Most airlines have been racing against time to come up with attractive and captivating Premium Economy products. Many airlines have readjusted their cabin offering by focusing less on first class moving their attention more strongly towards a hybrid between Economy and Business class. The intention is to intercept that wide portion of passengers willing to pay a bit extra to travel more comfortably than in economy but not ready to part ways with the amount of money needed to fly business class. Air France is a unique carrier in the sense that it is continuing to invest heavily in its first class product but is also working hard regarding Premium Economy. However, this travel class aboard the French carrier’s flight is about to get a name change.
Air France Removes Economy from Its Premium Economy
Let me explain a little better, that might sound a little confusing. The French national carrier is effectively re-branding its premium economy cabin into just Premium. A subtle but meaningful change that allows the airline to market the product in a different way to the past.
You might be asking: hang on Alex, what’s the big difference? It is more of a comunicative change and one that allows to place the class on the market in a different way. What I mean by that is:
- Having the word economy in the name of the travel class automatically reduces its perceived value. Therefore, willing to pay less for it.
- Removing the word economy allows Air France to market its now Premium class as something more akin to Business class.
- Finally, it allows more manoeuvring space with what to offer in its intermediate class without being tied to an economy expectation. Therefore also being able to charge more for it.
That last sentence of the list is the whole point. The airline certainly wants to extract more revenue and profit from its Premium travel class and therefore is looking to re-brand it to something more Premium feeling.
Making Premium Economy More Premium and Less Economy
In announcing it Premium Economy rebranding, Air France took the chance to underline how the cabin is much more than a fancy economy class. And I agree on that totally.
The airline is in the process of upgrading its Premium cabin seats. By the end of 2025 80% of the fleet will have the latest seat version featuring an extra soft and comfortable seatback. Also, the service and food offering has been worked on massively to make it a much higher dining experience, something to look forward to, as is the case in Business class.
For instance, depending on the duration of the flight, passengers can look forward to a glass of Champagne upon boarding their flight. Menus are carefully curated by Michelin star winning chef Frédéric Simonin.
Finally, the Premium class experience starts even before setting foot on the plane, as the airline offers Sky Priority services to those travelling in this class. That translates to priority check-in, priority boarding and security checks along with getting your luggage back before economy passengers.
I personally see terrific value in Premium Economy as it unlocks a huge comfort upgrade while not pinching the where it hurts too much.
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