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<\/p>\nIt's a question that all the strategists at the head offices of the major airlines are undoubtedly asking themselves. How do you maintain the appeal of high-contribution classes - first and business - in the face of the rise of premium economy? How can we avoid devaluing the business seat offer in the face of the market's latest arrival? This review is all the more strategic given that high-contribution classes are the segments from which traditional airlines derive a large part of their revenues.<\/p>\n
In its December 2013 statistical analysis, the International Airline Association (IATA) reported that \"while the number of high-contribution class passengers accounted for only 8.9 % of total passengers worldwide, these same travellers generated 27.9 % of industry revenue\". From Europe, high-contribution traffic to Africa, the Far East and the Middle East accounted for over 35 % of total revenues. On the North Atlantic, this proportion even exceeded 50 %.<\/p>\n
Today, the cabin offer proposed by many airlines raises a dilemma. The crisis has changed the way business travel is managed, and corporate budgets are increasingly tight, but the demand for a comfortable product persists. In these lean times, the concept of 'premium economy' has emerged as a miracle solution. In 2009, when Premium Voyageur was launched, Air France's management indicated that it was primarily targeting regular economy passengers looking for greater comfort rather than business passengers who were reviewing their travel habits. However, Premium Voyageur has probably drawn more from the second category than the first. According to Air France, between its launch and 2013, more than 2.5 million passengers enjoyed the comfort of this 'in-between' class. As a result of this popularity, this class will benefit from improvements this year, with a softer seat cushion and better seating.<\/p>\n
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In fact, perhaps even more than the price difference, it was the disproportion in terms of comfort that justified the emergence of premium economy class. \"We realised that there was too great a difference in quality between business class and economy class, which called for the creation of an intermediate product. We estimate that we have a potential of 1.5 million passengers for our new offer\", explained JensBischof, Vice President Operations & Member of the Management Board of Lufthansa, during the presentation of the German airline's premium economy to tourism professionals at the Berlin Tourism Fair recently.<\/p>\n
The major European airlines, including Air France-KLM, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, now seem to have found the right balance between cabins, either with a three-class product or a four-class product. But the balance between first, business and premium economy is always a delicate one. The unfortunate experience of Turkish Airlines' Comfort Class is instructive in this respect: launched in 2011, the Comfort Class was given a 'first class' funeral less than two years later. In June 2013, the airline's Chairman, Temel Cotil, announced that he was withdrawing this newly-created Boeing 777-300 segmentation from his fleet. The reasons for this change of heart? Officially, too much capacity in relation to market needs. But it seems to be more a case of being unable to install a homogeneous product throughout the fleet. Furthermore, Turkish Airlines' strategy is influenced by Middle Eastern airlines and, strangely enough, none of the major Gulf airlines has yet introduced a premium economy cabin...<\/p>\n
However, at the time there were whispers that the Comfort Class was far too comfortable and, as a result, had attracted many upper class passengers. According to user comments on websites, the Comfort Class was unanimously praised for its 107 cm of seat space - which is roughly what Lufthansa offered in business class until the end of the 90s - and its menus, which were similar to those in business class. This raises one of the key issues concerning high-contribution classes: how to continue to distinguish one class from another? While the match between business and premium economy is based on functionality - in particular seat length and inclination - the match between first and business is based on emotion and service.<\/p>\n
Premi\u00e8re or Affaires? On the face of it, the products seem fairly similar. Both usually offer a sleeper seat, albeit a few centimetres longer and wider for the former.<\/p>\n
A giant flat screen for in-flight entertainment, headphones to eliminate external noise, a socket for charging a computer or mobile phone, \u00e0 la carte menus: these are all classic features found in both First and Business class. To make the choice even more complicated, Jet Airways has just unveiled its new business class called... First. This class features new lie-flat seats with air cushions and equips the Indian airline's B777s alongside First and its eight refined-style suites. So where does this famous difference lie, for which passengers are not reluctant to pay 40 % more than the business class fare? This is where the notion of service comes in. And it comes into play both on the ground and in the air. In Frankfurt, Lufthansa combines the ultimate in comfort with luxury, with nothing less than a private terminal dedicated exclusively to the reception of first class passengers, before transport to the foot of the aircraft in a Mercedes limousine. In London, the design teams at British Airways, which relaunched its first class service in 2010, worked on a simple concept: to take care of first class passengers and offer them excellence throughout their journey, with a quasi-private circuit, isolated from the ordinary mortals - business and economy passengers in this case - through a concierge service, a dedicated check-in area, exclusive lounges and accompaniment to the foot of the aircraft in a private vehicle. In-flight, the First Class living space allows passengers to work, relax and unwind in luxury. The British carrier uses the term \"suite\" rather than \"cabin\", further emphasising the individual nature of its services.<\/p>\n
