SABENA is upgrading its business-class seating and service on its long-haul fleet for next summer.
Seat pitch is being extended to 62ins in place of the current 48ins, seats will recline by a further 6ins, and footrests will be more comfortable.
In-flight entertainment and on-board service will also be enhanced. Sabena and part-owner Swissair will improve airport lounges.
General manager UK and Ireland Marc Nelis said refurbishment starts in January and should be complete in time for summer 2000.
He said the seats will offer maximum comfort. “The Airbus A330 and A340 fleet are being refurbished to include the biggest seat pitch in the industry,” said Nelis.
Seats will also have individual television screens and telephones.
He said Swissair was also improving service by redesigning its first-class product next year for joint users of Sabena and the Swiss airline. Sabena does not offer first class.
Nelis revealed Sabena’s long-haul services attract 10% of UK-originating passengers through its Brussels hub. “We want to improve on this,” he said.
Half of Sabena’s UK traffic connects in Brussels, where the airline has recently finished a state-of-the-art transfer area for quicker connections.
The new product will be available on Sabena’s new long-haul services to Madras andWashington. The thrice-weekly Madras flight is launched on November 2 from Brussels.
Nelis said the service will be heavily marketed in the UK in cities with large ethnic populations.
“There will be connections from all our UK airports and we will be marketing it strongly in London, Birmingham, Leeds and Bradford,” he said.
The decision to launch the Indian service was taken in partnership with Swissair. The Swiss carrier already serves Delhi and Bombay.
Sabena’s UK service has been made all jet after the replacement of the final turboprops serving London City Airport.
Nelis said further UK improvements were planned with the possible launch of flights from Sheffield, Aberdeen, Southampton and Norwich.