Emirates crafts luxury luggage from repurposed aircraft parts

For those who’ve dreamed of owning a piece of the legendary A380, here's your opportunity: Emirates is about to release an exclusive range of luggage and accessories made from upcycled parts of its Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 planes.

The collection features suitcases, backpacks, handbags, cardholders, toiletry bags, belts, and shoes, all skillfully handmade by Emirates' tailors in a Dubai Engineering facility.

Launching in 2024, each item in the collection is custom-made, allowing customers to request personalized designs or add engraved initials. All proceeds will be donated to children in need through the Emirates Airline Foundation.

This initiative is part of a larger retrofit project, where 120 aircraft are being outfitted with new interiors. While most cabin components are recycled, Emirates is upcycling materials from First and Business Class for this exclusive collection.

The collection so far includes seatbelts, headrests, leather from A380 lounges, and fur from cockpit seat linings. Emirates reports that over 30,000 pounds of materials have been salvaged from 16 aircraft, with plans to recover up to 595 pounds of leather and 1,382 pounds of seat fabric for each retrofitted aircraft.

A piece of aviation history

At the Dubai Air Show in November, a preview of the collection was unveiled, featuring items crafted from leather seats from First Class, Business Class, and Sofa seats, as well as aluminum sourced from headrests.

“We’ve already created carry-on cases and backpacks, which have been receiving great interest,” explains Ahmed Safa, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president for engineering. “The leather is cleaned at our partner facility, then meticulously hand-cleaned, conditioned, and disinfected before being transformed into luggage. New linings, handles, and clasps are added, all made in our dedicated in-house workshop at Emirates Engineering.”

“The designs were crafted by our internal team, who researched current trends in luggage and popular backpack shapes to create custom patterns for each item.”

A dedicated team of 14 tailors, known as the Engineering Maintenance Assistants, typically responsible for cabin fitting upkeep, is currently focused on this project. Emirates has allocated four of them full-time to work exclusively on the upcycling initiative.

Aircraft typically reach the end of their service life and are then recycled by specialized firms, which can salvage up to 90% of the materials for reuse. Previously, Emirates had auctioned off items from a retired A380 for charity, but this new collection is made from materials sourced from planes still in operation. These materials come from aircraft undergoing cabin redesigns, with 67 A380s and 53 777s being retrofitted between 2022 and 2024. The upgrade process includes replacing 4,000 seats and refurbishing First and Business Class suites.

“This is the first time Emirates has undertaken such a large-scale aircraft retrofit, so we’ve never had access to these materials in such quantities before,” explains Safa. “Once the retrofit is completed, there will be no more fabric available for this project. It’s a rare opportunity to own a piece of aviation history.”

Safa also mentions that some challenges arose during the project, particularly in cleaning the fur lining of the Captain’s seats without damaging it. “We’ve now adopted an air cleaning and disinfection method to preserve its quality,” he adds.

Other airlines, such as Lufthansa, have previously launched collections crafted from recycled aircraft materials, including a series of home furniture and accessories made from parts of a retired A340-600.

Sustainable fashion expert and educator Nina Gbor notes that while upcycled products are sometimes viewed as lower in quality, Emirates is proving that upcycling can result in both stylish and high-quality items. “It’s also impressive how they’ve maintained elements of the aircraft, like the seatbelts, in their original form, using them as bag straps, for instance,” she adds.

Given that each aircraft can yield hundreds of pounds of leather and fabric, Gbor hopes Emirates will extend this initiative beyond a limited edition. “I also wish this approach inspires other manufacturers to repurpose and redesign existing materials for their products,” she comments. “It’s a revolutionary step towards establishing a much-needed circular economy.”