Lufthansa has taken the wraps off its new premium economy class which, the airline said, would first be available on some long-haul flights from November on its Boeing 747-8, and across all of its long-haul fleet by the end of northern summer 2015.
Lufthansa Passenger Airlines COO Jens Bischof said the airline had had sleepless nights about whether to introduce a premium economy class but was comfortable now the group had upgraded its business class, meaning there was enough of a difference between economy and business to justify the introduction of a premium economy.
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.
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,” he said at the ITB travel fair in Berlin.
