American, United, Delta Air: premium economy results encouraging

The three large US global network airlines are in the early innings of deploying their respective premium economy products on long haul routes, but there is no shortage of optimism at American, Delta and United about the revenue-generating potential of a dedicated product between first/business class and economy.

American is further along in the number of premium economy seats it has on offer after recently completing retrofits of nearly 124 widebodies with a dedicated premium economy section.

United and Delta are at varying stages of a premium economy deployment on long haul international routes, but all three airlines cite encouraging statistics about pricing power and load factors for their latest segmented product.

The roll-out of premium economy by those airlines is the latest development in their product segmentation strategies that are designed to drive upsales and to compete more effectively with lower cost competitors as those competitors enter and exit the market.

Premium economy is a way of ensuring that they cater to all passenger segments that are looking for value in long haul markets.