Singapore Airlines unveiled an overhauled cabin service for its premium economy passengers earlier this month, and it’s part of a broader trend.
Long-haul premium economy is becoming increasingly important to airlines. That’s partly because leisure travelers have been willing to splurge more on vacations in recent years and business travel still hasn’t fully recovered to its pre-pandemic demand levels.
Demand for premium economy is increasing as travelers become more familiar with what to expect, which makes competition for those mid-market dollars more intense. Carriers around the globe are aware of the growing interest and increasingly investing in the cabin class.
What is premium economy?
In this case, premium economy refers to the long-haul airline product that sits between standard economy and business class. Confusingly, many airlines also call economy seats that have extra legroom “premium economy” on domestic flights, but here, the term refers to a separate cabin with larger seats and often elevated service.
“Premium economy is the 21st-century version of business class. Business class emerged in the 1980s as an interim cabin between standard economy and first class, and now premium economy is an interim cabin between standard economy and business class,” Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research, a travel industry analytics firm, told USA TODAY. “It’s available to travelers at a much lower cost than business class may be.”
