Business class sits well on airlines

FINDING a seat in the expensive front end of planes is turning out to be tougher than getting much cheaper economy class tickets these days. Airlines, especially those operating on the European and South East Asian routes say business class seats are being snapped up way ahead of flight departures and they have much higher loads here than the economy. The trend has prompted airlines like Lufthansa to rip off economy seats on their flights to increase the size of the high-yield business class. Fares on business class are typically three to four times that of economy tickets. Some airlines like US carrier Delta have done away with the first class to increase the more popular business class. “Indian business travellers are willing to spend much more than before on their international trips. The spend is much higher on the travel as well as the choice of hotels, which is invariably five-star instead of the lodges or three-star accommodation in the past,’’ says Rupen Vikamsey, managing director of the Mumbai-based Orbitz Travel. While the return economy class fares between India and Europe cost between Rs 17,000 to Rs 35,000, the fare for a business class round-trip ticket is in the range or Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, depending on the airline. Business and first class fares also attract a 12.5% service tax, which is not levied on economy class tickets. Yet, most airlines are strengthening their business class products. Singapore Airlines general manager (India) Foo Chai Woo said that seats on business class were full almost through the year.

First class no longer as busy as business class

BUSINESS class is the way to travel these days. Airlines are finding seats in this category being snapped up way ahead of flight departures, and are working to strengthen business class products. Singapore Airlines has recently introduced a new business class product with a 1-2-1 seating layout on its Boeing 777 aircraft. Incidentally, for many airlines, the first class is not as busy as business class. The first class, usually 8 to 16 seats, is often built on acres of prime space in an aircraft. “Very often, the presence of a first class is for the ‘halo effect’ that slots an airline as a premium carrier,” says an airline source. The yields do not justify the amount of real estate used up for first class. Carriers like Singapore Airlines, for instance, do not have a first class on flights operating out of Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Chennai. The space is used to put in more business and economy class seats. Internationally, new standards are set every year with airlines trying to better each other with more space for their premium cabins. A flat bed is now de riguer in most carriers and airlines are moving on to improve their offering with live television and other bells and whistles.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes
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