By Jerome Greer Chandler
Published Thu Oct 9, 2014
Years after archrivals Air France and British Airways rolled out their premium economy products, German flag carrier Lufthansa is making its entry into the increasingly popular niche. The result may well be worth waiting for.
Saying 'booking levels to date have significantly exceeded our expectations,' Lufthansa CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt believes the new class of service is “striking a chord” with cost-conscious business travelers, as well as leisure flyers who want more space and amenities when they vacation.
Lufthansa’s entry in the PE arena gives passengers 50 percent more personal space, as well as a specially-developed seat with adjustable backrest and footrest. The back of that seat in front of you isn’t bad either. It’s fitted with a video monitor that’s as large as 12 inches and is operated by remote control. Got to get some work done? The new seats come with their own power outlets.
As far as food’s concerned, make your selection from a menu card and consume what you’ve ordered off china tableware. Drinks are free. There’s also an amenity kit.
On the ground, the airline prepares you for the airborne amenities by offering free access to almost all of its Lufthansa Business Lounges, as well as its Welcome Lounge at Frankfurt International Airport.
Book a Premium Economy seat on LH flights from December on, but only on select Boeing 747-8 routes. The four-engine widebodies will offer initially 32 seats of Premium Economy passage from Frankfurt to Bangalore, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Delhi, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.
By the end of January 2015 Lufthansa says it will put Premium Economy on its first Airbus A340-600s bound from Munich to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Seoul is set for Munich Premium Economy service from February 11, 2015 on.
By the end of April 2015, look for Lufthansa to fit its massive A380s with the PE cabin on routes from Frankfurt to Houston, Johannesburg, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Singapore.
From May 12, 2015 onward A340-600s will offer Premium Economy seating from Munich to Los Angeles, Mexico City, Newark, Beijing, San Francisco and Sao Paulo. Plans are for the airline's entire long-haul fleet will offer the service by late summer 2015.
This particular species of premium economy is very much like what business class was when it was first introduced in the 1980s. It's not merely a matter of more legroom, an approach followed by some U.S. airlines in their upgraded economy sections.
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