Tall people rejoice: Air New Zealand is joining the ranks of airlines offering an economy cabin product with extra legroom.

The airline said it would introduce extra legroom seats called Economy Stretch on its widebody fleet from late 2020, offering passengers a 35-inch seat pitch and additional perks such as premium headset and a plush pillow.

Although Economy Stretch will use a standard Air New Zealand economy seat,  it will offer four inches more legroom than the usual 31-inch seat pitch and welcome relief for long-suffering taller passengers.

It will also give AirNZ an advantage over recalcitrant Qantas, which has said it has no immediate plans to add extra legroom seats in its international economy cabins.

READ: Qantas boss says no immediate plans for extra legroom economy option

AirNZ joins a number of carriers offering the seats, including trans-Pacific competitors such as Virgin Australia and American Airlines.

The airline did not indicate how much it would charge for the new product but Virgin’s Economy X costs $A199 one way on Sydney-Los Angeles with American charging a similar fee.

The Kiwi carrier is currently reconfiguring its Boeing 777-200, 777-300 and 787-9 aircraft to fit a stretch zone at the front of the Economy cabin, with up to 42 of the seats.

It will join the airline’s innovative SkyCouch in offering economy passengers who can’t afford to upgrade to premium economy a further choice.

“We know one size doesn’t fit all and we want customers to have a fantastic experience, whatever the cabin,’’ chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said.

“Economy customers told us they want more space and comfort and we’re looking forward to giving customers a new option when traveling long haul.

“While our premium cabins will remain the first choice for those wanting all the luxuries, Economy Stretch is a step-up at a competitive price, and we’re confident it will appeal.”

Economy Stretch passengers will not get the wider seats or premium wine and food of premium economy, which also has a generous 41-inch seat pitch on the Kiwi carrier.

But they will get Air New Zealand’s widely recognized service with New Zealand wine and cuisine, gate-to-gate entertainment and free Wi-Fi on enabled aircraft.

Singapore Airlines is offering passengers sick of being stung by global roaming charges the opportunity to use free pocket Wi-Fi routers while visiting its home city over the next year.

The airline has teamed up with DataPro Technologies to allow eligible Singapore and SilkAir customers who are 16 years and older to stay connected on a secure 4G Wi-Fi while exploring Singapore.

The free three-day, two-night WiFi comes with complimentary 2GB of data and each hotspot router has 12 hours of battery life and can support up to five mobile devices.

READ: Virgin to add “fly now, pay later” option.

Those on longer stays can extend up to 10 days and 50GB of data for $S12,  eight euros or $US9 weekly.

Visitors can use the Datapro device as a personal hotspot and the company says the network is fast enough to make video calls, watch you-tube or stream movies.

But undoubtedly the most useful apps for visitors will be those that allow them to find their way around, check e-mails and post their adventures on social media.

SIA recommends customers can pre-book their WiFi devices online before their travel date at www.singaporeair.com/free3d2nwifi.

Once they’ve done this they can proceed directly to the hotspot station at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel with their SIA or SilkAir flight booking reference number to redeem their free 3D2N WiFi.

Customers without bookings can also do the same but this will be subject to availability on a “while stocks last “ basis.

The WiFI devices must be returned to the hotspot station at Changi upon departure and the airline notes it will disclose personal data to DataPro Technologies in accordance with its privacy policy.

Virgin Australia customers will next year get to fly now and pay later thanks to a deal with LatitudePay announced Tuesday.

The Australian carrier is adding the option for domestic and international flights costing up to  $1000 from the first half of 2020.

It is also promising to introduce an interest-free installment option for travel over $1000 sometime next year.

READ: Virgin Australia ‘reasonably capable” of servicing Tokyo Haneda

The deal allows customers who sign up with LattitudePay to use the system to buy a ticket and pay for it over 10 weeks without paying interest.

It comes at an opportune time with luck-luster domestic airline leisure as consumers face weak wages growth and worries about international and domestic issues.

The buy now, pay later phenomenon has also proved popular with younger people, many of whom are eschewing credit cards.

Passengers wanting to use the system will need to undergo a credit and ID check.

They are required to pay the first installment upfront and the LattitudePay website warns there are late fees that the company’s website puts at $10 for each payment missed.

Users authorize the company to deduct the payment amounts automatically from a debit or credit card.

Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah said LattitudePay would provide more choice and flexibility for passengers planning their next trip or holiday.

LatitudePay launched just over a month ago and joins a crowded “buy now, pay later” market in Australia.

However, the company behind it, Latitude Financial, is the former GE Finance that provided retail customers with personal loans for years and has about 2.6 million customers.

“Latitude has been providing payments and installments options for more than 30 years, which means we are uniquely placed to support Virgin Australia and its customers who want easier ways to reach their chosen destinations,” Latitude chief executive Ahmer Fahour said.

Norwegian Air plans to boost frequencies on flights between the United States and its most popular European destinations in the 2020 summer season.

Among the beneficiaries is Los Angeles-Paris, which moves to double daily flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and 10 frequencies per week,  and New York-Paris, which will now run double daily services on Mondays and Saturdays and nine flights per week.

San Francisco-London will also move from five flights per week to a daily service.

READ ANA envisages travel without planes.

Routes to gain an additional weekly service include Austin-London, Boston-Paris, Denver-London, Los Angeles-Rome, Tampa-London and Fort Lauderdale-Oslo.

The airline, which now lays claim to being the biggest foreign carrier serving New York City by passenger numbers,  will consolidate its New York services at John F. Kennedy International Airport for its winter program starting October 27.

This will see services to Rome and Barcelona currently operating from Newark move to JFK.

“The United States is Norwegian’s key market for long-haul routes and is now the largest market by revenue within our entire network,’’ Norwegian senior vice president Matthew Wood.

“Our nonstop routes to Paris, London and Barcelona have been in very high demand by American and European travelers alike, and we continue to bolster capacity to meet the demand.

“Paris, in particular, has seen rapid growth in recent years, now served by seven U.S. gateways and we see potential for more. With this expansion, we anticipate a very successful summer 2020.”

Norwegian is the world’s fifth-largest low-cost airline and carried over 37 million passengers in 2018.

The airline operates more than 500 routes to more than 150 destinations in Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Thailand, North and South America. Norwegian has a fleet of more than 162 aircraft, with an average of 3.8 years.

It moved firmly into the spotlight in 2014 with a decision to launch low-cost flights across the Atlantic

The airline has struggled financially and was a big operator of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX, with 18 aircraft affected by the grounding.

It reported a net profit of 82.8 million Norwegian kroner ($U9.7 million) in its second quarter, down 72 percent from the same period a year ago.

However, it noted its underlying operating result before ownership costs was more than 2.3 billion kroner, the highest ever in the second quarter and 1.2 billion kroner higher than last year.

Also in July, co-founder Bjorn Kjos stepped down as chief executive 17 years at the carrier’s helm.