KLM unveiled its new Premium Comfort Class on Sunday, May 29.
The intermediate cabin offers more space, luxury, service options, comfort and privacy than economy class, at lower prices than World Business Class, and it’s expected to be popular with both corporate and leisure travellers.
The airline says the offering comprises a “new type of seat” as well as distinctive service and catering concepts. Depending on the aircraft type, the number of Premium Comfort Class seats will vary from 21 to 28. These are wider than standard seats, offering more leg-room (seat pitch of 96,5cm), a recline of 20,3cm, a larger personal screen (34 cm) and the all-important footrest.
KLM is rolling out the cabins across its B777 and B787 fleets. The first aircraft equipped with Premium Comfort Class will operate on routes to North America, says the airline. But it anticipates that Premium Comfort cabins will come to more destinations from the end of July.
Will KLM’s South Africa flights be equipped with this new cabin? It sounds as if there is a good chance, as the flights are on B787 Dreamliners, which, Travel News has heard, are all being retrofitted with the cabin. The likelihood is that there will be 21 of these seats in a Premium Comfort Cabin on SA routes, in the configuration 2-3-2 at an unknown date in the near future. The cabin would perfectly suit both the Cape Town and Johannesburg routes very well, with their mix of well-heeled European families holidaying in Africa and corporate travellers in both directions on these two long routes.
Boet Kreiken, Executive VP of KLM Customer Experience, said at the unveiling: “The new class will meet the wishes of business passengers as well as leisure travellers, strengthening KLM’s standing as a global network carrier offering an appealing and varied range: World Business Class, Premium Comfort and Economy Class. It also reaffirms our partnership with Delta Air Lines, Air France and Virgin Atlantic on North Atlantic routes, where we can now combine all products on all routes.”
Catering
Premium Comfort has its own catering concept. On intercontinental services, one or two hot meals will be served, depending on the duration of the flight. There will always be a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian dishes. After the meal, passengers will be offered coffee, tea, liqueur and ice cream. A variety of snacks and cocktails will also be served between meals, selected from those that were previously popular in World Business Class. Catering materials are either reusable (special cutlery, bowls and plates made of lightweight polypropylene), or those that are not reusable are made of recycled PEF. All materials were carefully assessed in terms of circularity and weight, without detracting from aesthetic features.
Seats
Apart from their elegant design and comfort features, the seats are also lighter than previous designs, which means fuel savings.
Service
Premium Comfort passengers will have more flexible baggage arrangements and SkyPriority privileges, including preferential check-in and boarding.
