We were just talking about Southwest Airlines and their plans to “evolve” their planes with new seats, and now it looks like the carrier is already prepared to go all-in. Southwest is starting to get those fresh birds, and they’re shifting around the schedule here and there to make room for the increased seats and different configurations.
They’re pretty excited about that this evolve-o-lution, but we kind of wonder how our knees will feel about all these changes. ]]>
First, let us begin by saying that although we flew this baby in biz, we would absolutely go for it in economy as well. Or in Suites Class? You know the answer to that question. Still, Singapore Airlines is known for their business class product—there's the leather seats so wide two people can comfortably sit and chat, the Givenchy china and linens, the flight attendants who greet you by name even when you're away from 25D, and (of course) the fact that they blow other airlines' First Class out of the water. We're just stating facts here.
And actually, it's this better-than-first-class-business-class on Singapore which makes the JFK-FRA-SIN route so famous among frequent flyers. Sure, there are other airline options for flying from New York to Frankfurt, but if you can expense it or redeem miles, business on SQ is typically top choice among those who know about these things.]]>
It seems that a good number of airlines have decided to use this brand-spanking new year to freshen up their cabins and revamp service offerings. With a few recent announcements from various global carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Brussels Airlines and Virgin Australia, 2012 will be the year to make air travel look snappy and smell fresh...again. Here's who's doing what:
· AirBerlin:
As the second largest German air carrier and a member of Oneworld, Air Berlin will be upgrading the entire long-haul fleet of Airbus 330s. New business class seats that recline to just about flat and thinner, more user friendly economy seats will be aboard their planes. The new interiors will be ready for the summer travel season.
· British Airways:
With all our hoopla from recent BA flights, it seems that the airline is not only upgrading service. Starting at the front of the plane a few years ago, overhauls have finally made it to World Traveler Plus and World Traveler. That's premium economy and economy for the uninitiated. ]]>
They’re moving full speed ahead with their acquisition of AirTran, but Southwest Airlines still has plenty of time to dedicate to other changes and improvements. Their latest announcement has everything to do with seats, as they’re planning to tear out some interiors in favor of new and shiny upgrades.
The bottom line is they’re adding more seats which weigh less, boosting revenue by packing passengers and spending less airplane gas to get them to their final destination. However, Southwest says that the new seats are an upgrade for passengers as well, even though there’s technically going to be a little less room for your legs, knees, and feet.
The pitch on the new seats is dropping by an inch or so and there’s also less recline. The new seats will lean back about one inch less than they do now, but Southwest insists that you won’t even notice because of the new seat layout—we’ll have to see this for ourselves. ]]>
OMG. Fun news! We knew is was coming, but not the scope: Cathay Pacific has announced that not only will they be introducing a Premium Economy class on long-haul flights in early 2012, but that Economy will be revamped as well.
As veterans of the 18-hour direct flights from New York-Hong Kong, we can tell you that this is a huge deal. Already Cathay is known as one of the leaders as far as passenger service and in-flight amenities and it was only one year ago that they showed off their new business class seats.
Sadly there aren't any renderings of the new Premium Economy or Economy seats yet, but there are specifics. Let's break it down:]]>
On one hand, EasyJet shows all the signs of being an ultra-budget LCC. The airline isn't as obnoxious about their exorbitant fees and/or lack of services as Spirit Airlines or Ryanair, but they did pointedly ring up Prince Harry on a bunch of fees the last time he flew with them. They even charged him extra for checking through his green army bag, which was issued to him while he was serving in Afghanistan, among other places. Thoroughly charming.
On the other hand, the British airline has made a number of moves implying that they want to be something more than a "frugal LCC" also-ran. They've led the way on genuinely innovative features like offering in-flight trip insurance, and they were the first UK commercial airline to coat their planes with nano-paint so they could fly more efficiently.]]>
It’s just recently that Delta announced the rollout of its Economy Comfort seats to its internal flights, and if you were wondering what it’d bring to the skies, we can tell you – because we flew Economy Comfort from London to Atlanta a little while back.
The verdict? Well, from our experience, it totally depends on the plane you get.
Our LGW-ATL flight was perfection. Smooth, friendly check in, delightful gate staff (one of them found a tiny stylus we’d dropped from our antiquated phone at the gate and brought it to us at our seat, telling us to stop stressing), nice FAs and a formidable Economy Comfort section.
Legroom was ample. Aaample. It felt like way more than the four extra inches we had been led to believe by Delta (we are 6’1 and take legroom very seriously). We asked a FA whether Economy Comfort was like this across the network she said it depended on the plane – some planes had more legroom, others less.
Food was really pretty decent, the IFE was on demand and seats were also very comfortable. Spirits were free, although we didn't imbibe. It was, without a doubt, the best longhaul flight we’ve ever taken in economy. It was our first transatlantic flight with Delta, and we fell in instant love. All that for $80 extra. Awesome.
Until our journey back (see the gallery below). ]]>