seats wider by going to 3-3-3 and also add a bit more pitch, but the beancounters would almost certainly rule it out due to higher costs impacting sales and market share.
22 Sep 2017
Total posts 100
As they make economy seats smaller, then please offer premium economy at a proportional price. 25% wider (8 abreast vs 10) and 20% better pitch (38 inches vs 32) should be no more than a 50% price premium, not the double price that it typically is on most airlines now.
30 May 2014
Total posts 20
While I don't agree with the 3x4x3 layout of the 777, Emirates has to be commended for at least giving more generous pitch. Most 777 operators have moved to 3x4x3 with a horrid pitch of 31".
Emirates also has generous pitch on A380 and the width is solid. I travelled on a young 380 last year from Auckland to Dubai. It was good legroom and width wise but I did find the sliding cushion and overall support was less than ideal for this very long sector.
Good on Emirates for looking at more comfortable options, especially given they have one of the better economy products out there (777 width excluded).
18 Nov 2023
Total posts 27
What’s the biggest problem with Economy seats. Reclining. People reclining into your lunch. Passengers expecting lie down seats at Economy prices. Reclining, reclining, reclining. And easily fixed.
1: Price is what’s motivates Economy passengers. Give them a cheaper fare with no checked bags … they love it. Give them a cheaper fare with no refreshments … they love it. Give them a cheaper fare to sit on a bare board … they’ll grab it … with both hands. So …
2: Bin reclining seats in Economy … reclining seats are available at a higher price point a little further toward the front of the plane. Flat lie down ‘beds’ also available at an even higher price point, even closer to the front of the plane.
Don’t continually raise expectations of ‘luxury’ travel at Economy budget prices. It can’t be done. It’s not physically possible to lay an entire Economy cabin out flat without someone’s hair getting in someone else’s soup.
There, all sorted. Non reclining Economy seats. Budget prices, budget seats. No more ‘fighting with the ‘inconsiderate’ passenger in front of you. Etiquette isn’t an Economy ‘thing’ … nor PremEcon, nor Business. Etiquette is not an air travel ‘thing’.
12 Aug 2022
Total posts 12
I think you are right when it comes to short haul or even medium haul, but if you gave people no recline on the 14 hour trip from SYD to Dubai they would never fly with you again. On those distances, sitting upright for 14 hours is cruel and unusual punishment.
17 Dec 2014
Total posts 6
Cebu Pacific solve the reclining concern in economy. On their A330 (NOT A380), they fit 450 pax into economy. There is no premium economy or business class. All seats are identical, apart from Exit rows, and bulkhead that have more legroom. To deal with their 3x3x3 layout and compact spaces, the seats are slightly permanently reclined (within air safety guidelines for takeoff), and no adjustment is possible. The seat backs are thin, and just bearable for their 8-9 hour current longer haul flights.
Even in the event of getting a row of 3 seats to oneself, the seatbelt connectors jut out, and a comfortable lie down is not easy.
But as you say, it certainly appeals to those wanting a cheap flight across to Asia/Dubai from Sydney / Melbourne via Manila. There are phone charging points, but no entertainment / screens etc. Wifi can theoretically be purchased on board, but seems to be a work in progress.
This is the only truly all no frills long haul I’ve come across. An experience that is not essential on any bucket list. At least they don’t pretend to offer anything they don’t…..
06 Feb 2021
Total posts 63
It is my understanding that the most profitable section of a long haul plane now, in terms of revenue per square metre of floor space, is premium economy. Emirates recently indicated they would be making very few, if any, premium economy seats available using points to upgrade from economy because they have no trouble selling them all for cash, and those that will be available, will require almost as many points to upgrade to as business class does. Therefore I don't think everyone travelling in economy is necessarily looking for the cheapest seat, and if there was one section of the economy cabin on the 777 that was 3-3-3 and had 2 inches extra pitch, priced accordingly, I suspect it would sell. To reduce the number of seats from 10 to 9, and earn the same income, would require the price of the seat to go up by 1.11. To go from 33 inch pitch to 35 inch pitch, would require the seat price to go up by 1.06. An $1,800 economy fare would therefore become $2,121. ($1,800 by 1.11 by 1.06.) IMHO, enough people would pay for it to be viable. The reduction in the number of passengers would also result in the aircraft being able to carry additional freight, or, use less fuel, either of which would be of economic benefit to the airline.
30 Jan 2025
Total posts 2
All I've ever wanted in Economy is my own armrests. If an airline can figure that out, I'd fly them exclusively. Yes, I've flown First and Business Class, primarily for work, but I do fly Economy as well.
29 Jan 2012
Total posts 184
In the 60's and 70's airlines did figure it out - check out some historic airline cabin photos from the era (QF 747 for example) where they had double armrests and only 9 abreast seating - this of course went the way of the Doe Doe when seat saturation and profits became the policy.
We are now in the new age of profits over comfort. I feel we are actually lucky to still have armrests the way the airlines are going.
30 Jan 2025
Total posts 2
All i want if I'm in Economy is my own armrests.
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1575
All I personally want from economy that it case its existence on any routes longer than 4 hours.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 503
Then I hope you like living with disappointment LOL
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1575
30kg to 13kg. Hmmm.... Are you sure that this will be revolutionary seats from pax prospective of view? Or it is just about reducing total weight and cramp even more of them in sardine class?
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 503
Weight reduction is of course mainly for the airline's benefit, keeps fuel costs down, but also of course this helps keep airfares down. Lower weight seats do not in themselves have anything to do with pitch or width.
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1575
Oh, well...
1. Do you believe that they lowering weight with sole intention to pass savings of fuel cost to customers?
2. Of course not directly. But if they only can they will always have temptation to squeeze more pax into the plane. No ifs and no buts here. They will.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 503
1. Of course airlines don't lower weight with the "sole intention" of dropping airfares, but this certainly gives them scope to not increase airfares (in line with any increase in fuel prices), which is what I said. Lower weight = lower fuel burn = lower fuel costs = more margin, which of course means greater profit but also allows more 'wiggle room' against fare increases. That's different to dropping ticket prices, which as we both know is triggered by different factors, eg an increase in competition, or a sale to counter reduced demand.
2. Doesn't make sense. A seat is not the same as cabin layout. A lighter seat can be thinner, and thinner seats can open the door to reduced pitch, BUT a thinner seat can also be redesigned to allow extra room at the knees (many new economy seats in recent years have adopted this approach). But a lighter seat in itself is completely independent of layout, and when you have an airline talking about trying to fix those 'pain points' especially on long flights then reduced pitch and less legroom doesn't make sense.
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1575
1. Prices are driven by market. Full stop. If carrier figure out how to decrease cost then all difference in profit will be pocketed by carrier. Full stop.
2. We are talking about reducing weight and reduced weight may be increased elsewhere. Some A380 has whopping 555 economy seats. In this example we are talking about 17 Kg of savings. 555 x 17 = almost 9.5 ton! If one pax with baggage weight 200kg (way too generous) then we can squeeze almost 50 pax or almost 10% more without using any more fuel. This is the way to increase revenue without increasing cost, thus pocket more profit. Of course 555 is extreme example and in reality it is more like 350. Still 35 extra seats that translates to extra 70k of profit on Australia-Europe route. Question only is how much those seats revamping cost and thus when it will recoup.
19 Aug 2011
Total posts 56
I would have thought the solution was simple, having reduced the seat weight to 13kg add back a kg of padding to make the seat comfortable for the 16-17 hours.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Emirates developing “game-changer” economy seat