In the opening of Jerry Maguire, Renée Zellweger’s son asks her whqt’s wrong. They’re on a plane, sitting back in coach. She answers,
First class is what’s wrong. It used to be a better meal. Now it’s a better life.
Except they’re on a domestic flight, and it used to be that the meals were pretty good up there. Now it’s just a bigger seat. The quote struck me as so odd because it seemed so backward, it used to be a better life, now it’s just a meal (sometimes) and a seat.
Internationally, of course, is a whole different story. I recently blogged a CNN.com story based on my thoughts about the best international airline lounges, for instance.
Scott Mayerowitz writes a piece for the Associated Press on the current state of international premium cabin offerings. Like Renée Zellweger, the title of the AP story draws a distinction with offerings in back, “No pillows in coach, but it’s sundae time up front.”
Drawing a distinction between how most Thanksgiving passengers will be traveling (and thus, in my mind, conflating international and coach offerings a bit some most Thanksgiving travelers will be flying domestic — myself excluded, of course..), Mayerowitz details some of the things airlines are doing to ramp up competition for paid premium class travel.
I did find this statistic interesting, and puts the focus squarely where it should be in this article (international):
First-class and business-class passengers make up only 8 percent of international travelers but account for 27 percent of revenue, according to the International Air Transport Association.
I’m quoted briefly, right before the transition from the basic stuff US airlines are doing to compete (flat beds, basic meals) to the extremes the better international carriers take:
Emirates Airlines first-class passengers can shower on its Airbus A380s, and walled-off suites come with minibars. Lufthansa has a separate terminal in Frankfurt for its first-class passengers, but it’s hardly an inconvenience: Passengers get dedicated immigration officers and are driven to their plane in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Porsche Cayenne.
Singapore Airlines trains flight attendants how to walk without waking passengers. And at Virgin Atlantic’s London lounge, passengers can play pool, get a massage or relax in the sauna.
I think what I like best about the story though, is despite the Occupy Wall Street-style framing (life is getting worse for the 99% while the super-elite feast on caviar in a Porsche cayenne driven by Singapore girls), it actually recognizes that real improvements are available in the back of the plane as well:
To be sure, coach passengers are seeing some improvements these days, such as live TV and Wi-Fi service on select airlines. And they can enjoy other small luxuries for a fee. Seats with a few extra inches of leg room start at $9. Daily lounge passes cost $50. American even offers a celebrity treatment, with an agent escorting passengers from the curb to the gate for $125.
It’s at a price, to be sure, but so is the ticket. And those prices are far less than the increment between coach and business class. So passengers are empowered to pick and choose the things that matter to them (not just based on stated preference, of course, but matter in the sense that they’re willing to incur a cost or tradeoff in order to have them).
It really pisses me off when people complain about how nice first class is. They pay 10x+ more than economy, they sure as hell better be getting way better treatment. I post this sitting in a seat next to baggage claim at RNO, at 6:30 I start my long day going to Singapore (in coach).
Ultimately, like anything else, the market sets the price and the consumer is free to pick and choose the value proposition that best meets their requirements.
If anything, I think its the F and C passenger who are taken advantage of. A seat in economy from SFO to FRA costs maybe $1,000 round trip. In first it costs maybe $15,000 round trip. For 15X the cost, the airline might spend 3-5X more on allocating space in the cabin and providing services like a lounge and food. Even with domestic travel, the difference in fare might be 4X, but you are probably getting at best a 2X increase in space and service.
Passengers in coach cover the expenses. The premium cabin provides profit.
Just look at the proposed and real changes of the UA FF program to get a sense of the way things are moving amongst the airlines. If they could force the coach pass to squeeze into the cargo bays, a la the Titanic, they would. Perhaps some day government safety regulations will allow that. Just think of the room for FC then, and even a piano lounge! Or how easy it would be to get out the emergency exit doors in case of an emergency without all the riff raft in the way!
One problem is the ever widening gap between international premium and coach products. International business today is far better than international first was two decades ago, and far costlier to the airline (and passengers). If I find coach too cramped and uncomfortable, the only alternative offered by most airlines is an extravagantly priced business product (not to mention first) which may be well beyond what I need and am willing to pay for. A handful of airlines have addressed the gap with a premium economy product (better seats, not just extra legroom), but most carriers (including all U.S. carriers) don’t offer this.