China Southern’s Biz Class Goes Flat

China Southern Airlines, the largest airline in China, is upgrading its Business Class with the addition of new flat seats in its new A330 aircraft.
The aircraft will have 24 Business Class seats, featuring a flat bed, at an eight degree decline, six feet, three inches long. Seats include fully adjustable, automatic lumbar massage function; multi-function telephone and a video control unit with a 10.4 inch LCD screen; AC power plug for laptops, CD and MP3 players (no adaptor needed); and have 58 inches of pitch (distance between rows).

The airline serves more than 80 cities from Los Angeles.

More: www.cs-air.com/en

Iberia Moves to All-Business Class Model

The Spanish airline has plans to replace its First Class seats with an all new, upgraded Business Class cabin. Iberia says the seats will arrive on three new Airbus 340s, beginning in Oct. 2004.

The new seats, which roll back to a completely flat position, form a bed nearly 75 inches long, and 26 inches wide. The entertainment and communications system includes satellite telephone service along with the ability to send and receive email and short text messages. Interactive games are also offered as well as 12 audio channels and seven video channels with first-run films and on-demand programming.

Iberia reports that premium travel was up 3% last year, carrying almost 400,000 Business Class passengers on long haul flights; on Europe-Latin America routes, the airline claims a nearly 5% increase.

Iberia’s 21 A340s currently in use will undergo a retrofit throughout 2004 and 2005.