Lazarski Aviation Academy
First class on an airplane is still popular
Rumors about the end of first class on airplanes have proved to be greatly exaggerated. And it’s happening once again. It was supposed to be supplanted already completely by the modern business class. British Airways has unveiled a new version of its BA First. It’s part of a £7 billion transformation plan.
The refurbished BA First cabin will be on board Airbus A380s from 2026. The new seats will be 92 cm wide and will be convertible into a 200 cm long folding bed. The seat position is to be adjusted with the touch of a button. Visual accents in the elegant first-class space are to be reminiscent of the famous Concorde.
Enclosed cabins with high walls are to offer even more privacy. Those traveling together will be able to choose seats in the middle rows, where the inner partition can be opened. The whole is to resemble an elegant suite, equipped with tasteful accessories. Such solutions are already in place in other lines, such as those from Asia and the Middle East.
What do first-class passengers pay for?
But first-class travel is not just a flat bed and a lockable cabin. These can be found even in the business class of some airlines already. Such an exclusive package consists of separate check-in counters and business lounges (sometimes in the form of separate terminals), transfer car or an exclusive wine list and meals prepared on board. On top of that, elegant toiletries sets, pajamas and linens.
A first-class ticket can cost 40-50 thousand zlotys round-trip, which is two to four times more than business class. And it is first and business class that contribute significantly to the profitability of the route, allowing cheaper tickets to be offered to more price-sensitive travelers in economy class.
You can find calculations saying that first class occupies 20-30 percent of an aircraft’s space (such minicabs take up much more space than six economy class seats), but accounts for as much as 50-70 percent of a flight’s revenue.
First class is not disappearing
Rumors of the decline of first class surfaced in 2000. fly4free.co.uk, in an article from six years ago, recalled that it was British Airways that first introduced flat-folding business class seats, at a price several thousand pounds lower than first class. Luxury travel was to be buried by the 2008 global financial crisis.
First class, however, has been revived and given a new, even more luxurious incarnation, even including sky-high mini-suites with double beds. Once again, the end of first class was spoken of in pandemonium when COVID-19 shook the airline market for a long time. Investments like the one at British Airways, however, once again show that those rumors were premature, and first class is once again undergoing a renaissance.
This is because there is still a large group of people, including celebrities, people from the business world, ready to pay much more not only for the high comfort of travel, but also the privacy that first-class travel provides.
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