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Left to right, Emirates' Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Tim Clark alongside Safran's Olivier Andriès and Victoria Foy.
DUBAI—Safran Seats will establish a manufacturing and seat assembly facility in Dubai to support Emirates under an agreement that will initially focus on business and economy seats for cabin retrofits, before expanding to line fit in future.
Announced under a memorandum of understanding signed at the Dubai Airshow on Nov. 18, the joint industrial cooperation “establishes Dubai as an aerospace manufacturing hub,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates' chairman and CEO. “Our goal is to further develop aerospace manufacturing to attract component suppliers, technology companies, and talented, skilled professionals from around the world.”
Safran and Emirates aim to complete the 20,000-25,000-m facility by the fourth quarter of 2027. Its production will support Emirates’ retrofit program and future cabin interior requirements, while also serving other Safran Seats airline customers, amid growing demand and supply chain challenges.
Safran supplies premium seating for the carrier’s ongoing retrofit program it first announced in 2021, as well as for its new Airbus A350 fleet. Now, the new initiative “aligns with our industrial strategy as we adapt and prepare our business to support the current and future worldwide market ramp-up,” Safran CEO Olivier Andriès said.
The carrier’s retrofit program has 219 aircraft slated for full refurbishment—110 Airbus A380s and 109 Boeing 777s—with 76 completed to-date.
The new facility is slated to launch with an initial assembly capability of up to 1,000 business class seats per year, before ramping up in a phased approach. Emirates described the joint industrial cooperation as the first of its kind.
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