SELECTED CARRIERS OFFERING PREMIUM ECONOMY

10-inch recline, harking back to airline business classes of yesteryear. The seat will not be a fixed shell, which Clark regards as a business class proposition. “We’re trying to trade people up from economy, not down from business,” he says.

Etihad has taken a different approach involving much less outlay, offering Economy Space seats on Airbus A380s. It is essentially an economy seat with an extra five inches of legroom. Seats are in their own section, but it is definitely not a premium economy product.

Qatar Airways, meanwhile, is sticking to its belief that its economy cabin is so good it does not need premium economy. Unveiling a new economy seat in March, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker boldly claimed his passengers would be more comfortable in Qatar

Airways’ economy seats “than in a premium economy cabin with another airline”.

Others doubtless disagree; including Air France, Brussels Airlines and ANA, which all revealed new cabins this year. Finnair has also announced the introduction of a fullyfledged premium economy product on its long-haul services towards the end of next year, though details are still to be released.

Air France unveiled its new product in February, including a redesigned premium economy section that will be retrofitted to 15 Airbus A330s by next year. The cabin’s 21 seats in a 2-4-2 layout are of generous proportions, being 19 inches wide with a 40-inch pitch. The cabin – with 24 seats – is also on Air France’s first Airbus A350 that debuts on Paris-abidjan from October and Paris-toronto in November.

Brussels Airlines entered the premium economy market this year with cabins featuring 21 seats (which have a 38-inch pitch and 40-degree recline) in a 2-3-2 configuration. The option is already available on flights to North America and is now being rolled out on services from Brussels to Africa, beginning with Kinshasa and Luanda from October. The conversion of its entire longhaul fleet should be completed by mid-2020.

ANA’S new premium economy concept by V&A Dundee architect Kengo Kuma and British consultancy Acumen, has been available on Boeing 777-330ERS flying the Heathrow-tokyo Haneda NH211/12 frequency since August. The new cabin was due to be on each of the carrier’s Londonhaneda flights from September.

When “starchitects” like Kuma have a hand in designing a cabin, you know that premium economy has really arrived.

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