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American Airlines has announced that it has completed the retrofitting of all its wide-body aircraft with a Premium Economy cabin and is laying claim to the fact that not only is it the first US airline to finish installing Premium Economy seats on its widebody fleet, but that it also now offers more Premium Economy Class seats than all other US airlines combined.
Here’s how American Airlines describes its Premium Economy product:
When traveling in Premium Economy, customers can relax with a Casper day blanket and lumbar pillow, enjoy a premium amenity kit and a chef-inspired meal with wines selected by master sommelier Bobby Stuckey. On the ground, customers receive two free checked bags and priority benefits when checking in, going through security and boarding.
My review of the American Airlines long-haul Premium Economy product
With American Airlines now offering 3,025 Premium Economy seats across 124 Boeing 787, 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft, the rollout of the new cabin (which was announced 3 years ago) has been pretty swift…and that’s because it has been a good revenue source for the airline.
With Economy Class cabins reaching new depths of awfulness on a near-yearly basis, more and more passengers appear to be prepared to pay extra to make their flights a little more bearable.
With Business Class fares out of the US often priced out of most people’s reach, the Premium Economy cabin has become the primary refuge for travelers who don’t want to stop flying but who also can’t stand the thought of 8 – 14 hours in a 17” wide seat with just 31” of pitch.
It’s amazing how quickly an airline can roll something out when it has the incentive of extra (and easy) revenue – sadly they’re rarely as quick with the rollout of revenue-neutral improvements that travelers really need (you just have to look that the length of time BA is taking to introduce wi-fi to see what I mean).
Bottom Line
If you’re a flyer who regularly looks look book something better than Economy Class but not as expensive as Business Class then the fact that American now offers Premium Economy on all its long-haul aircraft is good news for you…but make sure you’re aware of what it is that you’re booking.
“Premium Economy” is actually a very good name for this American Airlines product as it’s simply a step-up from the horror of Economy Class – if you’re expecting it to be closer to Business Class than Economy Class you’re going to be disappointed.
A bit of an overstatement by AA since it excludes the 767 fleet. I was on one of those aircraft two weeks ago (PHL-MAN) and there was no sign of a PE cabin…the closest being the 2-row extra leg room coach micro-cabin in which I flew quite comfortably (given an empty middle seat next to me). I know your story is based on an AA media release but someone at HQ seems to forget about the runts of the wide body litter that are still flying some overseas routes!
That said, I am booked into real PE next month to/from GIG and look forward to sampling this newly enhanced product.
“All American Airlines Wide-Body Aircraft Now Offer Premium Economy”
American 767 (widebody) aircraft do not offer premium economy.
ALL? They still have I think over 20 767’s flying around.
This is not completely correct- there is no premium econ on a333’s or b767’s, and no plans to add it.
#fakenews