Etihad Airways to launch Economy Space seating

Dubai: Etihad Airways announced on Monday it will introduce ‘Economy Space’ seating by next month, a new option with wider seats across its wide-body fleet.

By December Etihad will have refitted its 10 Airbus A380 aircraft with Economy Space seats, which feature wider seats of up to 36 inches. The redesign also increases the number of extra-legroom seats in Economy class to 80 seats from 20.

The carrier said the redesign is “in response to the popularity and demand for extra legroom seats”.

In addition to refitting its A380s, Etihad will add Economy Space seats to 12 Boeing 777s and 21 Boeing 787 Dreamliners by the end of 2019, it said.

The move comes as more airlines in the region look at adding premium Economy seats. Earlier this year, Emirates said it plans to launch Premium Economy class on its aircraft from 2020.