Business class travel is back. This is somewhat unexpected. Two years ago, airlines fretted. They feared post-pandemic passengers would not be willing to pay extra to sit at the front of their aircraft. Fares would fall, good for executives, but so would revenue, bad for airlines. Familiar routes would no longer be viable.
People had learned how to use Zoom and Teams, we were told, and would prefer this to security and check-in queues, weather diversions and time spent on aircraft and in taxis. Some airlines even considered refitting their aircraft with fewer seats in business class.
This was worrying for full-service airlines, which count on business travellers for 30 per cent of revenues and a higher proportion of profits, and the big global hotel chains, which earn two-thirds of their sales from executives.
Anyone trying to book a business class ticket this summer needs no reminding that these fears were unfounded. Prices are higher than ever in history. As aviation returned, demand outpaced supply in every cabin.
The Global Business Travel Association expects corporate travel to return to and exceed its pre-pandemic peak this year.
Two conferences earlier in the year gave us a hint of the flight path business class air travel is taking.
The Aircraft Interiors Expo and Passenger Experience Conference in Hamburg showcased the next generation of comfort in the sky, surround-sound cinema and fixed comfortable seats.
Fully flat is going out of fashion, in business class at least, with airlines such as Finnair opting for “almost fully flat” instead. Space is tight in the sky, and airlines have got better at using it.
Bells and whistles products, such as showers in the sky, which were introduced a decade or more ago with much publicity, are proving less important to the premium traveller than a spacious and efficient flight experience with good food and wine.
A week later, 1,700 leaders of the aviation industry gathered at the agm of International Air Transport Association (IATA) in the air-conditioned comfort of the JW Marriott in Dubai. They were an eclectic group, tieless airline CEOs, besuited suppliers and enthusiastic airheads, there to tell and hear about the latest trends in the industry and how to get an average profit per passenger above the current average of €6.
While it sizzled outside, Richard Quest of CNN tweaked his braces and barked at the airline executives. Glasnevin-born Willie Walsh, director general of IATA, conducted the orchestra.
Industry leaders Carsten Spohr of Lufthansa, Tim Clark of Emirates, Vanessa Hudson of Qantas and others, echoed the observation that business class is back with a new type of customer.
The shape of business class travel has changed too. Pre-pandemic, most of those who occupied the front of the aircraft were there because somebody else was paying the bill. The executives and air-mile collectors who used to sit up front have been joined by a new demographic and generation who want those fancy seats, posh food and plush lounges.
In 2023, when aviation restarted, those who saved money during the pandemic proved they were willing to spend more, parents joining backpackers or friends and family that they had not seen.
“Our premium cabins are populated by many other individuals who are paying the price that the corporates used to pay, and some are travelling more often,” Ms Hudson said.
Emirates, which offers the widest entertainment screens in the sky, said demand for business class out of Dublin grew by 31 per cent.
In 2024 capacity came back, and the supply fell way short of demand. Fares spiked. Not every route is back to full capacity, particularly eastbound. But Dublin’s American services have crept ahead of pre-pandemic levels, 222 flights a week in summer 2024 compared with 189 a week in summer 2019. More up-to-date aircraft types have been deployed on these routes with more business class seats to fill, but airlines have no trouble filling them.
Business class is not always the same, though. Some of our travel on long-haul flights is on narrowbody aircraft that extend to the east coast of the US and eventually, with the introduction of the A321XLR, to the west coast as well. Slimmer aircraft flying longer routes is the future for transatlantic aviation out of Ireland. A premium seat is an advantage on one of these flights.
The other post pandemic trend is the growth of premium economy. The odd in-between class has been around since 1992 and Irish flyers encountered it when it was first introduced by British Airways, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic 25 years ago.
Other airlines were slow to fit their cabins with the in-between class, fearing it would hit business class sales. Air France came next, and Lufthansa followed, with some reluctance.
US carriers were more enthusiastic, and took the concept further, so much so that passengers nowadays have to navigate a dizzying choice of seat types on the same aircraft. American Airlines have five seat types on their B77-300, first class (8), business class (52), premium economy (28), cabin extra (28) and main cabin (188).
JetBlue’s A321neos used to service the new routes from Dublin to Boston and New York is a narrow body, but even it has four seat types, four closed suites, 12 lie flat, 41 premium economy with 37 inches of legroom and 102 standard seats with 33 inches of legroom (which, of course becomes 28 inches when the person on front reclines their seat).
As the economy class experience has worsened, more people are willing to pay for premium. US airlines designate about 25 per cent of their seats as premium seats, European airlines slightly less, and Aer Lingus just 10 per cent. Aer Lingus preferred discounted business class sales to the expense of fitting a third class in their cabins. Aer Lingus wide-bodies have 23 business class seats (248 or 287 economy, depending on aircraft type), the A321s have 16.
Europeans are less used to business class on short-haul routes. The curtain in the cabin came down on both Aer Lingus and Ryanair over two decades ago (yes, early turboprop Ryanair once had a business class and there is a ticket for it in the Little Museum of Dublin). The trend is not confined to Ireland. Mainstream European airlines have retreated from short-haul routes, taking their luxuries with them.
Nobody could have foreseen Ryanair becoming the businessperson’s airline of choice, but to the airline’s surprise, research in 2013 showed that 22 per cent of their passengers were business travellers. They told surveyors that some things matter more than fine wine, like punctuality and not having a reclining seat to push down on your laptop. Unsure what to do next, Ryanair launched a series of initiatives that had little impact.
Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France still offer business class services to Europe, but it is on flights of five hours and more that business class comes into its own.
In short haul, lounge access is what matters most. The backlash against the overhaul of Aer Lingus loyalty scheme in 2016 was driven by concerns, not about legroom, but about lounge access in Heathrow.
How to get the best deals? Dressing smartly and travelling alone does not cut it any more. Nor does wearing a false foot cast (did it ever?).
Corporate travel agents have the specialist knowledge when best to travel, but airlines are also chasing occasional business class passengers with deals.
Keep the air miles topped up. Watch for business class sales. Subscribe to email shots direct from the airline.
Many airlines nowadays auction off their unsold premium seats. The first offers land in an inbox by email. Jump early and you might get a bargain, jump late and you might get a better one. If business class is empty, you can buy a seat at the gate for a few hundred euro. The trouble is, on popular routes, most business class seats are full by then.
Virtual meetings and Zoom will not replace business meetings, just as virtual eyepieces are never going to replace experiential tourism. For some, Zoom has become a four-letter word. Executives learned to tolerate the downsides for the benefits of face-to-face meetings.
Travel requires commitment. Those four days stuck in Dallas airport can be quickly forgotten in the rush of adrenaline from closing a big deal. And a nice seat on the way home makes it all worthwhile.
You can find more on Top 1000 here. For the full list of Ireland’s Top 1000 companies, sign up to the ePaper today. The full supplement is also available in Thursday’s (12/09/2024) print edition
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