Business class takes wing for most foreign airlines

Bangalore: With recession receding, more international airlines are pulling out economy class seats and replacing them with business class seats. For the Indian sector, international airlines have increased business class seats by 30 per cent over the last few months.
German carrier Lufthansa Group's focus is on increasing route capacity and also per-flight capacity, Mr Axis Hilgers, Lufthansa's South Asia Director, told Business Line. Accordingly, the airline's current configuration for its Boeing 747 aircraft is: 16 first class, 80 business class, and 234 economy seats. Thirty-six economy seats have made way for the additional 12 business class seats, he added. Similarly, on its A330 and A340 aircraft, 32 economy seats have given way for 12 business class seats.
The airline currently flies to seven destinations in India; while it uses the Boeing 747 aircraft for its Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore routes, it flies Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft to other destinations.
“There is a massive improvement in demand for business class seats. In fact, the business class occupancy has moved up more than anticipated,” said Mr Jean-Philippe Benoit, General Manager, Swiss International Airlines. Swiss Air introduced a new first class on its services when it introduced the latest version of A330 aircraft last year. Eight new first class seats were added, while two-metre-long lie-flat beds were introduced for the business class.
01/04/10 Anjana Chandramouly/Business Line

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2010, New Apr 2010