The Business Travel Magazine December/January 2018/19

premium economy
ANA
provide accurate and comprehensive
content choices for their travellers,” he says.
“The right technology can provide access
to rich images of airline seat options and
other airline products. This gives companies
better value and coverage of available
airline content,” Johnson adds.
The number of airlines offering premium
economy has grown from a small handful of
trailblazers in the 1990s to in excess of 25
today, with new carriers jumping on board
all the time. A trend that initially started in
Europe and Asia with Virgin Atlantic and EVA
Air has spread across the globe, with the
latest converts being in North America and
the Middle East.
Virgin Atlantic’s popular premium
economy cabin entered service in 1992 and
was branded Mid Class. The airline says it
was aimed at “the cost-conscious business
traveller, or leisure travellers looking to
treat themselves”.
The product was rebranded in 1994 as
Premium Economy and again in 2018 as
Premium. It is available on all routes and all
aircraft types across the carrier’s fleet.
Premium upgrades
Wise to the fact that its competitors are
jumping on the bandwagon, Virgin Atlantic
says it is “continually updating” its premium
economy product. In addition to 21-inchwide
leather seats with a 38-inch pitch,
dedicated check-in and bag drop, a meal
served on china crockery with real cutlery, a
Norwegian
glass of bubbly on boarding, an amenity kit
and an extra checked baggage allowance,
the airline has added more features designed
to make its Premium cabin stand out.
“When we introduced our Boeing 787
aircraft in 2014 we introduced a Wander
Wall at the front of the Premium cabin. We
know customers like to stretch their legs
and help themselves to snacks throughout
the flight and the Wander Wall is a social
space where they can socialise with their
fellow travellers and chat to crew while
helping themselves to complimentary
snacks and refreshments,” says the airline.
Virgin Atlantic has also spent the last 12
months working with celebrity chef Donal
Skehan to “reinvent” its in-flight dining
experience. The new Dine with Donal dishes
debuted in the airline’s Upper Class cabins
in October and will be available in the
Premium and Economy cabins next year.
When the airline adds the Airbus A350 to
its fleet in 2019, it will provide “a great
opportunity to look at all our cabins and
what they offer customers”. Details on what
the premium economy cabin on the A350s
will look like, however, remain strictly under
wraps until the New Year.
Fellow premium economy pioneer EVA Air
is also attempting to differentiate its
product as more airlines seek to emulate
what it started in 1992. The Taiwan-based
carrier announced earlier this year that it
has decided to “call it what it is” and rebrand
the ’in-between cabin’ as Premium Economy.
US carriers arrived
very late to the
premium economy party.
First to turn up was
American Airlines in 2016”
It was previously known as Elite Class.
Alongside the name change came two new
amenity kits from skincare specialists Erno
Laszlo and THANN, and new bedding too.
Cathay Pacific, which introduced a
premium economy product in March 2012,
is also in the process of upgrading its
offering. When the Hong Kong-based carrier
added the Airbus A350-900 to its fleet in
May 2016, it installed its second generation
of premium economy seats. The new seats
are also being rolled out across select
routes served by its A350-1000 aircraft.
“The A350 premium economy seat sets a
new standard for Cathay Pacific,” says the
carrier’s Marketing and Digital Sales
Manager for the UK and Ireland, Paul
Cruttenden. “It offers additional features
including dedicated tablet holders that
make it easy for passengers to enjoy
entertainment content on their own devices,
power outlets and USB power ports.
“Each premium economy class seat has a
full-length leg rest which, together with the
ergonomically designed seat, allows more
flexibility to adjust for optimal comfort.”
Late arrivals
While premium economy cabins have been
springing up throughout Europe and Asia
over the last quarter of a century, US
airlines arrived late to the party. First to
turn up was American Airlines, which began
selling the new class towards the end of
2016 across its international widebody fleet.
Next was Delta Air Lines, which began
rolling out its Premium Select product on
certain international flights in late 2017.
Delta’s Airbus A350s feature 48 Premium
Select seats, sandwiched between 32 Delta
One business class seats and 226 Main
Cabin seats. United Airlines was the last US
major to throw its hat into the ring when it
34 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.com