Tim Clark, president of Emirates, just introduced private first-class suites that measure 40 square feet with floor-to-ceiling walls and sliding doors. Only two airlines claim to make money in first and are raising their game (while discreetly cutting cabin size).
“After traveling in the Q Suite, do you really need to pay to fly first class?” Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive of Qatar Airways, says the airline’s new business-class Q Suite is better than first on many carriers.
Improved businessĬlass, in some cases, is contributing to the demise of first class. Wealthy leisure travelers are comparing new and improved business-cabin features-at beds, direct aisle access, dining on demand, private-style suites-with first class and concluding that the higher fee isn’t worth it. Shareholders won’t support such extravagance. Despite the hefty ticket prices ($1,000 an hour, on average-up to 70 percent more than business-class seats), carriers say they barely break even.Īdded to the economics, corporations are much more aware of perception, and many companies that used to y their top executives first class have decided business class or economy is just fine. Each seat costs between $150,000 and $300,000 to develop and build, and caviar and Krug aren’t cheap. The economics of first class are ruinous to both the airlines and passengers. Even mighty Emirates, the world’s largest international long-haul carrier (by passenger miles own), is reducing first-class seats on numerous carriers and eliminating the first-class cabins entirely on 30 of its 777s and 15 of its A380s.
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