Budget airline Flyadeal considers premium economy seats on wide-body jets

Saudi Arabia's low-cost airline Flyadeal is considering premium economy seats on long-haul flights, as a decision on its first wide-body jet order is expected by the end of October, its CE said. The airline will choose between the Airbus A330 Neo and Boeing 787 Dreamliner models, with a decision mainly depending on getting the best contracts for the jet engines, Steven Greenway, Flyadeal's CE, told The National on the sidelines of Routes World in Bahrain. The move to buy twin-aisle jets comes as Flyadeal seeks to expand into long-haul destinations in Western Europe and South-east Asia, with the budget airline considering a change from its single-class cabin. “We'll look at a small premium cabin for our wide-bodies. I'm talking about something akin to an Economy Plus or a Premium Economy type of product. Once the flight is over four or five hours, there is a small segment that sits there and says, 'I don't want to be in an Economy seat, I want a bit more space',” he said. “You've got a little bit more real estate on a wide-body and you've got a little bit more flexibility on what you can and cannot do … I'd envisage it to be functional, comfortable and a small part of the cabin for those people who wish to upgrade.” This comes as the airline focuses on expansion of its international route network, moving to capture a larger share of pilgrim traffic into Saudi Arabia as well as the “high-volume and low-yield” workers traffic.<br/>