Why is it that CO (and for that matter, DL and NW) has chosen to forsake a true first class (complete with sleeper seats and a separate cabin) for a consolidated premium cabin? There are obvious disadvantages, but what are the advantages?

Also, any plans for real sleeper bed/seats. Heard that CO has some sort of plan for that.



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Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre c'est impossible sans Concorde!
~ConcordeBoy

CO's BizFirst was introduced in the early '90's. The Idea was to provide an upscale service at a business class ticket price, and attract business travelers who worked for companies that would pay for business class, but not FC. It proved to be a very successful strategy.

yeah.. I pretty much figured. But any plans for a real FC? Or at least real sleeper seats in BF?

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Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre c'est impossible sans Concorde!
~ConcordeBoy

As I understand it, Sleeper seats are going to be added to BF configured aircraft beginning this year with completion slated for 1st qtr 2003.

i think the advantages for Continental Airlines (CO) is that it can squeeze in more seats if it didn't have true sleepers.

[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 03-10-2002).]

I think its because us elites get free first class. AA has a much better FC because they make a profit on every seat, even with elite upgrades. We really don't have any right to complain.

The business class product on most international flights is the most profitable of all classes on both two-class and three-class configuration aircraft.

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daniel baker -- [email protected]
Reliable, fast, and unmoderated forums at ITYT.

First class just isn't the same as it was since the days when they started letting people like me in.

p.s. As Boomer (anybody remember boomer?, he was vaporized by EUA) used to say: "First Class is more then a seat in an airplane"

[This message has been edited by Old Gold (edited 03-10-2002).]

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"We will not cut benefits from OnePass, our industry-leading frequent flyer program, because we remain committed to rewarding our most loyal customers."

-- Gordon Bethune (Continental's CEO) two weeks before significantly cutting benefits of the OnePass program

Q1 2003 is highly optimistic. My understanding is that the new seats will be delivered on ships 17 and 18, after which the other 777s will go into reconfiguration starting in early Q4 2002. The 767 fleet will be reconfigured initially to realign the single center seats to a zig-zag pattern, and then a full-blown reconfiguration to the new seats. The 757 fleet will not be modified. The new business class will reduce the capacity on the 777s to a 48J/195Y configuration, a loss of 40 seats. The timeframe that I hear for completion is Q3 2002 at the earliest.

B747-437B, it seems both CO and NW are going to the sleeper seat config within the next year. Since you are the all knowing and omnipresent expert... what are the main differences between the two? I know BF is perceived as the better "product" vs NW, and it is in many cases. But to me, the seat makes most of the difference. Just wondering if you have any info you can share.

If their non-sleeper seats were working so well... what inspired the change?

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Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre c'est impossible sans Concorde!
~ConcordeBoy

According to a press release Continental will unveil details of its investment to enhance its BusinessFirst product on March 13.

My understanding is that the NWA product will be geared more towards Asian marketing while the CO product will target European marketing more. With the exception of a handful of TransPac flights by CO and a handful of TransAtlantics by NW, the average stage length flown by WBC is around 12.5hrs, while that flown by BizFirst is around 7.5 hrs.

Here is the release...

Monday March 11, 10:45 am Eastern Time
Continental Air To Invest In Enhanced International BusinessFirst

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) will unveil plans of its
investment in its high-end international BusinessFirst service on Wednesday.

In a press release Monday, the carrier said President Larry Kellner will make the
announcement at Righa Royal Hotel in New York at 10 a.m. EST .

Continental said the BusinessFirst investment marks the first time any U.S. airline has
made such a "substantial" investment in cabin service since the events of Sept. 11 .

-Jenny Park; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5388

(This story was originally published by Dow Jones Newswires)

Copyright (c) 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved