Originally Posted by
brunos
Whether we like it or not, the trend in Business class is to unbundle the product to offer different levels of fares.
Differences are in term of lounge access, seat selection, refundability and fee thereof, changeability and fees thereof.
Most airlines have done it in economy class, and many are now introducing it in business.
I see the rationale and it does not seem unreasonable to me.
In a way, it is also a reward for frequent flyers with status, as they usually keep seat selection and lounge access.
See, for once, I would love unbundled Business Class fares if it actually served the purpose of providing a Business Class experience at a cheaper price. But that isn't how it is now. A significant number of airlines including QR and EK simply eventually reprice the restricted fare class to that of the cheapest flexible fare class before unbundling. You pay more to get services (like seat selection, chauffeur car - in case of EK, not relevant here, sorry! , and lounge access) that you got for free in the yesteryears. Now that's one thing I love about booking on WY, SV, KU or even GF. The service levels may not be the same but there are no hidden surprises at the end of the day. You get the Business class service that you pay for, but it's only a few months or years until these airlines too follow the concept of unbundling fares.