NEW YORK — Today at its annual Investor Day, Alaska Airlines announced plans to roll-out a Premium Class section. Beginning in late 2016, the new upgrade option will provide more legroom and other perks to customers.
Customers who upgrade to Premium Class will get priority boarding and enjoy three to four inches more legroom compared with a standard coach seat. In addition, Alaska Airlines plans to offer additional amenities to further enhance the Premium Class in-flight experience. This upgrade option will be available to Alaska Airlines elite Mileage Plan members on a complimentary basis at booking or day of travel dependent on status and fare purchased.
Upgrade pricing and details on the included amenities will be announced closer to customer availability.
“Premium Class will provide an opportunity for all customers to get an enhanced flight experience,” said Andrew Harrison, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Alaska Airlines. “We are listening to our customers and they have told us that more personal space and extra perks are a priority.”
Alaska plans to retrofit up to 60 aircraft with the Premium Class section by the end of 2016 and the remainder of its 737-800, -900 and -900ER fleet by the end of 2017. The upgrade option will also be available on Embraer 175s, operated by SkyWest, which are configured with 12 seats in the Premium Class section. Preferred Plus seating , currently available for purchase at check-in for bulkhead and exit rows, will continue to be offered on Alaska 737-400s and -700s.
Seats in the Premium Class section will have at least 35″ of pitch, compared to 31″ to 32″ in the rest of the main cabin. To make room for the Premium Class while maintaining pitch in the main cabin, Alaska will reconfigure and reduce the number of seats available on some aircraft. Also, pitch in the First Class cabin will be increased from 36″ to 41″ providing a significantly enhanced experience for those customers.
737-800 goes from 16J/147Y to 12J/30Y+/117Y
737-900/-900(ER) goes from 16J/165Y to 16J/24Y+/138Y
E-175 goes from 12J/64Y to 12J/12Y+/52Y
Alaska Airlines
SkyWest to op. E-175 for Delta Connection
SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) announced that it has entered into a Capacity Purchase Agreement (“CPA”) with Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) to operate 19 new Embraer E175 dual-class regional jet aircraft. SkyWest has determined that these 19 E175 aircraft will be operated by SkyWest Airlines, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyWest. The CPA is under terms and conditions similar to SkyWest’s existing Delta agreements.
“SkyWest is a longtime Delta partner, and we’re pleased to advance our partnership with an additional aircraft type,” said Chip Childs, SkyWest, Inc. President. “As we continue to evolve our fleet mix, we look forward to continuing to deliver what our partners need through solid, reliable service.”
The aircraft will be flown in dual-class configuration of 76-seats, and will be equipped with Wi-Fi. Under the agreement, it is anticipated that delivery of the aircraft will begin in August 2016, with all 19 aircraft being delivered by mid-2017.
Street Insider
Mesa Airlines adds 15 E-175s to United Express contract
Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines has reached an agreement with United Airlines to add 15 Embraer 175 aircraft to Mesa’s United Express fleet. Mesa currently operates 30 Embraer aircraft for United Airlines. In addition to the E175s, Mesa operates 20 Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft under the United Express brand.
Mesa Air Group chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said, “Mesa has proven itself as a quality operator of this aircraft type in terms of customer satisfaction and is competitive in terms of cost efficiency. The combination of these two attributes has made Mesa the fastest growing airline in the world over the last three years and will continue to fuel our growth into the future.”
Mesa EVP and COO Paul Foley said the addition of new aircraft “greatly enhances advancement opportunities for our people, our pilots and other operational employees in particular. The addition of these aircraft will create a minimum of 75 new captain upgrade positions that significantly increase pay, 150 newly hired first officers, 150 new flight attendant positions and over 100 additional mechanics, supervisors, dispatchers, planning and support staff.”
The E175’s 76-seat dual-class configuration features 12 first-class, 16 premium economy and 48 coach seats. The aircraft has inflight Wi-Fi connectivity, leather seating and electric outlets in first class.
ATW – Air Transport World