British Airways is now working on a new-generation First that will offer even more space on board its future Boeing 787-900 Dreamliners. Another detail that may seem trivial, but is probably one of the key elements of the First Class product: a partition with removable walls, allowing passengers to isolate themselves in their seat-bed and thus preserve their privacy. This is the strong point, for example, of Singapore Airlines' new First Class (SIA), which equips the airline's new Boeing B 777-300 ERs, while awaiting the future Airbus A350s. Its new seat is the widest in the industry at 89 cm long and 208 cm wide. Surrounded by a new shell with curved walls for even greater privacy, the passenger benefits from a number of innovations including an ergonomically shaped cushion, an adjustable headrest, a padded headboard and a thicker mattress for a deeper sleep. \"Which should justify our slogan 'the most beautiful way to travel'\".<\/em>explained last year Mak Swee Wah<\/strong>executive vice-president commercial at SIA.<\/p>\n In the prestigious Middle East, all the Gulf carriers offer a First on their main routes. Even Oman Air, the smallest of the intercontinental players, has come up with a First that sets a record for space, with 221 cm between each row of seats covered in fawn-coloured leather. For a long time, Emirates has stood out with a very high quality product on its Airbus A380s, where passengers can abandon themselves in a personal suite with a minibar and sliding doors that isolate them completely. What's more, there's a real shower area in the cabin, an industry first. However, in this race for superlatives, the Dubai airline has just been overtaken by Etihad. In early May, the Abu Dhabi carrier announced a revolutionary first class. Its A380s will be equipped with nine First Apartments, each measuring 3.6 m\u00b2, i.e. 74 % more than the airline's current first class. Inside, luxury, lots of luxury: minibar, dressing room, dressing table, leather bench and bed upholstered by Poltrona Frau - the supplier of Ferrari interiors - and, supreme splendour, a private shower. Some of these flats will communicate with each other for people travelling together. But Etihad has not stopped there. Using a very palatial metaphor, the company has also added a unique suite worthy of the grand hotels, with its own butler: The Residence, a private 11.6 m\u00b2 space for one or two people that would not look out of place in the finest private jets.<\/p>\n While there is still a significant First offer in Asia and the Middle East, in Europe the quintessence of luxury is now the preserve of just a few giants: Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss. However, the number of first-class seats is falling sharply. Air France, for example, has announced that the installation of its new high-contribution long-haul seats, offering more space, will result in a reduction of 50 % in First Class capacity and 15 % in Business Class. On routes still equipped with Premi\u00e8re, Air France passengers will in future have only four seats at their disposal. But this new \"haute couture suite\" cultivates the values of the French art of living, a blend of intimacy, luxury and good taste. \"It's a summary of the best of what's being done in France, <\/em>underlines Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Gagey<\/strong>the company's CEO. We launched the Best & Beyond project to raise Air France to the top of the major airlines, and I think we have kept that promise\".<\/em><\/p>\n In the United States, pragmatism has prevailed over the desire for luxury: first class has practically disappeared from the horizon, with the notable exception of American Airlines and United, which still offer a First product on some of their routes. In fact, First took a nosedive with the launch of Business First in the early 1990s by Continental Airlines, which has since been absorbed by United. At the time, the airline innovated with this 'plus' business class offering sleeper seats, and since then all the North American players have followed suit, equipping themselves with super business classes with sleeper seats. Openskies, the British Airways subsidiary which links Orly to New York, has simply named its business class \"BedBiz\", a product which promises its users \"to arrive in New York as rested as if they had just got out of bed\".<\/em> !<\/p>\n Looking at the latest generation of business class seats offered by the two giants American Airlines and United, the business product hardly differs from the first. As a result, the American media are questioning the wisdom of preserving yet another first. In response to which, a few months ago Rahsaan Johnson<\/strong>United Airlines spokesperson, to the CNN news channel: \"it's more about the customer's perception of the former than our own judgement of its existence. There are customers who choose to pay more for more privacy, more luxury and personalised service.\"<\/em><\/p>\n In fact, the first attraction of business class is the seat. Then its service. And it has to be said that the best service is always found in the Middle East and Asia. On Singapore Airlines, a 198 cm seat-bed and impeccable service are still the hallmarks of the airline's reputation. On its Airbus A380s, Korean Air offers Prestige Class customers an in-flight bar-lounge.<\/p>\n In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacifc's recently renovated lounges are certainly among the most beautiful in the world, notably the Wing, designed by British architect Norman Foster, offering a bird's eye view of the airport as well as a unique catering service. On Malaysia Airlines, business passengers can put together their own menu up to 24 hours before departure. From traditional coconut rice with spicy beef to dishes from Michelin-starred chefs, some twenty specialities can be served in addition to the traditional menu!<\/p>\n Finally, business and first class remain the future of an industry that has been weakened by a number of shocks in recent years, but which probably owes its resilience to the loyalty of high-contribution passengers. So why not pamper them?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/sans-titre-25-2.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nPRAGMATIC VISION<\/h2>\n
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