Spanish carrier Iberia is the latest to reveal plans for a separate premium economy cabin.
Iberia announced this week that it will install the seats on 37 of its long-haul aircraft, the first of which will be available to passengers in the summer of 2017.
The oneworld airline will install the seats on eight of its Airbus A330-300s and on 13 of its A340-600s. Those planes will be reconfigured with the new seats from mid-2017 and into 2018. Iberia’s new A350-900s will come factory-equipped with the cabin on the 16 of the jets that the airline will begin receiving in 2018, the carrier says.
The so-called premium economy seats are more than just standard coach seats with extra legroom. Instead, it’s an entirely separate seat and class of service – something that splits the difference between coach class and business class.
The seats have been a growing trend in recent years, with a number of full-service international carriers adding the offering to their long-haul fleets. British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are among the numerous global airlines to offer a distinct premium economy cabin. Fares for the seats typically fall about halfway between coach and business class prices.
U.S. carriers had been slow to match the trend, but that’s just recently changed. American and Delta have each announced that they’ll be adding their own international-style premium economy seats for long-haul international flights. American began flying the first of its premium economy seats earlier this month. They’re expected to slowly begin rolling out to its international routes in November. Delta says its international-style premium economy seats will debut on long-haul flights sometime in 2017.
As for Iberia, it touted the advantages the new seating would give in key markets.
“Iberia is the sole airline that will offer this intermediate seating class on direct flights between Spain and Latin America, which should strengthen our leadership of this market,” Iberia Chief Commercial Director Marco Sansavini says in a statement.
Iberia says its first premium economy-equipped planes will enter service next summer on routes connecting the airline’s Madrid hub to Chicago O’Hare in North America and to Buenos Aires, Bogota and Lima in South America.
The cabin will feature recliner seats 19 inches wide and with a 37-inch “seat pitch” between rows. Iberia says the new seats recline by an additional 40% over those in its standard economy cabin.
Customers flying in Iberia’s premium economy cabin will also receive noise-cancelling earphones and an amenity kit when booking in that class of service. Seat-back entertainment screens will be 13 inches wide, as opposed to the 9-inch screens in standard coach.
Premium economy passengers will also get priority boarding access, better food options and an increased baggage allowance.
USA TODAY
