Class segmentation is one of the great business ideas of air transport in the 2010s. It applies in particular to economy class. All airlines - or almost all - are now segmenting their offer at the rear of the cabin according to the passenger's choice : hold baggage, extra baggage in the cabin, specific seat reserved, row with more space, meal other than that served on board, priority check-in at airport... There's no shortage of ideas among the sales teams to get a few dozen - or even hundreds - of extra euros from passengers.
One might have thought that this practice was confined to economy class only.. But now it's invading more and more of the business class. Qatar Airways and Emirates were among the first to offer a "light" business class fare. In other words, the fare only includes the flight itself, with no access to the lounge and no reserved seat. On Emirates and Qatar Airways, passengers are nevertheless entitled to baggage allowance. However, they have almost no flexibility when it comes to changing flights.
Air France-KLM has also introduced this type of offer in 2023. In addition to the usual restrictions (no lounge, seat reservation and flight flexibility), the airline has restricted the baggage allowance to a single suitcase. Finnair has been offering the most basic of "light" business products since 2021. All you have to do is travel in a business seat with the associated on-board services. But with no seat reservation and no hold baggage...
Will it be the turn of American airlines by 2026?
It is towards this latter model that now orientate themselves Delta Air Lines and United. Delta has already announced that it is likely to present its concept in the autumn.
At Delta's quarterly results presentation earlier this month, its CEO, Glen William Hauesteinimplicitly confirmed that the American company was working on this type of product. a basic business rate were underway. " We talked about this conceptually. I think we'll be giving you more details as we go along, but we're not ready to give any more details about the future. I think Investor Day 2025 should be very interesting in that respect, "he replied...
The project would involve charge for all possible ancillary services and to have stricter rules regarding any cancellations or changes to tickets.
The idea also seems to be gaining ground with other US carriers. During a similar presentation of its quarterly results, the Chief Commercial Officer of United Airlines, Andrew Nocella, spoke of the possibility of introducing a new service.probable introduction of a "Business Light" fare.
" Not everyone wants to live a complete business class experience"he described to those present at the presentation. " There is therefore value for both United and our customers in proposing a segmentation of revenues and tariffs." he added.
If Delta and United get on board, there's a good chance thatAmerican Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines will follow suit.
