Cathay Pacific Airways has announced that it will be introducing its premium economy product on the carrier's A340-300 aircraft from July onwards.
The A340-300 is currently used on all the Hong Kong to Amsterdam and Auckland services, and shares the Hong Kong–Paris route with a B777-300ER. Once retrofitted, there will be 265 seats in total, with 28 of them being premium economy.
The product, which debuted in February 2012 on the B777-300ER (see here), is arranged in a more spacious configuration than economy, with the seats featuring a 19.5-inch width (compared with 18.5 in/47cm in economy), 38-inch pitch (6 inches more than economy) and an 8-inch recline. The same pillows found in business class are also provided in this cabin. For a review of the seat, click here. Business class, by comparison, has a 21 in/53cm width, 82in/208cm length and 180 degree recline.
Premium economy also comes with dedicated check-in counter, up to 25kg of free baggage allowance and some of the business class meal options.
Providing a premium economy option for passengers is a growing trend among carriers, with Lufthansa most recently announcing its plans to introduce such a product in March 2014 (see here). For an in-depth analysis of the emerging class, see Alex McWhirter's report "Bridging the gap", published in the April issue of Business Traveller and online here.
For more information, visit www.cathaypacific.com
Alex Andersson
