After being a business class pioneer and high-contribution passenger services, British Airways had fallen behind the competition, particularly from the Gulf. Here, at last, is a product that should live up to all its promises to high-contribution customers. The new "Club Suite" class will be different from the current business class. The staggered seats will disappear, in favour of a new business seat which is in fact similar to a suite with direct side access (which will allow each passenger to move around the cabin without disturbing his or her neighbour), a completely removable partition with a door. This partition will shield passengers from view when they are curled up in an armchair that can, of course, be converted into a bed. Complete isolation of the business seat is currently only available on the following airlines Delta Air Lines and Qatar Airways.
The cabin will consist of 56 seats in 1-2-1 configuration on the A350. Other new features of the Club Suite include a 47 cm screen, a vanity case with mirror and 40% more storage space than the existing Club World baggage compartments. Wi-Fi will also be available.
This Club Suite will be available from July with the delivery of the first Airbus A350s to the British carrier. It will be tested on the London-Madrid before arriving in October on the London-Toronto and London-Dubai routes. Three Airbus A350s will be equipped this year, along with two reconfigured Boeing 777s. A large part of the fleet will meet the new Club Suite standards by 2021.
Premium Economy at Swiss...
From his side, Swiss announced the launch at the beginning of 2021 of a class Premium Economybecoming the latest subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group to take this step. Lufthansa adopted Premium Economy in 2014 and Lufthansa in 2018. Austrian and Brussels Airlines at the beginning of the year.
The first aircraft to be equipped with Premium Economy will be the Boeing 777-300ER. They will see the addition of 24 seats offering 20% more space between each row than in economy class, a seat width of 10% wider between the armrests and a seat recline of 25% more.
fears that business passengers will turn away in favour of Premium Economy
A new chair has been designed for this new class, which should sell for an average of 250 to 350 Swiss francs more per journey (200 to 280 euros) than a traditional economy class, according to information provided to the Swiss media by a spokesman for the airline. The new class is expected to require an investment of more than 35 million euros (40 million Swiss francs). The new Premium Eco will also offer a greater sense of space in the cabin. Swiss's other aircraft will also be equipped with the new class after 2021. Swiss's reluctance to follow in the footsteps of its Austrian and German colleagues was due to the " fears that business passengers would turn away in favour of Premium Economy. But the positive experience at Lufthansa has changed our minds. "explains the company's CEO, Thomas Klühr.
... and at Finnair
Finally, in 2021 Finnair will launch a new Premium Eco class on its long-haul routes. For the moment there are no details on the design of the future product, explains Javier Roig, Director of Southern Europe at Finnair. "We're working on the concept, which is still a bit of a secret," he says. This future class will be launched on board Airbus A350s as a priority. It will have a specific design, very different from that of the economy cabin.
