Chennaiites travelling in economy class can now enjoy a new level of luxury while flying in Cathay Pacific. The international airlines has announced its new premium economy class cabin between Chennai and Hong Kong.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Tom Wright, general manager, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, said following the recent increase in Chennai flight services from four times a week to daily service, Chennai will be the first city in South India to offer a three-class configuration - new business class, premium economy class and new long haul economy class - for passengers travelling to Hong Kong from January 1 next year.
The premium economy class (`40,000), which costs `5,000 more than the economy class, was designed with customer experience in mind and featured a quieter and more spacious cabin than the traditional economy class with 28 seats per aircraft.
The seat pitch is 38 inches, which is six inches more than the economy class, and is wider and has a bigger recline.
It has a large meal table, cocktail table, footrest, a 10.6 inch personal television, an in-seat power outlet, multiport connector for personal devices and extra personal storage space, he said.
The introduction of these service in Chennai sector is important for Cathay Pacific with the kind of investment pouring in the State.
The market offers diversity, which includes Japanese companies investing in Chennai, IT and manufacturing companies besides the small and medium enterprises, said Rajesh Menon, area sales manager for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Interestingly, it is not the premium economy class that has excellent features. Even the long haul economy class has features like cradle mechanism to enhance the level of comfort in recline position, besides touch screen personal TV, an USB outlet and an ipod/iphone outlet. Even the business class has lie-flat seats with direct aisle access and has been voted ‘World’s best business class’ in the 2012 Skytrax World Airline Awards.