Inside the massive Emirates complex designed to fix the Airbus A380 superjumbo
Emirates Engineering is based on a massive complex of administrative buildings and hangars located on the northern edge of Dubai International Airport.
The facilities eight hangars help make up one of the largest free-standing structures in the world.
Our first stop, the Aircraft Appearance Centre. This facility is more than a paint shop. Here, workers are able to assess the condition of the aircraft's exterior. cleaning it, paint it, and apply any additional decals.
Here's an Airbus A380 waiting for a new coat of paint.
Inside the maintenance hangars...
...We come across one of the 10 remaining Boeing 777-200LRs in the Emirates fleet.
Its cabin has been completely stripped down to make way for the new interior Emirates debuted in November at the Dubai Air Show.
Here's a pair of new business class seat sitting in a crate waiting to be installed.
Here are some of the old seats that have been removed.
Next up is a another Boeing 777. This time is a -300ER series that's being returned at the end of a lease.
Emirates is redoing the interior of the aircraft based on the leasing agreement.
The seats stay the same, but the Emirates carpet has to go. Hence to the new blue carpet in the cabin.
Here's a GE90 turbofan engine from a Boeing 777 sitting in the middle of the hangar.
The next plane we come across is this A380. No organization in the world has more experience maintaining the A380. In fact, Emirates Engineering plans to leverage this experience by making itself the main service provider for airlines that operate the plane around the world.
The double-decker is massive!
It's in the shop to have an engine pylon replaced.
To get around the complex, workers use tricycles like these.
Here's another A380. You can't fully appreciate how massive these planes are until you see them in person.
Finally, the last plane in the service hangar is a 777-300ER that is having its landing gear changed.
The last stop of the tour was the facility's engine shop.
Here's a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 from an Airbus A380. Emirates' A380 fleet has traditionally used Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, but the the airline decided to switch over to Rolls-Royce a couple of years ago.
With a new off site engine shop in place, this facility is less busy these days.
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