Luxury at 30,000 ft: Flight plan takes a premium turn as airlines pamper the high-flying customer
business class passengers, catering to the rising demand.
After two sluggish years due to the pandemic, airlines have not only seen a rousing revival in corporate travel, boosting occupancy in the business class, but also a new class of leisure travellers willing to spend more for extra legroom and other perks.
Deepak Rajawat, chief commercial officer of Vistara, said the debate over whether the pandemic would drive a shift towards work-from-home and reduce business-related travel has been put to rest. «There has been a phenomenal increase in the percentage that we carry in the front end,» he said, referring to business class flyers.
Air India, under its new owner Tata group, is seeking to position itself as a world class airline and target more higher-paying customers.
On long-haul international routes, the airline's business class passengers will dine in fine chinaware, access a collection of over 2,000 movies on-board and use amenity kits by Italian luxury fashion house Ferragamo.
Air India is planning to amplify its offerings with first class in A350-1000 planes and is also upgrading cabins in its A320 narrow-body aircraft.
New Class of Leisure Travellers
The airline will retrofit around 40 of these A320 planes with three-class cabins along with premium economy as part of a $400 million upgrade. «We see this incremental opportunity that can support larger premium cabins, both in business class and in Premium Economy.
