Flying economy, premium economy, business, first class: What’s the deal

Air India, the Tata group airline, has said it will offer premium economy seats when it introduces wide-bodied B777-200LRs to offer more flights to the US.

What is the difference between economy, premium economy, business class and first class seats?

Economy class

All airlines started with first-class seats. Delta Airlines started toying with the idea of accommodating more passengers on a flight by offering smaller seats.

First, it started separate flights for first-class and “coach cabin” travellers. The “cabin coach” came to be known as “economy” class seats. It is the basic class: seats are narrowest and have the least legroom.