As travel demand sinks, both legacy airlines and budget brands have turned to a strategy of ever-expanding upgrades.

ANA's newest premium economy seats, found on board its Airbus A380s, Boeing 787-10s, and Boeing 777-300ER planes, have a roomy 38 inches of pitch, a leg rest that supports the calf, massive 15.6 ...

In premium economy, the new seats will have a roomy 40 inches of pitch—two more inches than the current seats have—and recline an additional two inches, bringing the total recline to nine inches.

Southwest Airlines will end open seating in early 2026. It will sell tickets for the first flights with assigned seating and premium seats in the second half of 2025.

The seats will be a spacious 21 inches in width from mid-armrest to mid-armrest. Rival budget airline Spirit has a similar product, the Big Front Seat, in the plane's first two rows.

At first glance, I was immediately struck by the larger seats. It goes up to a sizable 40 inches of pitch—six inches more than economy class—and 20 inches in width. So window-seaters won't ...

So, premium-economy passengers were the first to board, and the process went smoothly. The plane was a 787-9 Dreamliner with a 2-3-2 seat configuration and 28 premium-economy seats in the front.

American also has plans to increase premium economy and business class seating, adding 45 percent more on long-haul flights by 2026. The carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER, 787-9 and Airbus A321XLR jets ...

In premium economy, the new seats will have a roomy 40 inches of pitch—two more inches than the current seats have—and recline an additional two inches, bringing the total recline to nine inches. Each ...