PREMIUM economy is a
profitable upsell for agents
who want to capitalise on
time-pressed travellers who
can’t afford to fly business
class.
Passengers get more than
just a little extra leg-room,
Kamal Hingorani, senior vp
and head inflight services
and customer experience
at SpiceJet, told attendees
at last month’s Aviation
Festival Africa and Airports
Show.
He said LCCs, particularly,
were adding benefits to the
premium economy product
to make it more attractive,
with services such as extra
baggage allowance, priority
baggage handling and
disembarkation appealing to
time-pressed clients.
Premium economy also
offered great value for
money, said Kamal. “It
comes at a very nominal
price compared with
business class.” In Asia,
he said, a business-class
ticket was on average four
times the price of premium
economy, adding that
premium economy would
not eat into businessclass
revenue because
the segment that travelled
business class, primarily
business executives and
government officials, would
continue to do so.
Travellers in Africa, like
many emerging economies,
also wanted to be seen to
be travelling in the premium
cabins, said Kamal.
Kamal said SpiceJet was
the first LCC to introduce a
premium economy product
in the Indian market but
that other LCCs were
following suit. He said it
was lucrative for airlines,
adding that LCCs in Asia
tended to see 10-15% of
their revenue from ancillary
services.
