Family First: Emirates’ ethos for its best-in-class Economy experience

With a new year in full swing, Emirates wraps up its busiest month for family travel bookings across January - cementing its position as the international airline of choice for families. Throughout 2025, 84% of all Emirates’ bookings were made for travel in Economy Class, and group and family bookings accounted for 64% of all passengers who travelled in Economy Class.

As many plan and look forward to an annual holiday, January is a peak booking time for families who fly better with Emirates. Economy travellers booked early, especially groups and families, with more than 65% of group bookings made at least 3 months ahead of departure and more than 65% of families booking at least 2 months ahead of travel. The top destinations for groups were Dubai, Jeddah, Medina, Istanbul and Rome, and the top destinations for families were Dubai, Bangkok, Jeddah, Malé and Mauritius.

In 2026, named the ‘Year of the Family’ in the UAE - Emirates notes that family booking trends align to the school holidays, with bookings for Spring and Summer break made in January, and another batch of bookings expected to be made in summer for travel later in the year.

Emirates Economy - globally renowned as best in class for families

Emirates operates one of the world’s largest long-haul networks, with Economy Class customers representing the majority of passengers who fly. Emirates has always invested heavily in the Economy experience, with clearly defined, world class standards implemented across cabin design and seating, catering and hospitality, entertainment and comfort onboard, and service and safety provided by cabin crew. The strength of Emirates Economy experience lies in the consistency and scale at which these standards are delivered across almost 500 flights daily, and the day to day examples of the fly better promise at the core of Emirates’ brand.

More than a seat

Emirates operates a widebody fleet, including Airbus A380s, A350s and Boeing 777s, meaning Economy Class customers benefit from aircraft designed for long-haul comfort rather than short-haul density. That means families experience the comfort of wider cabins and aisles, larger overhead bins for hand luggage and better cabin airflow and pressurisation. Key features of Emirates Economy experience are ergonomically designed seats with adjustable headrests, a generous seat pitch for stretching out legs, personal entertainment screens for all customers and even mood lighting designed to facilitate relaxation and rest.

On Emirates’ latest aircraft – the A350, Economy Class offers up to 259 comfortable seats in a 3-3-3 seat configuration, with each seat set to offer a 6-way adjustable headrest and larger storage space overhead. Each customer may enjoy their own 13.3 inch 4K screen to watch movies and shows on ice, powerful in-seat charging for devices, a spacious cabin with extra high ceilings and luxuriously designed washrooms with lots more room.

Many of Emirates’ aircraft have already benefitted from a $5 billion retrofit programme where next-generation seating, fully refreshed interiors, and a sleek, modern design aesthetic contribute to comfort and relaxation onboard.

Emirates also offers priority boarding for families across all international airports to give extra time for children to get settled into their seat, as well as having a policy of seating families together. Parents can book seats located next to designated bassinets for babies aged 2 years and below and weighing less than 11kg, allowing their little ones to rest comfortably throughout the flight. Parents can also bring approved car seats onboard for extra familiarity and safety.

Network and operational reliability

Another practical advantage of the Emirates Economy experience is network reach. Emirates serves destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australasia, often with non-stop services that reduce journey complexity. For Economy Class passengers, this hub-and-spoke model translates into fewer connections on long intercontinental journeys, standardised onboard products across regions, world class hospitality and reduced risk of baggage mishandling.

Emirates has an outstanding record for baggage, with almost 3 million bags handled every month and a 99.9% success rate for baggage handling from its Dubai hub - placing it as the top performing airline worldwide. 99.9% of all baggage coming from Dubai or transferring through reaches its owner on time, at the correct destination. Emirates rate of ‘baggage mishandling’ which can be defined as ‘delayed, lost or misplaced baggage,’ is minimal at 1.8 in a 1000 at the Dubai hub - almost 30 times lower than some other providers.

Expertly trained, friendly cabin crew

Emirates employs cabin crew from more than 140 nationalities speaking over 70 languages, reflecting its global route network and multicultural customers. The world-class training crew receive focuses on safety, consistency and the art of hospitality across cultures.

To make travelling more comfortable for Economy Class customers, Emirates cabin crew follow clearly structured service flows that have been expertly designed to ensure customers enjoy a serene flight. This includes attentiveness to the timing of food service, cabin lighting changes and providing comfort checks for a personalised experience. Emirates cabin crew are trained under a single global hospitality standard, with dedicated procedures for families, unaccompanied minors and passengers requiring assistance. Cabin crew are trained for and accustomed to full cabins, high numbers of families, multicultural passenger profiles and empowered to provide world class hospitality throughout.

To make memories that last a lifetime, Emirates cabin crew regularly capture special moments onboard with an instant Polaroid camera, which are then presented to customers in a limited-edition Emirates photo frame as a keepsake.

Flavoursome food, generously served

Emirates provides complimentary meals and beverages on all Economy Class flights, regardless of route length. Menus are crafted to reflect regional flavours and destination-inspired preferences, with freshly prepared meals.

