Let us know about free updates
British Airways switch. In news that many people I know still claim to fly ABBA or surprise non-BA people, one of the airline’s highest-end offerings is rolling.
The sale of short-haul business class seats, which everyone said would be slotted by European budget airlines, exploded instead. BA CEO Sean Doyle said this week that they “doubtedly beat our highest expectations.”
The premium cabin, built for those who could pay up to £628 for an 85-minute one-way flight from Heathrow to Paris, said it was “more popular than ever, especially for leisure passengers.”
When I read his comments in The Times, my first thought was that the £7 billion “Transformation Investment Program” released last year might really work out. Perhaps the tragic day of airline Fiasco, delays, cost cuts and strikes has finally set back.
My second thought is, who are these people in the shorthaul business class? Who enjoys more elbow rooms, better food, faster boarding to pay three times the economic price?
As a regular traveler from London to Australia, I understand the appeal of business class on long flights.
This understanding grew deeper in Melbourne last month. Standing at the economy check-in line, we had a good time watching fellow London-bound travelers strolling towards the lounge after their bags were whipped up in a few minutes.
I finally stumbled into the economic seat, which cost more than my first car, but only made an intrusive discovery. I was sitting next to the man without shoes. And he was not alone.
Another passenger is not without shoes, but mostly naked, from the waist to the chest line, and his tracksuits and bras are often worn in the gym. I think it’s also the beach. But on a 23-hour flight to London?
A week later, a friend who took the same flight came back with the same news. He too witnessed the unexpected breakdown of shoesless feet wandering all the places on long distance flights where naked skin should not go.
I associate all of these for two reasons. Firstly, I am pleased with the shareholders of IAG, the parent company of BA. A magazine called “a completely mediocre airline.”
However, I am extremely unhappy that so many airlines are strengthening their premium class services and continuing to race with our people left to stew with more uncomfortable juices.
BA plans to increase seats in Premium Economy by 20% from 2024 to 2027. I hope the service is good. Qatar Airways, which has had a business double bed for many years, recently announced that it will expand its caviar servings to business-class cabins from the start.
I understand why. The front seats are extremely profitable per square meter than all rows in the economy. Even a premium economy seat can produce as much as a third as the one at the back. But Emirates boss Ir Tim Clark was certainly right to say that the industry was too late to improve economic seating as he focused on premium customers this week.
If you don’t know much, it’s fascinating to think this is cautious. The more frightening economy, the more desirable a flat business seat of those lies, with or without caviar.
Industry experts will ensure I am wrong and no matter how good the economy is, there will always be enough demand for premium flights. If so, it’s great. The first airline to make the economy great or even more endurable is to get my cash.
pilita.clark@ft.com
