Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has indicated that it will launch premium economy seating on its flights, in response to demand for such a product on long-haul flights
"Premium economy is one of the many options that the airline is studying and we will make a proper announcement when there are more concrete details," says a spokeswoman from the Oneworld carrier.
"The divergence between business and economy class products has become quite extreme, much bigger than there ever was before, and the pricing reflects that. So, it may well be that there is a market for an intermediate product, especially for long haul travel."
Reports have also indicated that Cathay is looking into replacing its fixed backshell economy class seats on its long-haul aircraft, following complaints from passengers.
The airline is likely to move these seats to aircraft operated on short-haul flights, say the reports.
Cathay rolled out the seats as part of a new long-haul economy class product offering in 2007, and progressively installed the seats in a programme that ran into 2009.
Travellers have complained that the seats, which slide forward instead of reclining, do not provide adequate head and neck support, say the reports.
Cathay's spokeswoman would only say that the carrier is studying what can be done to "enhance the comfort and quality of our seating".
"While our passengers value the protection of living space afforded by the fixed backshell seat, we are constantly looking for ways we can further improve our products and services," she adds.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
