Iberia has detailed plans to roll out a new premium economy cabin across 37 of its long-haul aircraft, starting from summer 2017. Eight Airbus A330-300s and 13 A340-600s will be upgraded in 2017-18 and these will be joined by 16 factory-equipped A350-900s from 2018. “Premium economy is an initiative included in our Plan de Futuro aimed at increasing revenues,” Iberia executive chairman Luis Gallego said. The premium economy product will include 19-inch seat width, 37-inch legroom, an extra 40% seat recline, adjustable head/foot rests and 13-inch seatback screens, compared with 9 inches in the economy cabin. The new cabins will initially be deployed on routes between Madrid and Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima, and Chicago. <br/>
oneworld
American Airlines reported Q3 2016 net income of US$737m, down 56.5% from a net profit of $1.7b in the prior-year period, and is planning conservative capacity growth through 2017. The airline pointed out that pre-tax net income excluding special items was $1.5b, but earnings on that basis were still $400m lower year-over-year. Chairman and CE Doug Parker said that “while [earnings] are down, they’re still the second-best Q3 results in American’s history after only last year’s Q3.” Unit revenue, as measured in RASM, was down 2.2% year-over-year in Q3 to 14.73 cents, but Parker noted that RASM was up year-over-year for the month of September. “The [unit revenue] trend’s good and it appears to be continuing,” he said. September marked the first month of positive RASM growth for American since November 2014. <br/>