Sir, - It has been reported that Delta Air in the US is about to abolish business class on its short haul flights. The given reason is that it will make more seats available, and is being driven by customer demand.
Aer Lingus should do the same, particularly on its Brussels service. Over-booking is now a fact of life on all busy flights, but it is intolerable that passengers who have a booking should be left behind, as happens almost every Monday on the 6:55 flight to Brussels, when the plane has had as many as 20 seats and more removed to pander to the vanity of those who want to travel first class.
Revenue considerations do not enter the equation. Whatever extra is paid for privilege would be at least, if not more, offset by the sale of the replaced seats.
The way business class is handled by, otherwise excellent, ground staff at embarkation is nothing short of a public relations disaster for Aer Lingus. It is galling to be told, over the public address system, that those passengers travelling in economy class will have to wait to board until those holding business class tickets have done so. It is doubtful if steerage passengers on the Titanic felt as humiliated. Never mind that the result of putting those passengers to sit in the front on first, through the front door, leads to total chaos when the rest try to edge past people still placing their belongings in the overhead lockers.
I sometimes see Irish MEPs travelling to and from Brussels on these flights. On all occasions when I have noticed them, they travelled economy class. How democratic, I thought, and more evidence that so-called business class is extravagant and superfluous. I have since heard it alleged, by the BBC World Service, that MEPs are in the habit of claiming the expense allowance for a first class flight, then travelling economy and pocketing the difference. This is a cheap, tawdry fraud, if it happens. Yet another excellent argument for abolishing first class altogether.
There may be some merit in having a part of the plane reserved on very long flights for those who want more room and are prepared to pay for it. Even this would not be justified if it meant, as happens most Mondays on the Dublin to Brussels flight, that booked passengers would have to be left behind.
And one does not have to be a raving pinko communist fellow-traveller (pun intended) to find the idea of people being served champagne during a 90 minute commute to work on a Monday morning, just a little bit ridiculous. - Yours etc., Seamus McKenna
Avenue Louise,
Brussels,
Belgium.