For most airplane passengers, the best-case scenario nowadays is finding overhead storage space and, if you’re lucky, an empty middle seat beside you. But for premium fliers, the possibilities are sky-high.
Despite seemingly incessant chatter about a looming recession and “budget-conscious” consumers, airlines are doubling down on their luxury offerings.
Why?
Although premium ticket sales typically comprise just 3% of traveler volume, they make up 15% of revenue, per Bloomberg, and airlines are increasingly selling out greater shares of their first-class cabins.
According to CAPA-Centre for Aviation, North American premium ticket volume in Q4 2023 was up 36%+ compared to the same time in 2019, even as overall volume stagnated. Plus:
- Business travel is in full swing again.
- Leisure travelers are prioritizing comfort and willing to shell out for higher-quality experiences.
Everyone wants in on the action…
- United Airlines recently announced Polaris Studio, a new first-class tier offering caviar service, which the airline hopes to debut next year.
- Air France’s new La Premiere cabin, which offers the longest seats in the sky, launched in April.
- American Airlines introduced Flagship Suites, its new business-class cabin, this month.
… even budget carriers Southwest, Spirit, and Frontier are all rolling out premium offerings this year, ranging from new business-class cabins to simpler benefits like seat selection.
For those who can afford it…
… the perks stretch from extra space and added privacy to high-end amenity kits, extensive wine lists, in-flight spas, and more:
- Emirates, the undisputed king of luxury travel, recently upgraded its first-class experience to include unlimited caviar with white glove service, hydrating pajamas made with microcapsule technology, designer cutlery, and a “zero gravity” seat setting; for those in a middle seat, it even offers a virtual window.
- For United’s Polaris Studio, VIP treatment will begin before the flight, with perks like gate-to-gate vehicle transfers and priority security screening.
Can’t afford to fly first-class?
You can still get the “premium” treatment — or a sense of it, anyway — thanks to airlines’ many, many tiered offerings.
- This kind of segmentation makes (us frustrated, but) upgrading more approachable for a range of budgets: Instead of paying $1k more for first-class, an economy traveler can pay an extra $100 for an elevated experience — even if some of those perks, like seat selection and extra leg room, previously came free.
Annoying? Yes. Will we be partaking anyway? Also probably yes.
Travel And Leisure
