To sleep, perchance to dream…

Eastern promise: the new Singapore Airlines Spacebed extends to 6ft 6ins. It will be installed on the carrier’s Heathrow to Singapore route by the start of next month

Premium cabins by Beverley Fearis

Airline investment concentrates on premium improvements

To sleep, perchance to dream…

THE GAP between the products and services offered in first and business class is diminishing as airlines invest heavily in their premium cabins.

Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are the latest carriers to begin installing sleeper seats in business-class cabins.

The Asian carriers join British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, which launched flat-beds in business class earlier this year. Most other carriers only offer fully reclined seats in their first-class cabins.

Singapore Airlines’ Spacebed extends to 6ft 5ins when fully reclined and is 27ins wide after both armrests are deployed. Cathay’s new seat allows passengers to stretch out to 6ft 3ins and is 20.5ins wide, although armrests cannot be adjusted (see boxes).

Singapore Airlines’ Spacebed is due to be installed on the Heathrow to Singapore route by the beginning of next month, while Cathay Pacific was due to have its new seat on all UK services by the end of this month.

BA, the first airline to introduce flatbeds in business class, now offers them in Club World on 55 of its 112 long-haul aircraft, including services to Hong Kong, Chicago and New York JFK. Its seat converts to a flat 6ft 6ins bed, with a swivel footrest for additional comfort. Uniquely, some seats are positioned facing the back of the aircraft, rather than being configured in standard rows.

BA has also redesigned first class to maintain the distinction between the two products. The £20 million upgrade includes new à la carte dining, pre-flight meals for selected services and entertainment systems with 45 video titles.

Virgin Atlantic is installing sleeper seats in its Upper Class, which is comparable on price to other airlines’ business class. So far it has the new seats in 22 of its 30 aircraft, as part of a £37m revamp of Upper Class, including extending the in-flight bars and the introduction of a treatment area for in-flight massages and manicures, as well as a new ‘mood-enhancing’ lighting system.

Meanwhile, codeshare partners KLM and Northwest Airlines have completed an upgrade of their business-class seats to allow for greater comfort. Both airlines have increased seat pitch from 47ins to 60ins, while recline has moved from 130 to 150 degrees.

Ayscough Travel chairman Don Lunn forecast that unless other airlines had already committed themselves to major investments in business-class upgrades, any further plans would now be put on hold.

“I really can not imagine any airline would embark on an enormous refit in the current climate,” he said.

Sleeping easy: Virgin Atlantic has led the flatbed trend for business class