Lufthansa has unveiled its premium economy class, in preparation for rollout in November.
The airline said the new cabin would first be available on some long-haul flights on its Boeing 747-8, and across all of its long-haul fleet by the end of summer 2015.
Lufthansa Passenger Airlines COO Jens Bischof said the airline had had sleepless nights about whether to introduce a premium economy class.
The decision to go ahead came after the group upgraded its business class, meaning there was enough of a difference between economy and business to justify the introduction of a premium economy service.
He said he believed the product was of a high enough quality that the airline would be able to attract customers from rivals, many of whom have already introduced premium economy seating.
Speaking at the ITB exhibition in Berlin, Bischof said around 70% of business travellers were travelling in economy these days.
"We believe the upsale potential for economy to premium economy is far bigger than the downsell from a full-class business with a flat seat."
