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Alaska sets Premium Class launch, amends upgrade policy

Alaska's Premium Class customers will get free drinks and snacks in addition to more legroom.(Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska’s Premium Class customers will get free drinks and snacks in addition to more legroom.(Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines travelers will soon have a new seating option. The airline said that the Premium Class (premium economy) section it announced late last year will finally be available on select flights starting January 6 – and Mileage Plan elites will be eligible for free upgrades.

Effective this week, paying customers can book seats in Premium Class on flights where it is available for a surcharge of $15 to $79 over the base fare, depending on distance flown. Mileage Plan members with MVP, Gold and Gold 75 status can request a free upgrade when they book, or up to 24 hours before departure, depending on their elite level and the fare they purchase.

The new section, in the front of the main cabin, will give customers an extra four inches of legroom, with a 35-inch pitch vs. 31 or 32 in regular economy seating. As it refits its aircraft with Premium Class, Alaska is also overhauling its first class cabins, increasing legroom from 36 to 41 or 42 inches.

The new Premium Class will be on Alaska's 737-800s and 900s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

The new Premium Class will be on Alaska’s 737-800s and 900s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

The airline said it expects to finish installing Premium Class by early January on half of the planes that are getting it – including 737-800s and E175s operated by SkyWest. Next year, it will add the seating on its 737-900s and -900ERs and eventually on Horizon Air planes. Sometime next year, Alaska said, it will decide whether to extend the refit to its 737-700s; it plans to eliminate its 737-400s in 2017.

The new seating category replaces Alaska’s Preferred Plus option, which only included exit row and bulkhead seats. Alaska said that persons seated in the new category will get priority boarding and free in-flight snack boxes and alcoholic drinks, and will have power outlets at each seat.

Here’s a chart of specific fleet plans:

alaaskachart

Although Alaska said it will reduce the total number of seats on some aircraft, its chart indicates that its 737-800s will go from the current 163 total seats to 159 — only four fewer seats. As for its 737-900s and -900ERs, the total seat count will only drop from 181 to 178 — three fewer seats. It just seems like all that extra legroom going into the two front cabins might require a little more than that — unless economy seats will be pushed closer together. And the E175s will keep the same number of total seats despite the addition of 12 Premium Economy extra-legroom seats. That space has to come from somewhere.

Meanwhile, Alaska also said that starting December 5, Mileage Plan elite-level members will be eligible for free first class upgrades when they book award tickets in coach. The upgrades will be instant for full-fare coach awards (fare class Z) when space is available. In addition, a member’s fare class will now be used along with elite status level to determine first class upgrade priorities.

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United packs ’em in: 10 abreast on 777s; more 737s

United boosted its orders for new Boeing 737s for a total of 65. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United boosted its orders for new Boeing 737s for a total of 65. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

As United Airlines puts more 787 Dreamliners onto international long-haul routes, it will remove 777s from some of those markets and reconfigure them with higher-density seating for domestic flights, according to USA Today.

The newspaper said United confirmed that the plan calls for 19 of its 777-200s to get an extra 20 seats, including nine planes that are already used domestically — mostly to Hawaii — and 10 coming off international service. By switching from nine-across, 2-5-2 seating in economy to 10-across in a 3-4-3 layout, the reconfiguration will boost the planes’ total seat count to 364, with 336 in coach and 28 in business class. Those extra dreaded middle seats will be 17 inches wide versus the current 18-inch width.

United's current domestic 777-200 configured 2-5-2 in economy (Image: United)

United’s current domestic 777-200 configured 2-5-2 in economy is used primarily for Hawaii flights (Image: United)

Other than Hawaii, the report didn’t indicate where the higher-density 777s might be used. It noted that American Airlines also has some 777s with 10-across seating, and so do some foreign airlines (such as Emirates); it also said that about half of the 777s Boeing delivered last year had 10-across economy seating. The work is expected to take a little over a year, and will also involve the installation of in-seat power ports and Wi-Fi for streaming entertainment. New business class seats will recline to a fully flat position. The new economy seats will also get mobile device holders for both tablets and phones, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, United this week also announced plans to buy another 25 new 737-700s for delivery starting at the end of next year, in addition to the 40 it has already ordered. The company said the orders will help it move its fleet toward “larger, more efficient aircraft” as it continues to phase out 50-seat regional jets. “United expects to have fewer than 100 aircraft in its 50-seat fleet by the end of 2019,” a spokesman said.

The new 737-700s will feature larger overhead bins and the new “Boeing Sky” interiors with sculpted sidewall panels and LED cabin lighting with soothing colors.

Finally, United said it will move up the delivery dates for some additional widebodies – four 777-300ERs and five 787-9s – to start in 2017, in order to speed up the retirement of all remaining 747s from its fleet. Those 747s should all be gone by the end of 2018, United confirmed this week.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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