Will Etihad Unveil Unbundled Economy Fares?
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019 is underway in Dubai (April 28, 2019 to May 1, 2019). It is the largest travel exhibition in this part of the world. Naturally, one should expect some interesting announcements.
I will be attending ATM 2019 and will keep the readers updated on any developments. In particular, I would love to know these:
- Will Emirates announce its premium Economy?
- Will Etihad give more clarity on its ‘choose well’ Economy plans?
- Finally, will Air Arabia confirm the A321 LR routes?
Etihad ‘Choose Well’ Economy
Etihad had teased a more flexible version of Economy earlier this year. Tony Douglas, CEO of Etihad, had said this during an interview
“The logic behind that is we have 496 seats on an A380. Historically, we have got four propositions – Economy, Business, First and The Residence… Where we want to get a lot more dynamic is, you might actually be in Economy and you wish to choose additional leg room, you wish to choose a Business Class meal, you wish to choose extra bag allowance, you wish to choose First Class pyjamas, you wish to choose, because it’s your birthday or it’s your partner’s birthday, a fine bottle of [bubbly]. If that is what you want to choose, by definition, you’ve chosen well as it’s your choice.“
This is part of the new ‘Back of Basics’ strategy adopted by Etihad.
Today, Etihad has provided some more details on this through a tweet and a video
Now with even more choices, you can go your own way with Etihad Economy.
Choose Well. pic.twitter.com/Zlep3HEI5m— Etihad Airways (@etihad) April 28, 2019
Notice how it continues to tease the ‘Choose Well’ phrase.
The video gives some more insights on Etihad’s Economy plans
- Ergonomic Seats (30 degrees recline, more knee clearance)
- Additional Shopping Options
- Option of more legroom
- Streaming entertainment across multiple devices
- Complimentary food and buy-on-board menu
Further clarity on this is awaited. Neither do we know the routes and time of deployment.
To a certain extent, this looks similar to a typical LCC strategy. Except for the complimentary food. In particular, if you look at the video closely, the standard IFE screen is replaced by a tablet (presumably belonging to the passenger). This would be a major change indeed.
I will keep you posted on this and all other happenings from ATM 2019.
