The happy middle cabin: Why airlines are finally racing to add premium economy
August 31, 2025
Once a niche product, the premium economy cabin keeps spreading across airline fleets worldwide. This ‘happy middle’ cabin not only offers passengers greater comfort, but it has also proven to be very good for airlines. Carriers are adding premium economy seats to their aircraft for one simple reason: the revenue math works.
This week brought two fresh premium economy announcements. LATAM will introduce a new Premium Comfort cabin with RECARO’s PL3530 on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9s starting in 2027.
Emirates, which was long a holdout in adopting the more moderate premium product, has now fully embraced it. The airline announced that it will extend its Premium Economy network coverage to four more cities, utilising refurbished A380s, 777s, and new A350s.
A quick history of premium economy
The premium economy cabin isn’t new. In fact, it’s been flying with a few carriers for more than three decades. EVA Air is widely credited with launching the first true premium economy (then dubbed “Evergreen Deluxe”) in 1992. Virgin Atlantic followed suit the same year by introducing its “Mid Class,” later rebranded as “Premium Economy.”
The two airlines got the formula right from the start by offering a clearly differentiated cabin experience with more comfortable seating than economy class, though less lavish than their actual premium product.
The passenger value proposition is straightforward: a 38–40 inch pitch zone with deeper recline, wider seats, bigger IFE, power, and a differentiated soft product, often with priority services. The hard and soft products (including unique amenities and menus) all justify the higher airfare.
For airlines, the hard product of the premium economy optimises cabin footprint far better than the lavish business class and first class seats. This happy middle cabin allows more passengers to move forward, but it does not draw high-fare customers away from the front of the plane.
Between the early and mid-2000s, major Asian and European flag carriers introduced their own versions of Premium Economy. In 2016, American Airlines became the first US airline to introduce long-haul premium economy, prompting United (“Premium Plus”) and Delta (“Premium Select”) to follow suit.
Why airlines love the happy middle: it adds up
For airlines, the cabin tends to attract affluent leisure and corporate-policy-downgraded business travelers, delivering a step-up yield with only a modest space penalty versus economy. This results in an attractive revenue per square-foot, and that is critical in the very limited real estate of aircraft cabins.
Public disclosures across multiple airlines paint a consistent picture of how profitable premium economy really can be.
- Lufthansa Group has described premium economy as a “money-generating machine,” citing approximately 33% more revenue per square foot than economy and 6% more than business.
- American Airlines reported that premium economy fares average about twice the cost of coach, referring to it as “the most profitable use of square footage on our widebody.”
- United Airlines has stated that adding Premium Plus can increase overall PRASM (Passenger Revenue per Available Seat Mile) by 4–6% on equipped flights.
- Air France–KLM has reported that in H1 2025, Premium & Premium Comfort grew 27% YoY, lifting their share of passenger network revenue to 8.1% (from 6.7% a year earlier). KLM management stated that Premium Comfort revenue increased by more than 80% in the first quarter of 2025.
The premium economy cabin’s footprint keeps expanding across airline fleets. Aviation analytics firm Cirium counted 42 airlines offering premium economy in 2017. By 2022, 63 airlines offered the happy middle cabin and the number of aircraft equipped with premium economy had surged by 84%. And more aircraft have been outfitted with the product since then.
LATAM updates its premium economy product
LATAM will retrofit 41 sets of RECARO’s long-haul PL3530 premium economy seat onto its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleets. The first deliveries of the new product are expected to begin in H1 2027.
The hardware targets premium economy sweet spots, offering a 40-inch pitch, 8-inch recline, privacy wings, and an expanded seat width. The airline will equip the premium economy seat with Panasonic Avionics’ modular and modern Astrova IFE, featuring 16-inch 4K screens, Bluetooth audio, USB-C fast charging, and AC power.
“Premium Comfort reflects our deep understanding of our customers’ evolving needs and our commitment to providing more options so every passenger can travel the way they want,” said Paulo Miranda, Vice President of Customers at LATAM Airlines Group. “It is a product that combines comfort, space, and high-level service with exceptional value, and it also represents a statement of how we envision the future of flying from South America to the world: a journey where privacy, design, and the warmth of our region come together to create a unique experience.”
“Our close collaboration with LATAM will result in a truly unique seat for their Premium Comfort Class passengers,” said Dr. Mark Hiller, CEO of RECARO Aircraft Seating and RECARO Holding. “The PL3530 model offers premium comfort, elevates privacy to a new level, and will be a standout addition to their fleet and the South American market.”
Emirates rolls out more premium economy routes
Emirates announced it is adding more premium economy capacity to new routes in the Middle East and West Asia.
- Amman (EK903/904): four-class A380 from 26 Oct 2025
- Mumbai (EK504/505): retrofitted 777 from 26 Oct
- Muscat (EK862/863): A350 on Thu/Sat from 30 Oct
- Bahrain (EK833/834): additional retrofitted 777 on Thursdays from 4 Dec
By winter, Emirates expects to operate more than 635 weekly flights offering premium economy, serving 68 cities—36 of which will operate exclusively on aircraft fitted with the cabin.
The airline’s $5 billion fleet retrofit program is progressing rapidly, with approximately one aircraft being completed at Emirates’ maintenance facilities in Dubai every three weeks.
- Sixty-seven Emirates aircraft have been completed, with a plan to refurbish a total of 219 (110 A380s and 109 777s).
- Emirates’ new Airbus A350 aircraft also feature the Premium Economy cabin
- Emirates currently offers around 1.8 million Premium Economy seats annually and aims to reach over 2 million by the end of 2025.
What’s next in the happy middle?
As premium economy is proving its worth, we can expect more routes to offer the happy middle. Airlines are refining their product by adding privacy wings, improved leg and footrests, personal stowage, and integrating next-generation IFE with larger 4K screens that feature Bluetooth pairing as standard.
On the network side, airlines will likely introduce the cabin on more routes to ensure journey consistency and increase their opportunity to upsell customers.
Premium economy has matured from a niche to a core profit lever. With LATAM’s 787 retrofit and Emirates’ network scale-up, two carriers are betting bigger on the “happy middle” cabin, and with good reason: it attracts passengers, it sells well, and it monetises space better than other classes.
