Airlines Offer More Premium Economy Service For Indian Flyers

Monday, 14th January 2013 at 01:16am

Air travelers from India seem to have love affair with premium economy cabin, the latest product innovation offered by Air France and Virgin Atlantic. The take-up of this particular class grew 40% for Air France and 60% for Virgin for its Indian routes. As a result, Virgin Atlantic has added 13 more seats to 48 on its premium economy class in its A330 planes.

Not to be left behind, three other international carriers, Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Turkish Airlines, have converted a section of their economy cabin into premium economy seats for flights to the subcontinent. Compared to regular economy class, premium economy section offers more comfortable reclining seats as well as extensive menu offering. Cathay Pacific even provides separate check-in counters for passengers on premium economy class. The added comfort and enhanced service come with a premium price, of course, as passengers have to shell out 20-30% more than the lowest economy ticket to grab a seat. Though, it is still much cheaper than a business class seat. This innovative product has helped airlines to improve its load factor and yields per flight.

In its recent public announcement, Air France officials disclosed that in the past three years they were able to draw 1.5 million passengers to its premium economy class across its network. It further said that the Indian market for the said product has been booming since its launch in 2010. Yeshwant Pawar, its general manager for India, added that they observed a steady increase as the preference of the product by its customers for the past year.

He revealed that the airline was able to attract 7,000 customers on its premium economy last year, registering a growth of 40% over the preceding year. The premium economy service is offered on its 20 flights a week to India's three major cities - Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai.

Virgin Atlantic General Manager for India, Stephen King, meanwhile admitted that their premium economy class posted over 60% growth last year for flights from Delhi to London and New York.

British Airways also boasted that they were able to fly 1.2 million passengers on premium economy class across its network. It has also revealed that the airline is planning to invest 5 billion pounds to upgrade its service and acquire new aircraft.

By: Pete Lee.