Azul Brazilian Airlines is teasing a new premium economy experience. This might just be the world’s best premium economy product, though there is a major catch…
Azul takes premium economy to the next level
Pontos pra Voar flags how Azul is promoting a new long haul premium economy product, which will be named Economy Prime. This cabin will consist of seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, and the seats feature significant recline, way more than you’ll find in most premium economy cabins nowadays.
Azul hasn’t revealed any additional details about this product, including what additional services will be offered with it. Note that up until now, Azul hasn’t offered a premium economy product on long haul flights, but rather has just offered an extra legroom economy section.
My first impression is of course very positive, as I imagine most people would be delighted to have this as their premium economy seat. Over the years, we’ve seen premium products improve considerably. For example, many business class products nowadays are as good as first class was a decade or two ago. Is Azul leading the way here, and now making premium economy as good as business class was a decade or two ago? Well, there’s a major catch…
Azul is just rebranding cabins on secondhand A330-900neos
For better or worse, Azul isn’t actually doing much innovating here, and I don’t think the airline is intending to take premium economy to the next level. Rather, the airline is just trying to save money on reconfiguring secondhand jets that it’s picking up.
You see, Azul will soon be expanding its Airbus A330-900neo fleet by taking delivery of two former Thai AirAsia X jets (this comes as the airline is dumping its Airbus A350-900s). These are expected to be in service in the coming months, flying on long haul routes, like Viracopos (VCP) to Orlando (MCO).
These secondhand A330-900neos have super dense cabins, featuring 367 seats. This includes 12 premium economy seats (in a 2-2-2 configuration), which Thai AirAsia X markets as “Premium Flatbed.” These A330-900neos also have a staggering 365 seats in economy (in a 3-3-3 configuration).
Suffice it to say that this will be much less comfortable than Azul’s standard A330-900neo configuration, featuring 298 seats, including 34 business class seats (in a 1-2-1 configuration) and 264 economy seats (in a 2-4-2 configuration).
Azul is simply selling these premium economy seats as an upgrade option from any economy ticket, rather than as a fully separate class of service. You can assign these seats for an extra $500 per segment, as flagged by @AirlineFlyer. The bigger takeaway here should be just how uncomfortable these Azul A330s will be in economy.
Bottom line
Azul is introducing a new Economy Prime cabin on select international flights. While this looks like the world’s best premium economy product, in reality the airline is just trying to save money on reconfiguring the planes that it’s acquiring, so this cabin will be offered in lieu of business class.
I wouldn’t expect to see this cabin on anything other than the two former Thai AirAsia X A330-900neos that will soon join Azul’s fleet. And if you’re not in one of these seats, I’d highly recommend avoiding these A330-900neos, given the nine seats per row in economy.
What do you make of Azul’s new Economy Prime?
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