Emirates, one of the world’s biggest airlines, will add ‘premium economy’ seating options to and from Mumbai and Bengaluru by the end of this month to cash in on the persistent demand.
Emirates spent $2 billion to retrofit 67 Airbus A380 and 53 Boeing 777 to include the premium economy and enhance the whole cabin. The full-service Dubai-based carrier debuted its premium economy globally in August last year.
Emirates will offer 56 of these seats on the A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane, starting October 29 in a 2-4-2 configuration. The aircraft would have 14 first class, 76 business class and 370-370 economy seats as well.
Speaking to FE, Mohammad Sarhan, vice president, Emirates – India and Nepal, said, “We see big demand for the premium economy. Flyers are willing to trade up for comfort and convenience especially on the long-haul sector. Corporate travellers choosing economy will now go for premium economy.”
Emirates is operating 167 flights per week across nine cities — Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin and Trivandrum. “We have load factors that are above 80% across India,” Sarhan added.
Vistara, a Tata group airline, which is in the process of getting merged into Air India, operates with premium economy seats on the India-Dubai sector.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the biggest overseas market for India. During the April-June period, more than 4.6 million passengers flew between India and the UAE, according to data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
None of the airlines flying on this sector have been able to add seats due to no go-ahead from the governments. Akasa Air, one of India’s newest airlines, has been keen to start flights on the India-Dubai route too.
“We are always discussing with the authorities in the UAE and India. We have always pitched to the civil aviation authority in India that the demand is exceeding the supply. The bilaterals (sanctioned number of seats) are maxed out on the UAE side as well as India side. Each side can sell 55,000 seats per week,” Sarhan added.
Last year Emirates reduced the number of flights to Bengaluru to 21 per week from 24 per week to accommodate the A380. It has been using the Boeing 777 in this sector.
The Emirates premium economy section comes with customized seats with 6-way adjustable headrest, and calf and leg rests for personalised comfort. Seats are 19.5-inch-wide, and seat pitch is up to 40-inch. Seats incline at 8 inch maximum recline, 13.3 inch back-mounted LCD screen.