Since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February last year and recovering from the 9/11 fallout, United Airlines (UA) is now catching up with the world's leading carriers.
The world's second-largest airline by revenue-passenger-miles is spending ''hundreds of millions'' of dollars to significantly upgrade its premium cabins to bring them on par with rivals, enabling it to better compete on lucrative international routes.
At the heart of the enhancement programme is the introduction of full flat-bed seats with advanced amenities that have become a new norm for premium-class passengers on long-haul international flights.
UA will be the only US airline to offer full flat-bed seats in both first- and business-class cabins on all international wide-body aircraft.
Its First Suite seat is nearly three inches wider than the existing one, and reclines to multiple angles or serves as a fully flat six-foot, six-inch bed.
Each suite also features an entertainment system providing a 15.4-inch widescreen flat-panel monitor with on-demand digital videos, music and video games.
Like the new first-class seat, the new business seat declines 180 degrees to become a six-foot, four-inch bed that is 23.5 inches wide.
Essentially, the new business class replaces the existing recliners on UA aircraft that have become outdated and unpopular. Flat-bed seats are now offered by most of the best carriers in Asia and the Middle East.
In Bangkok to brief the local industry about its new premium offering, UA executives said flat seating was now expected by all premium-class passengers.
Eric Wilson, UA's general manager for Thailand, cautioned that the bed seats are not more advanced than perks offered by cash-rich Arab carriers even though they represent a significant improvement from current facilities.
''It is fair to say we are catching up with major global leading airlines,'' he said.
UA is retrofitting its entire international fleet of 97 Boeing 767, 747 and 77 jetliners with new premium cabins. As of June, UA had a fleet of 460 aircraft.
The first jet to be modified is a Boeing 767 due to fly on Oct 29 from Washington to Frankfurt. All of the upgrades will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2009.
As part of the upgrades, restrooms are also being refurbished and new seat cushions and carpeting will be installed in economy cabins, and in-flight entertainment systems will be fitted with digital servers and new LCD screens.
UA has yet to decide when the modified aircraft will start flying to and from Asia, although Mr Wilson is eager to introduce them to enhance UA's appeal for Bangkok-US travellers.
The airline operates more than 400 flights a week that stop in Asia. It operates a daily flight to the US from Suvarnabhumi airport via Tokyo Narita. From there, flights head to Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC and Honolulu.
UA executives said there were no immediate plans to increase fares on the refurbished planes, which are expected to boost margins
Link
Sunday, September 2, 2007
United Airlines brings beds into first class
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It is great to see the deals being done today by airlines I usually look through the Teletext Flights and try to find Virgin Cheap Flights so finding that airlines are upgrading is great news.
Once I traveled about in an old bakery wagon, double-doored rattler with a mattress on the floor, I stopped where people stopped or gathered, I listened and looked and felt, and in the process had a picture of my country the accuracy of which was impaired only by my own shortcomings.Flights to Santiago
Post a Comment