Air Astana

1 · POSITION

Air Astana has twice built a premium product out of economy geometry. In 2015 it sold a sleeping place assembled from three economy seats on Boeing 757 services to Europe. On the Embraer E190-E2 it later placed a Premium Economy cabin where Business Class had been. The register’s interest is in what this airline is prepared to call a premium room, and in how little of that room is a conventional business seat. [1, 3]

2 · THREE SEATS MADE INTO A BED

Economy Sleeper Class was held completely separate from the Business and Economy cabins, with up to 12 seats available on each flight. The airline said the arrangement allowed passengers to rest and sleep in a lie flat position by combining three economy seats. A kit containing a mattress, a Business Class pillow and a duvet went with it. The product ran on Boeing 757 services from Astana to London and Frankfurt, with Paris added on 29 March 2015. [1]

3 · A CABIN DRAWN FOR ONE AIRLINE

The Airbus A321LR cabin presented at the airline’s technical centre carries 16 lie-flat business class seats with individual 16-inch screens, four of the 16 offering additional personal space. Economy uses Recaro seats with individual 10-inch screens. The airline states that the design of the interior trim, curtains and seat covers for both classes was developed specifically for Air Astana. Entertainment runs on a Zodiac RAVE system. [2]

4 · A PREMIUM CABIN THAT REPLACED ONE

Premium Economy Class on the Embraer E190-E2 occupies seat rows one to 12 in a two by two layout with no middle seat. Trade reporting records the airline’s claim that it delivers the same levels of service and comfort as the Business Class it replaces, at fares 35 per cent lower. Lounge access and priority at check-in and boarding were kept. The cabin began on domestic flights from Nur-Sultan to Shymkent and from Almaty to Kyzylorda. [3]

5 · ⚑ CANDOUR

⚑ The 16 seats and the trim belong to the A321LR and must not be read across the fleet. The airline’s own page for that aircraft carries no date, so the presentation is left undated here. The Premium Economy launch is given as 23 November with no year on the page used, and the year is therefore not stated. Nothing fetched for this entry addresses the register’s founding year of 2001. [1–3]