Lufthansa Announces New Long-Haul Premium Economy Product
German carrier Lufthansa announced plans for a new premium economy product for its new long range aircraft, unveiling the product Monday as part of a broader investor presentation.
Lufthansa revealed the new seats will be available as soon as next year. The first planes with the updated product will be Lufthansa's Boeing 777-9 aircraft in third quarter of 2020, followed by Swiss Airlines' Boeing 777-300s and Airbus A340-300s in 2021 during the first and second quarters, respectively.
Lufthansa on Monday showed what appears to be a rendering of the new product, which features seat-back screens and dividers for increased privacy over the economy seat shown behind the new W-class seat.
The reveal coincides with the decision to pull Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings from the long-haul, low-cost segment. That development also was detailed Monday. Eurowings will instead return to a short-haul, point-to-point model, positioning it against other budget airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet. The integration of Brussels Airlines into Eurowings will also be stopped, with a turnaround plan for the Belgian carrier coming later this year, the company said.
