Post-pandemic travel conditions have led to an unexpected situation in which first- and business-class bookings are on the rise and fewer corporates are booking travel for employees in the economy-class cabin, according to an article in forbes.com.au.
Delta Air Lines said premium class revenue would account for 35% of the record US$19 billion (R358, 97 million) in revenue it expected to generate this year.
Data from Corporate Traveller, Flight Centre’s corporate arm, show that first-class bookings increased by 107% and business-class by 26% when comparing the first half of 2023 with the second half of 2022.
However, premium economy seats were down 41% and economy bookings decreased by 20% for the period.
Having whittled away seat size, leg-room and personal space to the absolute minimum in economy class, the only thing left to improve revenues, is to make lavish improvements in first and business class to attract more of the deep-pocketed guests away from their competitors.
Respected financial publication, ft.com, reports that Lufthansa believed the strongest demand this year had been for premium cabins and that leisure travellers had almost completely compensated for the slower return of corporate bookings. Lufthansa CEO, Carsten Spohr, said he expected a permanent shift towards holidaymakers filling business and first-class seats.
Prior to the pandemic, there was a lull in demand for first class. This meant that many airlines, among them Air New Zealand, American Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, and others to abandon first class. Others started planning for ridding their aircraft of first-class cabins in the next refurb.
Now some, like Cathay Pacific, have reinstated their first-class cabins.
Necessity
Corporate Traveller believes companies are still willing to splurge on first- and business-class travel, despite the tough economic environment, and the business travel agency’s global MD, Tom Walley, said in a release that flying wasn’t a luxury, but a necessity for business success and survival.
“First-class bookings have doubled over the past year, and the traditionally cheaper seats – economy and premium economy – are lower. This shift in travel preferences shows that business travel remains a priority for SMEs, and that businesses have room in their budgets to pay for luxury on their trips,” said Walley. He said the findings were encouraging.
“It shows just how far the SME sector and the travel industry have come in a year – with confidence bouncing back strongly,” said Walley.
Read Travel News’s Premium-class travel feature, publishing today, October 18.
