Marc Liljeqvist

I have a feeling that PE will replace the Y-cabin on the upperdeck of the current 2-class A380's. It would also make a lot of sense since they often have issues selling J on a lot of their european flights. A flight attendant I spoke to on my last EK-flight said that flights such as the CPH-DXB flight were ususally filled up to full capacity in Y, but rarely had more than a handfull of people in J, mainly because many of the EK flights from Northern and Eastern Europe serve as shuttle-flights for tourists heading to Bangkok, Bali etc. While flights from the UK and Germany will have more business travellers.

clubeurope

The outcome of should be interesting... I'm especially keen to see the reaction the other Gulf Carriers, but in particular QR and EY given how they are struggling...

Becomes even funner considering how QR's chief regards their economy to be superior to some PE products

EYrevanchist

PE is rarely a profitable class in the region. LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO TK'S PE!!!

clubeurope

That's very true, and TK's failure is a significant one given how spacious and industry-leading TK's Comfort Class was. Yet, when we consider the fact that TK doesn't operate to Australia, it becomes clear why TK failed. With their 777s flying to Europe and the US, and some destinations in Asia at the time, TK's didn't have much of an opportunity to make profit from Australian passengers flying the Kangaroo route to the UK. Arguably, PEY didn't have as much of a market in Asia at the time, and it wasn't like anyone would fly from the US to Europe via Istanbul either... As Comfort Class was not made widely available to hub-spoke journeys they failed.

Emirates on the other hand has a better grip of (and lives of) hub-spoke traffic which gives merit to PEY given how long these journeys will be, especially for Aussie or UK based passengers flying either direction. I could see this working out without making much impact to J sales.

thijsseh

skywardhunter

Hint is in the thread title. The posts above specifically discuss TK's failure with their PE product, not as an airline overall. See 2 posts before yours.

Recondite

Premium Economy makes a lot of sense for today's millennial travellers'. A lot of people whom are making a reasonable income that want better than the Economy offering, but can't yet afford semi-regular J tickets. Sensible target group if wanting to build long-term brand loyalty.

ElJudioErrante

I agree, however I think the major reason is that on many routes,EK J fares are comparatively too high for many (non millennial, non corporate flyers).
The J class cabin usually large ,sometimes fills , but often doesn't,and that's costing EK a lot of $$.And of the J seats filled, I wonder how many are high yield published fare pax.
EK as all carriers doesn't like to discount J,and they're fairly successful in not doing so, however
other carriers do,and IMO that's forced EK into introducing PE.
For sure they would have done their homework,so it will be competitive both on price and quality.

clubeurope

I was specifically referring to their now-gone Comfort Class which is clearly written in my post. I was not referring to the airline as a whole, which have seen brilliant growth over the last few decades. And yes, their J product (catering specifically) is absolutely brilliant.

F10GLA

I welcome the addition of PE but I hope it doesn't push J fares even higher. Already J-Saver fares are that of J-Flex of a couple years ago...

Recondite

That's perhaps also a reflection of increased demand, including to/from the region specifically. Premium economy tends to be twice that of Y, with J being 4-5x higher, so I would be surprised if it made a notable impact, to be honest.

Absolutely; to be honest, the prospect of an EK Premium Economy excites me personally (as a millennial), as it may well drive other carriers into delivering a better product to compete. It's particularly attractive when corporate pays for J fares on business, it makes (OK, first world problem) flying economy on leisure an even poorer experience.

Now all I need is a decent UK EK credit card to return.... OK, wishful thinking.

ElJudioErrante

I would imagine that EK will only introduce PE where they deem necessary,so not to be expected on many or all routes.IMO they would aim to compete with QR J , e.g. ex Scandinavia

djsflynn

A little bit more info from a chat I had with Tim Clark at IATA Sydney yesterday:
* premium economy decsribed as 'sleeperette' (similar to a 'lazy z' in bed mode)
* 'as many as 56 seats' on A380s, at fwd main deck in a three-class (soon to be four class) config and upper deck on two class (soon to be three-class) config
* 'high 20s, 26-28 seats' on Boeing 777s
* dedicated cabin (not just a curtain) with its own lavs

Full story at https://www.ausbt.com.au/emirates-pr...eperette-seats

deltheking

So, any new updates on this ? I am surprised EK did not roll out Premium economy for the longest time. It's a cash cow for a lot of the other airlines. I personally would be very interested in it and I am guessing there will be a huge demand for this. The difference between Y fares and J fares on EK is 4-5 times higher. So, maybe the P.Economy can be 1.5-2 times higher. On the 380's and quite a few 777's - I see a lot of empty J seats and that is just potential revenue lost. With the P.Economy - you can make more revenue plus offer a choice to someone who will pay a little bit more than economy.

That it may downgrade the J class is a non issue actually. The 5 times fare difference between Y and J really doesnt make it possible. That's too much of a price difference for folks to even think or consider. But yeah with the P.Economy and a decent price - think it would do really really well for EK. I cant wait for EK to roll these out for flights departing from the US and can assure you that there quite a bit of folks on this boat !!

skywardhunter

There are a lot of markets where J is just 2.5-3x the Y price, and also lots of flights that are full in J. None of us fly often enough or on enough routes to draw conclusions on EK's performance just from personal observation. That being said I could see myself being a PE customer, too, so I'm curious to see how it rolls out. My guess is it'll be very limited markets initially, and it'll come at the expense of Y service to some degree