Premium air Class
TEN YEARS AGO NEXT MONTH, in April 2003, the travel management industry received a metaphorical shot in the arm. Doormats across the nation reverberated with the thudding arrival of the first-ever issue of something called Buying Business Travel. The then-youthful editor Mike Toynbee described the “bright new bi-monthly” as being in “an easy-to-read format” and some wet-behind-the-ears whippersnapper called Bob Papworth contributed a feature on the impact of low-cost carriers on airline pricing policies. Legacy carriers, he reported, had slashed economy class fares as low as commercially feasible. To make up the shortfall in revenues, they would have to lower business class fares to entice more people into premium cabins. The margins would be smaller, but the droves of punters heading towards the front of the plane would more than make up for that. Fast-forward to 2011, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was asserting that “there has clearly been a structural
MATTERS
As corporate policies put premium travel in the spotlight, Bob Papworth finds who is still daring to fly in the front
shift away from travel on business and first class seats towards economy", citing a fall from 9-10 per cent to 7.5-8.5 per cent of premium travel's share of the international total since the recession started. However, OAG statistics, produced exclusively for Buying Business Travel, show first and business class capacity appears, at first glance, to be holding up well despite the recession. Back in 2001, the world’s airlines put a total of 134,985,006 business class seats on the market. This figure was 151,319,102 in 2012, a rise of more than 16 million. Figures for first class – 67,016,689 in 2001 – show a tiny increase of 10,000 by last year. That’s not to say premium seats grew proportionally – OAG’s figures show total available seats rose from 2.93 billion in 2001 to just over 4 billion in 2012. But the fact remains that airlines
have been adding premium cabin capacity, indicating there is a market for it. So who and where are those big spenders? Major growth has come in Asia, where OAG’s figures tell us that
HIGH FLYING 60
AIR CANADA Air Canada will receive five new B777-300ER aircraft in the next two years with a new three- class configuration. The existing herringbone layout will go, and a new premium economy cabin will be introduced. Business class will be configured with six or four-across, with a total of 36
Tom Otley looks at what’s new for 2013 in the premium cabins
seats. The new aircraft will enter service on the Montreal-Paris CDG route in July, with London seeing it at a later date.
www.aircanada.com
AMERICAN AIRLINES US carriers have finally caught up in terms of international long- haul seating, and nowhere is
this more apparent than with AA. This month it introduces its new B777-300ERs on to the London route with fully-flat seating in business and first. Towards the end of the year, the B777-200ERs will be retrofitted with a new fully-flat business seat, and have first class removed.
www.aa.com
BRITISH AIRWAYS BA revamped its first class in 2010 and this, admittedly quite slow,
process continues. Business class (Club World) remains the same, even on the carrier’s A380s and B787 Dreamliner aircraft, which are due to enter service this year.
www.ba.com
CATHAY PACIFIC Also introducing new business class seating, Cathay is replacing its controversial herringbone seating (likened to coffins by many because of its high walls and feet sticking out into the aisle on
MARCH/APRIL 2013
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