Cathay Pacific starts offering new economy class experience

The new service provides ease featuring a quieter, more spacious cabin with between 26 and 34 seats per aircraft.

Cathay Pacific Airways announced that its new Premium Economy Class experience is available for sale with immediate effect for flights departing from 1 April 2012. The carrier also introduces a totally new seat and entertainment system Cathay Pacific has designed the entire customer experience to be more special.

To begin with, the new Premium Economy experience features a quieter, more spacious cabin than the traditional Economy Class with between 26 and 34 seats per aircraft. The seat pitch will be 38 inches – six inches more than Economy Class – and the seat itself will be wider and have a bigger recline. It will have a large meal table, cocktail table, footrest, a 10.6-inch personal television, an in-seat power outlet, a multi-port connector for personal devices and extra personal stowage space.

Complementing these features, passengers will also benefit from:

On the ground:

• Priority check-in at dedicated counters and priority boarding before Economy Class passengers.
• An increase in baggage allowance from 20kg to 25kg (weight system) or two pieces of baggage from 23kg to 25kg each (piece system).

In the air:

• Premium Economy Class seats offer a higher level of comfort with more living space in a separate cabin before the Economy Class zone.
• Passengers will receive an environmentally friendly amenity kit with dental kit, socks, eyeshade and earplugs for use during their journey.
• Larger pillows and noise-cancelling headsets will be provided to enhance the onboard experience.
• Premium Economy passengers will be welcomed aboard with juice and champagne, and enjoy an enhanced onboard meal selection.
• Each passenger will also receive a personal bottle of water and additional snack choices to include more fresh fruit, an energy bar and dessert.

The Premium Economy cabin will initially be featured on some of the following selected flights to/from:

• Sydney, Australia (CX101/100)
• Toronto, Canada (CX826/825/828/829)
• Vancouver, Canada (CX888/889)
• New York City, United States (CX830/831/840/841/888/889)

In May, the Premium Economy cabin will become available on some of the following selected flights to/from:

• London, United Kingdom (CX252/255)

As the number of aircraft fitted with these new cabins increases, priority will be given to achieving daily availability on these routes.

Additional markets will come online later in the year including Adelaide, Los Angeles, Melbourne and San Francisco in August, Frankfurt in September and Brisbane and Mumbai in October. More continental Europe and long-haul routes will be gradually introduced beyond that, according to a Cathay Pacific report.

By end of this year, Cathay Pacific will have 48 aircraft installed with the new product comprised of 23 Boeing 777-300ERs, 17 A330-300s and eight Boeing 747-400s. By the end of 2013, 87 aircraft in the airline’s long-haul fleet will feature Premium Economy.