Turkish Airlines rules out return of premium economy

Turkish Airlines is gearing up to welcome 80 long-range Airbus A350 jets into its fleet, some of which are earmarked for 17-hour non-stop flights from Istanbul to Sydney and Melbourne – but the airline maintains there are no plans to bring back its ‘Comfort Class’ premium economy cabin and recliner seating.

Instead, the Star Alliance member will lure economy travellers to step straight up to business class with an all-new Crystal business class suite boasting all the mod cons.

Speaking with Executive Traveller following the arrival of Turkish Airlines’ inaugural Istanbul-Melbourne flight, TK chairman Professor Ahmet Bolat ruled out the return of premium economy, saying  “we are happy with our two class configuration.”

Turkish Airlines is one of the few world-class carriers to resist the pull and passenger appeal of premium economy in the modern era, having scrapped its Comfort Class in 2016.

Exclusive to the Boeing 777, Turkish Airlines Comfort Class offered a familiar set of benefits.

There was more legroom, space and comfort: Turkish Airlines’ premium economy seats had more recline and an adjustable leg rest, offered up to 46 inches of pitch (compared to 32 inches in economy), and 19.5 inches wide in an identical 2-3-2 configuration to the 777 business class, while the 3-3-3 economy seats were 18 inches wide.

Inflight dining in Comfort Class saw a substantial improvement too, with  white linens, proper crockery and cutlery and most importantly, better quality food served over multiple courses – again, all closer to business class.

Turkish Airlines Comfort Class passengers also enjoyed priority boarding ahead of the 300 or so economy passengers and received a useful business-like amenity kit with skin care products, a toothbrush, slippers, socks, eye masks and even a shoehorn.

In short, at a time when some airlines treated premium economy as an ‘economy plus’ experience, Turkish Airlines Comfort Class was positioned closer to a being a ‘business lite’ proposition.

So what happened?

Turkish Airlines fitted premium economy only its long-range Boeing 777 jets, which meant Comfort Class passengers with a connecting Turkish Airlines flight to or from Istanbul – such as within Europe or to the UK – most often had to downgrade to a standard economy seat for the rest of their journey.

And the 777’s Comfort Class cabin was arguably oversized, with a whopping 63 premium economy seats compared to just 28 business class seats – a ratio that’s generally reversed in other airlines.

Coupled with softer-than-expected demand, this meant Turkish Airlines had more premium economy seats than it could sell, while also facing a consistent shortage of the more profitable business class seats.

A refit of the Boeing 777s saw the premium economy cabin absorbed into larger business class cabin which today has 49 seats – although that will be trimmed back to 44 Crystal business class suites from early 2025.