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food / travel

Lufthansa To Add "Premium Economy" Seats For Not-Quite-Business Class Clients

DIE WELT (Germany)

Worldcrunch

BERLIN - Lufthansa is planning to launch a fourth class on long distance flights: Premium Economy Class. The entire long-haul fleet would be equipped with the new cabin, according to Die Welt.

The company released a statement saying that its supervisory board had agreed to invest in an “introductory project” that would take two years to develop.

According to air travel expert Andreas Spaeth, Lufthansa finally made the move because the German airline realized “they were going to lose market share to other airlines, and that fear was bigger than the fear of cannibalizing Business Class.”

The new class will offer wider seats and more legroom, better food, and more baggage allowance. On the ground, passengers will get preferred check-in and access to the lounge.

According to Lufthansa, “this substantially upgraded Economy product will fill the gap between the superior Business Class segment, which features a seat that can be converted into a fully flat bed, on one side and the classic Economy Class on the other. This will appeal to both leisure travelers seeking additional comfort and business travelers.”

Worldwide some dozen airlines already offer Premium Economy, among them Qantas, Air New Zealand, ANA and Japan Airlines, but also European airlines such as Air France, British Airways, SAS Scandinavian and Turkish Airlines.

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food / travel

Legalizing Moonshine, A Winning Political Stand In Poland

Moonshine, typically known as “bimber” in Poland, may soon be legalized by the incoming government. There is a mix of tradition, politics and economics that makes homemade booze a popular issue to campaign on.

Photo of an empty vodka bottle on the ground in Poland

Bottle of vodka laying on the ground in Poland

Leszek Kostrzewski

WARSAWIt's a question of freedom — and quality. Poland's incoming coalition government is busy negotiating a platform for the coming years. Though there is much that still divides the Left, the liberal-centrist Civic Koalition, and the centrist Third Way partners, there is one area where Poland’s new ruling coalition is nearly unanimous: moonshine.

The slogan for the legalization of moonshine (known in Poland as "bimber") was initially presented by Michał Kołodziejczak, the leader of Agrounia, a left-wing socialist political movement in Poland that has qualified to be part of the incoming Parliament.

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”Formerly so-called moonshine was an important element of our cultural landscape, associated with mystery, breaking norms, and freedom from the state," Kołodziejczak said. "It was a reason to be proud, just like the liqueurs that Poles were famous for in the past.”

The president of Agrounia considered the right to make moonshine as a symbol of "subjectivity" that farmers could enjoy, and admitted with regret that in recent years it had been taken away from citizens. “It's also about a certain kind of freedom, to do whatever you want on your farm," Kołodziejczak adds. "This is subjectivity for the farmer. Therefore, I am in favor of providing farmers with the freedom to consume this alcohol for their own use.”

A similar viewpoint was aired by another Parliament member. “We will stop pretending that Polish farmers do not produce moonshine for their own use, such as for weddings,” the representative said, pointing out the benefits of controlling the quality. “Just like they produce slivovitz, which Poland is famous for. It's high time they did it legally.”

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