Passengers disembark through the business class seating area on board an American Airlines flight, London Heathrow Airport, August 14, 2018.
Jeff Greenberg | Global Photo Collection | Getty Images
Cheap seats aren't enough for airline passengers anymore.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, travelers have shown airlines that they are willing to pay to sit in the relatively spacious front section of the cabin. This means that many seats are already full, so it is difficult for frequent flyers to get free upgrades to the front of the plane.
And mattresses Frequent travelers With elite status swelling all the way from Airport lounge To a crowded first boarding group, which means more competition for those seats. Expect even more crowds during the year-end holiday period, which airlines expect will set another record.
Even in the off-season in early 2025, executives were anticipating strong demand. U.S. airline capacity in the first quarter is expected to rise about 1% from a year earlier, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
“We probably see our best revenues on transatlantic routes, for example, in the dead of winter,” he said. Delta Airlines President Glenn Hoenstine at Investor Day in November.
The price difference between first class and coach varies of course depending on distance, demand, time of year and even time of day. For example, a round-trip ticket United Airlines From its hub in Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles International Airport during the first week of February, the cost was $347 in standard economy and $1,791 in the airline's Polaris cabin, which features reclining seats but no lounge access. International business people.
American AirlinesA nonstop flight from New York to Paris during Easter week 2025 cost $1,104 in coach and $3,038 in the airline's main business class.
A view from the Delta Sky Club at Los Angeles International Airport, September 2, 2022.
Aaron B | Power Griffin | GC Photos | Getty Images
Billions of dollars in revenue that keep airlines afloat hang in the balance. Airline loyalty programs are a cash cow, and striking the right balance between perks like free upgrades and generating cash is key.
In recent years, airlines have changed their status requirements, rewarding not only spending but also mileage. They've also raised the amount travelers need to spend to gain elite status. Next year, customers will have to do just that Spend more United have to earn the spot. However, American said Thursday that it will keep its requirements in place for the following year, which begins in March.
From donations to payment
About 15 years ago, passengers paid for seats in only 12% of Delta's domestic first-class seats. Now, that number is closer to 75% and trending higher, Hauenstein told investors last month.
“We gave them based on a frequent flyer system,” Hauenstein said of first-class seats in 2010 and earlier. “The incentive was to spend as little as possible, travel as long as possible, and get upgraded as often as possible. This led to a situation where our most valuable products were the biggest losers.”
That's now reversed for Delta, with more money going to the front of the cabin, he said. The carrier generates 43% of its revenue from main economy class tickets, down from a 60% share in 2010.
This trend extends across the industry, from Delta, the most profitable carrier, to discount carriers such as Frontier Airlineswhich adds more space First class seats To the front of its Airbus fleet in 2025. On Wednesday, JetBlue Airlines She said she would provide two or three rows of Domestic business class On aircraft that do not have the highest Mint business class with lie-flat seats, it is called “Junior Mint”.
1 day ago Alaska Airlines She announced that she would retrofit Some of its premium-seat planes as it prepares for new international flights following the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines earlier this year, with higher-fare seat revenue exceeding standard economy
“You see the Airbus 330s and Boeing 787s not being in business class and lacking a premium international economy cabin,” Andrew Harrison, Alaska's chief commercial officer, said at an investor day in New York on Tuesday. “So we expect that after 2027, we will see our premium mix continue to grow.”
Delta Sky Club passenger lounge inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, September 5, 2019.
Jeff Greenberg | Global Photo Collection | Getty Images
Bigger business
Airlines are now racing to add larger first-class or international business class sections that feature larger screens and closed doors in front of lie-flat seats.
“We have seen more prepaid demand for premium cabin than we saw before the pandemic,” said Scott Chandler, vice president of revenue management at American Airlines. “More people want the luxury cabin experience.”
Over the past few years, American has worked to make it easier for customers to purchase up to more expensive cabins, with post-purchase options to upgrade to first class or other cabins such as premium economy, Chandler said.
American he is Retrofitting Some of its long-haul planes include more premium seating, and like other carriers, it is ditching first class entirely on some to add larger international business class cabins that will have new seats with sliding doors. Delta and United have them too Increase its unique offers To keep up with customers who are willing to pay for expensive seats.
“They are doing everything they can to entice you to pay for their premium products,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group. “And that's definitely what they should be doing.” Customers don't buy a name-brand item at a department store and then expect “the salesperson (to call) that product and hand you a designer bag for free.”
Southwest Airlines She took her own approach. In 2026, it plans to fly several rows of aircraft Seats with extra legroommodifying its standard cabins designated for buses only, which it has been flying in for more than half a century, and eliminating open seats.
It's partly a “generational shift,” CEO Bob Jordan said.
“What we're seeing is our younger customers are looking for a little more premium,” he said in an interview this week. “A lot of this is a shift in mindset, wanting to spend more on travel and less on other things.
But the airline decided to keep the number of seats on its planes largely similar and not add first class like other airlines, after conducting a customer survey and weighing the cost of losing space for more seats on board.
As for the first class, Jordan said, “You're talking about ovens, you're talking about meals, you're talking about provisioning. It's a huge capital investment and a big jump.”
“But never say never,” he said.
