Covid19 will end First and Business Class travel?
As we are hearing and reading horrofic news of planes with F cabins being stored or even retired, it is a huge blow for premium travellers. It is not only the revenues which are missing but a travel style is painfully taken away. Will it only last untill the pandemic or will airlines find the premium concept of travelling obsolet as they struggle for financial survival??
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The airlines, like any other service industry, are driven by demand. If the demand is strong enough, they'll bring back the product. And I would think the demand would be strong since premium cabins are really the only way travelers know they'll not be crammed cheek to jowl with their fellow passengers.
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I'm sure interested in future business class travel! My home airport is MCI- not a hub so I'm almost always stuck with baby planes going into a hub and on those planes First/Business Class is a joke. On long-hauls I'll pay for Business Class. My main concern is the decrease in services- closing down lounges, possible decrease in lounge offerings if they're open, reduced food.beverage service on board.. no flights booked right now (for the first time in eons) so I'll wait and see.
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Originally Posted by Flyingmama
(Post 32377280)
The airlines, like any other service industry, are driven by demand. If the demand is strong enough, they'll bring back the product. And I would think the demand would be strong since premium cabins are really the only way travelers know they'll not be crammed cheek to jowl with their fellow passengers.
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Originally Posted by Athena53
(Post 32377726)
I'm sure interested in future business class travel! My home airport is MCI- not a hub so I'm almost always stuck with baby planes going into a hub and on those planes First/Business Class is a joke. On long-hauls I'll pay for Business Class. My main concern is the decrease in services- closing down lounges, possible decrease in lounge offerings if they're open, reduced food.beverage service on board.. no flights booked right now (for the first time in eons) so I'll wait and see.
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The business rationale for Business Class travel will remain: you can't expect people to travel overnight and be productive the following day if they haven't had any sleep. So, for lowly paid people, and if hotels are cheap, you let them lose a day. For highly paid people, you buy them Business Class.
I would suggest that, if there's a significant change, it will be to economy class over the next couple of years (at least until this episode becomes a distant memory). Will enough people be prepared to be squashed into tiny seats? Or will enough people be prepared to pay extra for some space? Only time will tell, but I have no doubt that innovative airlines will be playing around with alternatives, trying to find a new sweet spot. |
Originally Posted by lhrsfo
(Post 32378114)
The business rationale for Business Class travel will remain: you can't expect people to travel overnight and be productive the following day if they haven't had any sleep. So, for lowly paid people, and if hotels are cheap, you let them lose a day. For highly paid people, you buy them Business Class.
I would suggest that, if there's a significant change, it will be to economy class over the next couple of years (at least until this episode becomes a distant memory). Will enough people be prepared to be squashed into tiny seats? Or will enough people be prepared to pay extra for some space? Only time will tell, but I have no doubt that innovative airlines will be playing around with alternatives, trying to find a new sweet spot. |
If anything I could see demand for premium cabins increasing. Those who ordinarily wouldn't have paid the premium may be swayed by the added bonus of being more isolated from other passengers.
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Originally Posted by cmd320
(Post 32378395)
If anything I could see demand for premium cabins increasing. Those who ordinarily wouldn't have paid the premium may be swayed by the added bonus of being more isolated from other passengers.
Even more reason now for people to moan when their Qsuite gets bumped for an old style 777. |
J/F is perfect for social distancing, so count me in :)
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J demand is certainly there and will remain so with J products innovating towards Qsuites and similar, perfect for social distancing. However, 3 cabin INTL F will die in the next 15 years.
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I agree with what have been said recently. Covid-19 do really change the perception in travelling safely. Social distancing has surely made the suite concept more demanding than ever before. I do believe QR, NH, DL, BA, WY etc. are on the right path with their C suite product. I do wish the airlines will follow this development as it is what the customers want!
Regarding First. It will still exists but certainly less seats. The full enclose cabin and single seat approach of EK is the future of First. I just hope they will integrate a shower stall in the First cabin as well. With the demise of A380, I personally will miss it. Personally to have a shower during a 13 and longer hours, is pue luxury and well woth it! My favourite is EY Residence, which I regard the only true First class cabin on board a commercial aircraft. So First getting more exclusiv with less seats, more towards a private jet experience and secluded from the mass, while Business will get their suites concept from the contemporary First suites in the market. Personally it is better to have only Prem.Eco with more partitions and shields between seats beside the premium classes on board. Eco class like Ryanair or AirAsia and similar airlines should be banned, my personal opinion. |
How about some of the designs we have seen over the years for more isolated Y class configurations -- like bunk beds/coffins. These were never seriously viable, I suppose (or maybe they were: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...akl-ewr-flight), but I would certainly choose something like a capsule hotel bed over a traditional Y seat on a long-haul trip, and not because of COVID.
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Originally Posted by mecabq
(Post 32382618)
How about some of the designs we have seen over the years for more isolated Y class configurations -- like bunk beds/coffins. These were never seriously viable, I suppose (or maybe they were: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...akl-ewr-flight), but I would certainly choose something like a capsule hotel bed over a traditional Y seat on a long-haul trip, and not because of COVID.
if you choose bunks, you have to consider how the pax eat, the movement or traffic in the cabin. Most can lay down the whole 13 hours or longer and it do feels like in a coffin for a long time. People will tend to move and stand around the cabin. Pax have to eat in shifts in a seperate area as there is not enough space for them to eat at the same time. So all of these are not so good with a pandemic around. During a pandemic, first is to prevent the contamination. Meaning less movements, less interaction, less contamination of the food&beverage...which are all scary and definitely kill the meaning of air travel nowadays.. We will have to be patient and wait for a vaccine to travel normally again. At the moment international travel should only be for essential purposes. Travel bans and qurantines at arrival are nuisances but necessary. It is far from over. Infections can still destroy the small steps we have achieved so far. |
No I don't see Business and First Class going away. What I do see is certain airlines (AA being at the top of the list) trying to cheapen the premium product my reducing meals or meal quantity, take away beverage service on certain routes, no pre departure beverage, no more blanket and pillows in domestic F, etc. Hopefully they will have to retreat on some of these moves but you can already see it coming.
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