Emirates Unveils New Premium Economy Seat With Full-Height Privacy Screen

Emirates just announced a brand-new premium economy seat for its newest Airbus A350 aircraft, featuring a powered privacy divider that rises to the full height of the seat between each passenger.

You raise and lower the divider with the seat controls. That offers far more privacy than most other premium economy seats, while still letting you drop it down if you're traveling with a companion.

Emirates' A350 cabin has 28 seats in a 2-3-2 layout, each seat 20 inches wide, with up to 39 inches of pitch and a cradle recline. These seats also feature an adjustable U-Dream headrest, a manual footrest, wireless charging, a 13.3-inch 4K HDR screen, USB-C charging, and a tray table with a phone holder.

The U-Dream headrest is another standout. It's a Safran design with leather wings that adjust to several positions, so your head has somewhere to rest when you fall asleep, rather than tipping toward the aisle or your neighbor. You'll also find these headrests in the standard economy cabin on Emirates' A350s.

Unfortunately, only the airline's newest A350s are getting this new seat. Its A380s and 777s will keep the 2022 product, and Emirates hasn't announced plans to retrofit them later. In fact, the airline is still installing the older premium economy seat on these aircraft.

Andrew's Take

This is the first premium economy cabin I'm actually excited to try. A privacy divider goes a long way on a long-haul flight, and the U-Dream headrest looks comfy. Just check what's flying your route before you book, since only the newest A350s will have this seat installed.