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US Airways chooses CheapOair in first online partnership for premier seating sales
TransportUS Airways’ ChoiceSeats is a huge revenue-driver, and yesterday the airline announced that ChoiceSeats would be available for the first time online beyond US Airways’ direct-sales channels at online travel agencies CheapOAir and sister company OneTravel. ChoiceSeats are window and aisle seats, and although they don’t offer extra legroom, they are located toward the front of coach, and [...]
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American Airlines loose seats: Was outsourcing, not soda, to blame?
TransportLast month, American Airlines grounded dozens of Boeing 757 airliners after passenger seats came loose on four flights. Just a few weeks earlier, another American plane, a Boeing 767, was grounded after a problem was reported with the installation of some seats, though in that case no seats actually came loose. American, like other carriers, [...]
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Airlines attempt to reinvent the business class with the introduction of “premium economy”
TransportPriority boarding. Extra legroom. Champagne before takeoff. It’s not just the stuff of business class dreams… “Airlines aren’t chasing volume anymore, they’re chasing the bottom line,” explains Mike Boyd, chairman of Boyd Group International, an Aviation consulting firm in Evergreen, Colorado. “Part of this is this Premium Economy thing. Business class has become the battleground. [...]
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Budget airline easyJet will assign seats on all future flights
TransportEasyJet is ending the desperate rush for prime seats on low-cost flights by launching allocated seating across its network. Having been eschewed by budget carriers in the past for impeding fast turnaround times, the Luton-based airline said seat allocation did not appear to slow down journeys and is more lucrative than speedy boarding schemes. It [...]
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7 tips for snatching the best airplane seat possible
TransportFlying isn’t getting any cheaper, and travelers who don’t book carefully may find that they’re paying more for a less comfortable experience. Airlines have been adjusting their cabin configurations in recent months to fit more passengers, often resulting in a tighter squeeze for those in coach. Earlier this month, JetBlue announced it had expanded legroom [...]
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No one will be happy about United’s new plan to shrink seat size
TransportUnited Airlines plans to install slimmer seats next year on some of its planes, enabling the airline to squeeze in more passengers. The Chicago-based airline said it would add the seats manufactured by German company Recaro Aircraft Seating to its fleet of 152 narrow-body Airbus planes. The padding on the Recaro seats is thin enough [...]
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Airlines are monetizing on legroom by adding more seats but offering less space
TransportSouthwest is one of several airlines squeezing seats closer together in order to pack in more passengers, create rows with extra legroom for people willing to pay more, or both. It has started adding six more seats to its planes, losing an inch of room between seats in the process. WestJet, out of Canada, is [...]
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Singapore Airlines plans to update premium seating for the first time in 5 years
TransportFive years is a long time in the airline business so it’s hardly surprising that Singapore Airlines (SIA) is busy developing new seating for introduction in 2013. To this end it has appointed design companies, Designworks USA and James Park Associates, to develop its next generation of inflight products. “Singapore Airlines is always looking towards [...]
