Turkish Airlines launches premium economy

Turkish Airlines Premium Economy finally arrives. Called comfort Class, it features a 46 inch pitch.

Turkish Airlines has finally launched it’s much touted Premium Economy class, half way between Business and Economy, however the larger seat places it firmly in the business-minus class, rather than economy-plus.

Called comfort Class, it features a 46 inch pitch, which is much larger than the industry standard of 38 inches. There are also far more seats than most airlines fit, with 63 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration in the premium economy cabin, unlike most airlines that fit only 21 or 28.

Turkish Airlines Premium Economy uses a fairly normal seat by manufacturer Recaro. If you need the details, the seats boast 46in (116.8cm) pitch, 19.5in (49.5cm) width, and 8.5in (21.6cm) recline.

It’s rather curious as to where Turkish Airlines is pitching its seat, with such a large seat pitch, however it appears to be aiming for Business Class passengers that are trading down as the European economy still languishes. However, with such a large vast cabin, it must be hoping for a many more customers than most airlines are getting.

Turkish Airlines Premium Economy is being launched as Boeing delivers the first 777-300ER to Turkish Airlines.

The aircraft is the first of 12 777-300ERs Turkish Airlines has on order with Boeing. Boeing is scheduled to deliver four additional 777-300ERs to Turkish Airlines by the end of 2010.

In business class, the 28 Contour seats are laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration with seat pitch at 78in (198.1cm), width at 22in (55.9cm), and 177° recline.

The 249-seat economy cabin has a 3-3-3 configuration. The Weber seats have a 31in (78.7cm) pitch, 18in (45.7cm) pitch, and 6in (15.2cm) recline.

The IFE system is good, with seatback TV and AVOD at every seat, with Panasonic's eX2 IFE system is available throughout the aircraft.