Emirates Economy Class catering includes generous, multi-course meals with complimentary soft drinks, juices, tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages if preferred. Emirates invests significantly more in its culinary and wine programmes in Economy Class than many airlines, to ensure its customers have a high quality experience. Emirates also regularly introduces new treats for Economy Class customers, such as complimentary popcorn on some sectors, ice-cream tubs and warm cookies on others. Emirates accommodates a range of special meals on request from vegan to vegetarian to gluten free and more. Everything offered onboard by Emirates in Economy Class is already factored into the ticket fare, reducing stress onboard for families where no extra purchases onboard are necessary. The only exception is the option to buy a Moët et Chandon Champagne bottle with a cake, if a customer wants to celebrate their journey!

Kid’s meals are available on almost all Emirates routes, across all classes - featuring tasty and nutritious meals, with lots of snackable elements, on a specially designed colourful meal tray featuring the iconic Emirates crew and pilot Little Travellers. Organic baby food, milk formula and baby bottles are available onboard for infants on a complimentary basis, if parents and guardians require them during the flight.

A world class entertainment experience with ice

Emirates’ ice inflight entertainment is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive in commercial aviation. It consistently ranks number one in global airline awards and passenger surveys. With over 6,500 channels of high quality and acclaimed content, ice is the world’s largest entertainment library in the sky. Catering to the varied tastes of millions of passengers, Emirates has nearly 3,000 movies in 50 languages, over 200 documentaries, more than 150 Arabic movies and TV series, and 300+ Bollywood and South Asian movies to name a few. With providers like HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Food Network, Discovery+, BBC, Bloomberg Originals, Shahid, BBC Earth, Animal Planet, HGTV and Spotify - Emirates ice also has podcasts, language-learning courses, animations and even live sport and news at 40,000 feet.

ice also has lots of children’s movies and TV options from Disney+, CBeebies, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, including all the top characters like Paw Patrol, Bluey and Hey Duggee. Children are given special headphones to enjoy ice, designed to have a better and more comfortable fit on their head while they enjoy a huge array of child-friendly content. For gaming enthusiasts, Emirates ice even has up to 100 video games, which can be played by two players in different seats. Older kids can get into a groove with Emirates ice music selection and browse over 3,000 albums and over 600 playlists.

Emirates is currently transforming the Wi-Fi inflight with Starlink connectivity from the world’s most advanced satellite internet. Starlink delivers a consistent, ultra-fast, ground-quality service at 40,000 feet that will enable Economy Class customers to stream, enjoy online gaming, video call friends and family, work and scroll social media for free.

Complimentary comforts onboard

Economy Class customers on long haul flights globally receive complimentary amenity kits, a collectible range designed in partnership with United for Wildlife, that highlight the most endangered species on the planet. The kit bags are filled with comfort items for travellers - soft socks, eyeshades, earplugs and a dental kit.

Children also receive their own amenity kit, and babies too. Staying true to its family-friendly promise, Emirates kids’ kitshighlight the excitement of Emirates’ impressive sponsorships portfolio supporting and celebrating football, tennis, basketball, sailing, golf, horse riding, cycling, cricket, rugby, music and literature. There are 12 collectible items available, in separate kits for 0-2 years, 3-6 years and 7-12 years. Kids of all ages are also offered a selection of toys and giveaways onboard, from collectible plushies and cards, to the Emirates Fly with Me magazine featuring puzzles, jokes and activities. Parents travelling with infants are offered an infant amenity kit including diapers, a bib, lotion and a changing mat so that the littlest passengers stay fresh throughout their journey.

For even more comfort onboard, Emirates aircraft bathrooms are equipped with baby changing tables. Kids in Economy Class can have pillows and blankets so they can make themselves comfortable and have a nap if required or cuddle up to watch a movie.

Extra support when needed

In Dubai Airport, Emirates provides free baby strollers for infants and younger kids, providing comfort for tired little legs. Emirates also offers a complimentary Unaccompanied Minors service to children aged 5-11 years who are travelling alone, whereby children are accompanied and supervised by specialist Emirates ground staff and cabin crew for every step of their journey. There is a dedicated Unaccompanied Minors Lounge with video games, free Wi‑Fi, comfortable sofas, and children’s bathrooms, where kids can enjoy drinks and snacks as they wait for their flight.

For customers with accessible travel requirements, Emirates has a range of support services and tools, from the new Accessible & Inclusive Travel Hub on Emirates.com, designed to contain all the information needed for accessible and inclusive travel, to a range of sensory products and fidget toys for customers of all ages, which cabin crew can provide onboard. Emirates is committed to setting industry standards and accessibility for people with disabilities and offers over 600 movies with ‘Closed Captions’ and 200 movies with ‘Audio Description’, for those with visual or hearing impairment.

Rewarding loyalty in Economy Class

Economy Class customers and families who prefer to fly with Emirates can benefit from joining Skywards, which offers members unmatched rewards and benefits. The programme offers four tiers of membership: Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, with each tier earning exclusive privileges. Members can earn Miles with a multitude of partners and then spend them on an extensive range of rewards, including flight tickets with Emirates and partner airlines, flight upgrades, hotel stays, retail shopping and money-can’t-buy experiences. Kids aged 2-17 years old can sign up to Skywards Skysurfers loyalty programme for young travellers and earn Skywards Miles on every Emirates and flydubai flight, and pool them in a family account.