Next year, American Airlines will introduce premium economy
cabins on international flights on wide-body aircraft, and Alaska Airlines will
add them on as many as 60 aircraft.
American will introduce Boeing 787-9s to its fleet, in which
Premium Economy will span three rows of seven seats each. American also will
install Premium Economy on Airbus A350s when those planes begin service in 2017,
and over the next three years, it will retrofit Boeing 777-300ERs, 777-200ERs
and 787-8 Dreamliners and Airbus A330s. It will not update Boeing 767-300s, which
are slated for retirement.
Premium Economy is offered today by
many premier carriers around the world,” American Airlines chief marketing
officer Andrew Nocella said in a statement. “We studied those offerings and
developed a world-class product with larger seats, more legroom, improved
entertainment and upscale headphones and amenity kits.”
The cabins will feature leather seats with 38 inches of
pitch. Passengers also will get priority boarding, two free checked bags and
complimentary alcoholic beverages. American also will continue to offer Main
Cabin Extra seats, which feature extra legroom, on flights with Premium Economy
cabins.
Alaska is retrofitting Boeing 737-800s and 737-900/900ERs,
as well as the SkyWest-operated Embraer 175s. The carrier expects to upgrade its
entire fleet by the end of 2017. The Premium Economy seats will feature three
or four inches of additional legroom and extra pitch and will include priority
boarding and other amenities.
American, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines already offer
premium options like extra legroom and other bonus amenities in economy class, which
has prompted corporate travel buyers to adjust
travel policies. Until now, though, only non-U.S. carriers have offered premium
economy in distinct cabins.