First Class Stays, Says Emirates President
Most airlines are getting rid of first class seats on long, intercontinental flights. But Emirates and Lufthansa still offer them.
First class travel is still popular, even though some airlines have stopped offering it on long flights.
Emirates President Tim Clark spoke about the importance of their luxury product at an aviation trade group meeting. They have over 250 airplanes and 80 percent of them have the luxury product. They plan to make it even better in the future.
Clark talked about Al Baker saying Qatar Airways won't install first class seats on its new long-haul planes. Al Baker thinks business class seats make more money and are already very comfortable.
Flying in first class for long journeys is becoming less common. Airlines are realizing it is not a good investment as business class seats have become better. American Airlines is the only U.S. airline with first class, but they are removing it from their planes over the next few years. Other global airlines like Air New Zealand and United Airlines no longer offer first class for long flights.
Let me clarify, we're talking about fancy lie-flat seats on big flights, not the regular comfy first class seats on small flights. Airlines still really like those comfy ones.
Premium Travel On Extended Flights
Some airlines are taking their posh offerings off their planes but others are investing in them, especially for long flights.
Qantas Airways has a new first class offering on the Airbus A350 for Project Sunrise flights to London and New York in 2025. The six-passenger cabin has separate seats and beds for travelers. Qantas wants to make money with this new offering.
Qantas CFO and new CEO, Vanessa Hudson said people will pay 20% more for the Qantas nonstop to London from Perth. It's more expensive than going through Dubai or Singapore and premium seats will cost more too. Qantas thinks they will make $266 million (A$400 million) in extra money every year with the new flights.
Lufthansa is introducing a new first-class experience in Q4. It's called Allegris. It's part of a revamp of the airline's cabin. Allegris will also be used on Swiss Air's large planes.
I'm working here for nine years. Every year, we've faced the problem that first class is too big and we must make it smaller. In May, our CEO said this again. But this year, the team told him that we need to make first class bigger. It's too small now. The CEO was surprised to hear that.
More people are traveling for leisure since the pandemic. Airline executives, such as Delta Air Lines, Finnair and Lufthansa, have seen this trend and are investing in it. However, each airline is doing something different to get more of these travelers. Lufthansa is focusing on first class and other premium products, while Delta and Finnair are improving their business class and premium economy seats.
Finnair's boss Ole Orvér talked about their new product in Istanbul. He said it's better than the old one. The new product is making more money.
Finnish airline Finnair stopped providing long-haul first-class flights. But they spent $228 million last year to upgrade business class and premium economy. This change is meant to attract more premium leisure travelers. Finnair needs to restructure their business because of Russian airspace shutting down. They used to focus on connecting East Asia and Europe.
People love premium economy seats on widebody planes because they make a lot of money. They're better than regular economy seats, but they don't take up a lot of room like business class seats. Often, they cost more than double the regular economy ticket price.
