For those passengers who have flown economy class to US & Europe and aspired for a better travel experience on ultra long haul flights, there's some good news.

If you are travelling to San Francisco & New York with Air India, then starting May 15, you can book yourself a seat on a 'premium economy' cabin.

The airline has introduced a fourth cabin class on its select wide-body fleet for 3 routes including Bengaluru-San Francisco, Mumbai-San Francisco, and Mumbai-New York. The airline plans to extend this facility to more routes soon as it expands and modernises its fleet.

With this, Air India has become the first and only Indian carrier to offer the choice of four cabin classe​s to passengers.

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Premium Economy offers an exclusive travel experience designed for customers who do not mind paying a reasonable premium over Economy Class fares for more space, comfort, and convenience.

So what do premium economy flyers get?

Customers receive a complimentary TUMI amenity kit consisting of a pair of flight socks, an eye mask, MALIN+GOETZ lip moisturiser, a pen, in addition to carpet slippers.

Air India says premium economy customers will also receive noise-cancelling headphones. Further, customers will be welcomed with a welcome drink and will be able to choose from a three meal choices for the main course, accompanied by an appetizer and dessert, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said adding a premium economy cabin is another step forward in the ongoing effort to transform Air India into a modern, global carrier of world-class products and service standards.

"The popularity of Premium Economy has grown among travellers around the world, as people are increasingly opting for upgraded, yet affordable flying experiences," he said.

India's air traffic to gulf, Europe and US has been growing exponentially. So far, foreign carriers have taken a bigger pie of the country's international traffic. For instance, India's international traffic stood at 1.45 crore in Q4 of 2022 of which 82 lakh were carried by foreign airlines and 63 lakh were flown by domestic carriers.

There's a significant chunk that can be taken over by Indian airlines to tap the growing international traffic and giving passengers a better flying experience is an important metric to attract new customers.

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First Published:Mar 31, 2023 3:35 PM IST