In Photos: Emirates Unveils A350 Premium Economy Seat With Electric Divider

DUBAI — Emirates (EK) has unveiled a power-adjustable Premium Economy seat with a full-seat-height electric privacy divider for newly delivered Airbus A350 aircraft.

The new product will appear in a 28-seat, 2-3-2 cabin. Emirates says the divider is the first feature of its kind in Premium Economy worldwide, but its September 3 announcement does not identify the first aircraft, route or passenger flight to receive it.

A Divider Between Adjacent Seats

The screen rises to the full height of the seat and separates adjacent passengers; it is not a floor-to-ceiling wall or an enclosed suite. Passengers can raise or lower it through the seat controls and lock it at a chosen position.

An integrated Passenger Control Unit adjusts the seat and provides lounge and meal presets. Emirates gives the seat a width of 20in and pitch of up to 39in. Its cradle-style recline moves within the seat's own space rather than into the row behind.

The leather U-Dream headrest, supplied by Safran Seats, has wings that can be adjusted into several positions for head and neck support. Safran introduced U-Dream as an Economy and Premium Economy comfort component and separately confirmed that its Emirates contract covers A350 Premium Economy seats.

Charging, Entertainment and Exterior Cameras

Emirates is also adding wireless charging to its Premium Economy product. Each new seat has USB-C power, a tray table with an integrated phone holder and a 13.3in 4K HDR touchscreen.

Newly delivered A350s will add left- and right-side exterior camera views alongside the existing forward and downward perspectives. Emirates does not identify every camera position in the announcement, so the four named views should not be read as a total camera count.

Defining the “World First” Claim

Emirates' announcement also calls the product the world's first electrically powered Premium Economy seat. That broader wording needs qualification: Japan Airlines announced electrically operated Premium Economy reclining for its Airbus A350-1000 in 2023, and the aircraft entered service in January 2024.

Emirates' narrower claim concerns the full-seat-height, electrically adjustable privacy divider between neighboring Premium Economy seats. JAL's powered seat used large privacy partitions, but its release did not describe those dividers as electrically adjustable or full-seat-height.

Product Debuts on New A350 Deliveries

Emirates has tied the product to newly received A350s. The September 3 announcement does not set out a retrofit for A350s already in service or for the airline's Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleets.

The 28-seat cabin also differs from the 21-seat Premium Economy section aboard the first Emirates A350 that Airways examined after its January 2025 commercial debut. Because the September 3 announcement includes no delivery sequence or route list for the new seat, passengers should not assume that every A350 flight includes the electric divider.