Dragonair Unveils Comprehensive Enhancements to Cope with Future Expansion and Development

HONG KONG, 2013-01-24 — /travelprnews.com/ — Dragonair today unveiled a major new product enhancement, its biggest since 2005, that will see the introduction of New Business Class and New Economy Class cabins together with a brand-new inflight entertainment system named Studio^KA.

The product announcement was made at a media event hosted by Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Patrick Yeung. Speaking at the event, Mr Yeung said: “When the exciting new products are in place, our passengers’ journeys will be even more relaxing and enjoyable. The inflight facelift demonstrates our commitment to offer superior products and services to our passengers.  The latest investment also underlines Dragonair’s commitment to long-term expansion and development.”

Commenting on the airline’s performance in 2012, Mr Yeung said: “Dragonair grew at an unprecedented pace last year. We launched or resumed eight destinations, expanded our fleet with six aircraft and broke our previous record of passengers carried in a year. As we increase our regional links, we also strengthen Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub and contribute to the city’s infrastructural development.  The groundwork laid in 2012 puts us in a stronger position to reap the benefits of eventual economic upturn in the areas we operate in. While we remain cautiously optimistic, the business environment in 2013 will continue to be extremely challenging in view of the uncertain world economy.”

“With the addition of Zhengzhou and Yangon this month, the 11th and 12th new or resumed destinations since early last year – Wenzhou in the Mainland and Da Nang in Vietnam – will be launched tomorrow and on 28 March,” said Mr Yeung.

“Dragonair continues to keep a close eye on China and the Southeast Asian region, two areas of high potential and dynamic traffic flow. With the launch of Wenzhou, Dragonair will serve 22 destinations in our core market of Mainland China,” Mr Yeung added.

The New Business Class product is specifically designed around the needs of passengers flying within the region, greatly enhancing their ability to dine, work, rest and be entertained. The product is the result of an intensive passenger-led design process that involves input from the airline’s Marco Polo Club members to refine comfort, versatility and function. The principal feature of the New Business Class product is the seat, which offers an extensive recline, extended legrest and innovative cradle motion that ensure passengers can rest in comfort. The whole New Business Class concept is aimed at making passengers feel that their every need is taken care of.

The New Economy Class product offers greatly improved living space compared to the existing Dragonair Economy Class along with more personal storage space. The new seat features a cradle mechanism to enhance the level of comfort in the recline position.

The airline’s New Business Class and New Economy Class products adopt the same designs used by sister airline Cathay Pacific for its new Regional Business Class and new long-haul Economy Class products. This will create a more consistent and harmonious inflight experience for passengers connecting between the two airlines through the Hong Kong hub.

Both the New Business Class and New Economy Class products will feature Studio^KA, a widescreen on-demand inflight entertainment system shown on high-resolution touch-screen personal televisions – 12.1” in size in Business Class and 9” in Economy Class. This is the first time that an entertainment library with audio and video on demand has been made available on Dragonair flights, offering passengers a whole new inflight entertainment experience.

Studio^KA offers passengers a wide range of exciting entertainment options through its extensive library, with more than 100 Hollywood blockbusters and popular Asian movies, 500-plus Western and Asian TV programmes, 888 music CDs, 22 radio channels, and programmes in nine languages.

Along with the new seats and entertainment system, Dragonair passengers will also see new designs for the inflight meal service ware in both Business Class and Economy Class starting from March. The design of the new service ware complements the new cabin elements to offer passengers a refreshed dining experience on regional flights.

Appendix:

Features of New Business Class

The seat pitch has been increased from 45” to 47” on the airline’s wide body aircraft and from 42” to 45” on narrow body aircraft, providing extra legroom for passengers.  The in-seat width has also been increased from 20” to 21” on all aircraft types, providing extra living space for passengers.  Each seat is encased in a fixed shell ensuring that passengers’ living space is not encroached upon by the passenger in front.

The seat features independent electronic controls for recline and the legrest, allowing passengers to adjust the seat into their ideal position with the touch of a button. The ergonomically-designed seat articulates into a comfortable “lazy-Z” position that allows passengers to be cradled in the optimum position for relaxation. Passenger comfort is further enhanced by a six-way movement headrest and an extended legrest.

The design of the seat has ensured that ample storage space is available for passengers’ personal baggage and items. Each seat is equipped with a universal power supply outlet to keep electronic devices fully charged. A multi-port connector includes an USB port that can be used to charge devices such as mobile phones and BlackBerry devices, and an iPhone^®/iPod^®/iPad^®connector that allows passengers to connect their own devices and watch video through the personal TV.

The seat is equipped with a new 12.1 inch touch-screen monitor, which is mounted into the back of the fixed seat.  The large meal table allows passengers ample space to spread out while they work or dine, and an extendable cocktail table.

The New Business Class product will be installed on the majority of Dragonair’s aircraft.  The first A330 aircraft with the New Business Class product is scheduled to enter service in March 2013.  The entire retrofit project is due to complete by the end of 2014.

Features of New EconomyClass

The New Economy Class seat features a cradle mechanism to enhance the level of comfort in the recline position, the latest 9” high-resolution touch-screen personal televisions, a USB outlet and an iPhone^®/iPod^®/iPad^®connector that allows passengers to connect their own mobile devices to view content through the personal television. The seat also offers improved living space and more personal storage space.

The New Economy Class seat will be fitted on the majority of Dragonair fleet. The first A330 aircraft with the New Economy Class product is scheduled to enter service in March 2013.  The entire retrofit project is due to complete by the end of 2014.

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Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Patrick Yeung introduces the New Business Class and New Economy Class product at a media event today.