Once present in most of the world’s airlines, first class has been disappearing around the world. Until the mid-2000s, it was observed on almost all international flights, but its presence has declined over the years.
In Brazil, with the end of Varig and with Latam ceasing to offer the service in the middle of the last decade, this service has become even rarer. Azul and Gol, newer companies, never offered this type of service on board.
The fact is that first class has been abandoned and replaced by other types of service and experience. What is the reason for this to be happening?
THE RISE OF THE BUSINESS CLASS
For Rahsaan Johnson, director of international communication for Delta Airlines, the reduction in the offer of first class is a common movement worldwide.
“Delta is one of many companies around the world that invests in improving business classes in order to offer a higher level of service than people had in first classes 20 years ago”, says the executive.
Today, according to Johnson, the experiences are very similar, with seats that fully recline and become beds, differentiated meal service, higher proportion of flight attendants per passenger, among others.
Delta, for example, has seats in some of its business classes that convert into a suite, completely enclosed, allowing for greater privacy during flights, called Delta One. This type of experience offered, not only in the company, today is superior to that of the first classes in past decades.
Qatar Airways has a specific executive cabin, called QSuite, which is not considered first class by the company, although it has a lot of similarity with this category. It is possible to transform four seats into a private space for the family, and some armchairs even recline to form a double bed.
PRICE IS NOT ALWAYS WORTH IT
If in the past what mattered was having a personalized meal, a reclining chair that converts into a bed, more space and privacy, most of today’s executive classes already offer this service. And, in them, the price is much lower at various times.
DRIVER, CONCIERGE AND BOARDING
In flight, the first class experience for an executive can be different in terms of the plane’s seats, which are often larger or more reserved in relation to other passengers.
In some cases, meals can be prepared especially for the customer, with a personalized menu, in addition to a greater number of attendants, allowing for a more exclusive service.
On the ground, priority boarding, differentiated luggage transport, exclusive comfort kits, concierge services and a private driver can be arranged. However, some business classes also offer some of these services, which makes the line between them very thin.
LESS OFFER
With direct competition with the services offered by executives, there is a reduction in first classes. According to the Simple Flying website, British Airways had 560,000 first-class seats on its planes in 2008, falling to 100,000 in the following decade.
Singapore has reduced from 150,000 first-class seats to 90,000 in the last decade.
WHY DO SOME COMPANIES EVEN HAVE IT?
Most companies from the Middle East, such as Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, and others from Asia, such as Singapore and All Nippon Airways and Korean Air, are the strongest in offering first class in terms of number of seats.
Although the model is becoming obsolete, for some s is important to keep because of its profitability. An entire economy class plane may have a lower financial return than a first class one, which charges more than other classes.
Even occupying a larger space, the first class seat charges, proportionally, more than the number of economy seats in the same place. With this, they help to make the flight more profitable.
It also proves to be a passenger requirement: flights departing from one of the Arab emirates tend to take long routes, often lasting more than ten hours.
As a result, customers opt for more luxurious services, such as suites with a bed, so they can arrive rested and enjoy another day at their destinations.
AND A WHOLE PLANE? DOESN’T IT GET CHEAPER?
Passengers who choose to pay up to around R$90,000 for a round-trip ticket to Europe on a first-class commercial flight at the end of the year can consider chartering a flight.
Renting an exclusive plane for ten people on this route can cost up to R$1 million (US$190,000), maintaining the feeling of exclusivity.
To the Middle East, a flight on Qatar Airways’ QSuite for a family of four costs around R$280,000 (US$52,890) in the company’s private cabin. Chartering a plane with capacity for up to 14 people to the same destination at the end of the year costs R$2 million (US$380,000), with a unit price of R$140,000 (US$26,450).
WHAT ABOUT BRAZIL?
Only a few companies currently offer first class on flights to Brazil. One of them is Air France, which operates its first class, La Première, to just 12 destinations around the world, and São Paulo is one of them.
Lufthansa, which previously offered the service here, stopped doing so in the 1990s.
Emirates still offers the service on flights to Brazil on the A380 plane. The model has individual cabins, shower and Bulgari amenities kits.
With information from UOL