Dopo l'annuncio dello scorso dicembre del lancio della Y+ sulla flotta di lungo raggio del vettore tedesco, LH ha dato ieri appuntamento al marzo 2014 per la diffusione al pubblico dei dettagli del nuovo prodotto. Le prime macchine riconfigurate opereranno a partire da metà 2014.
http://www.ausbt.com.au/lufthansa-to-reveal-new-premium-economy-seats-in-march-2014
Lufthansa will unveil its all-new premium economy cabin in March next year, with first flights featuring the extra-wide and extra-legroom seats by mid-2014.
The German juggernaut has long resisted adding premium economy into it's three-class mix, sharing the same concerns of major airlines such as Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines that this 'in-between' category would dilute the profitable bookings made for business class.
But many other airlines – including Qantas, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic – have found premium economy to be an appealing upgrade from economy as well as a useful product for attracting cash-constrained business travellers in the post-GFC world.
With that in mind, Lufthansa has finally bitten the premium economy bullet. “We are introducing a fourth class now because our customers want it" says Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz, who says the upgrade to LH's entire long-haul international fleet to add premium economy will begin "in the spring of 2014".
"I've already seen the first draft (seat designs) our customers can look forward to" Franz told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.
Lufthansa's premium economy cabin will represent around 10% of the total seating on each aircraft, Franz estimates.
The airline previously described its premium economy as a "substantially upgraded economy product".
Unless Lufthansa decides on a seriously left-field option, which would be well out of character for the airline, we expect to see a premium economy seat of around 19-20 inches wide, with 38-39 inches of pitch.
That's a couple of inches added in width and six to eight extra inches of legroom compared to Lufthansa's economy seating, which remains among the tightest squeeze of the world's full-service airline.
Speaking at the launch of Lufthansa's Frankfurt-Hong Kong Boeing 747-8 service, Lufthansa Vice President (Sales & Services Europe) Gotz Ahmelmann said the German goliath wouldn't draw the line as just offering extra legroom over economy seats, but would offer "more amenities" to help justify the higher ticket price.
There's an increased gulf between the back of the plane and business since Lufthansa upgraded its business class from angled lie flat seats to fully flat beds earlier this year.
(Australian Business Traveller went over the new business class with a fine toothcomb during its launch at Frankfurt Airport and later on board the airline's Boeing 747-8I, where our review gave it three stars out of a possible five -- still a marked improvement over Lufthansa's old angled lie-flat seat, though.)
http://www.ausbt.com.au/lufthansa-to-reveal-new-premium-economy-seats-in-march-2014
Lufthansa will unveil its all-new premium economy cabin in March next year, with first flights featuring the extra-wide and extra-legroom seats by mid-2014.
The German juggernaut has long resisted adding premium economy into it's three-class mix, sharing the same concerns of major airlines such as Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines that this 'in-between' category would dilute the profitable bookings made for business class.
But many other airlines – including Qantas, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic – have found premium economy to be an appealing upgrade from economy as well as a useful product for attracting cash-constrained business travellers in the post-GFC world.
With that in mind, Lufthansa has finally bitten the premium economy bullet. “We are introducing a fourth class now because our customers want it" says Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz, who says the upgrade to LH's entire long-haul international fleet to add premium economy will begin "in the spring of 2014".
"I've already seen the first draft (seat designs) our customers can look forward to" Franz told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.
Lufthansa's premium economy cabin will represent around 10% of the total seating on each aircraft, Franz estimates.
The airline previously described its premium economy as a "substantially upgraded economy product".
Unless Lufthansa decides on a seriously left-field option, which would be well out of character for the airline, we expect to see a premium economy seat of around 19-20 inches wide, with 38-39 inches of pitch.
That's a couple of inches added in width and six to eight extra inches of legroom compared to Lufthansa's economy seating, which remains among the tightest squeeze of the world's full-service airline.
Speaking at the launch of Lufthansa's Frankfurt-Hong Kong Boeing 747-8 service, Lufthansa Vice President (Sales & Services Europe) Gotz Ahmelmann said the German goliath wouldn't draw the line as just offering extra legroom over economy seats, but would offer "more amenities" to help justify the higher ticket price.
There's an increased gulf between the back of the plane and business since Lufthansa upgraded its business class from angled lie flat seats to fully flat beds earlier this year.
(Australian Business Traveller went over the new business class with a fine toothcomb during its launch at Frankfurt Airport and later on board the airline's Boeing 747-8I, where our review gave it three stars out of a possible five -- still a marked improvement over Lufthansa's old angled lie-flat seat, though.)
