American Airlines is eliminating first class seats on international flights in favor of new and improved business class suites, and high-altitude business class is growing in popularity. Some airlines encourage their elite passengers to "get down to business" by introducing double beds, he says CNN travel.
Given the estimate of how many of our readers will travel in business class with double beds, we do not put this story in the news category, but in stories because we do not have a fairy tale category.
As the airline industry looks to the future with concerns about fewer business travelers filling business class seats, they are turning to the elite with new offerings.
Airlines hope that more business travelers will take their partners with them on "mixed" trips where they combine work and leisure. Most business class cabins are designed with privacy in mind, but not the ability to cuddle with your accounting colleague.
The new generation design makes it possible to convert two business class seats into a double bed, which is more suitable for couples. – Covid was an epic reset button. The priorities of many travelers have changed. More people now yearn for things that may have seemed less important before the world was turned upside down. Passengers want a slower pace with comfort on the road. The same applies to business travelers. Yes, career is still important, but time with loved ones should not be sacrificed. The trend of mixing work with pleasure favors an increase in demand in the category of premium free time, emphasized Daniel Baron, cabin designer and general manager of LIFT Aero Design in Tokyo for CNN travel.
In ultra-posh international first class, double beds have been the norm since the mid-2000s, perhaps most famously in Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380 first class, and later the Etihad Residence one-bedroom suite in the mid-2010s, with a small double bed in its own room.
Traditionally, wide, fixed armrests on both sides and more storage space were expected in business class. The large sliding partitions were also associated with first class rather than business class. The industry has moved from 'give me complete privacy' in business class to 'give me options'. Airlines have realized that the new offer can be a competitive advantage.
Can you imagine snuggling up next to a loved one on a plane and snoozing while sailing through the clouds? In First Class, a new generation of super suites with high walls reach all the way to the ceilings of some of the latest wide-body aircraft, offering an unprecedented level of privacy. For the rest of us who travel in economy class, it's more about squeezing than cuddling.
Airplane seats are getting smaller and passengers would have something to say on this topic. For example
Turkish Airlines recently removed several seats to make the plane more accessible to the world's tallest woman, who flew for the first time in September.
Let's just remember how some low-budget companies even considered canceling seats on shorter flights and offering standing as an option, which luckily was rejected, so standing is still not an option on flights for now.
Luxuries like double beds versus regular flights seem like a fairy tale, but suites with high walls and double beds could become the standard for the elite. We have no doubt that this type of luxury in airplanes will be in demand.
Privacy doors and lie-flat seats are features of new premium suites that American Airlines plans to introduce to its long-haul fleet
Flagship Suite seats will be available on all Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 deliveries starting in 2024, American Airlines announced in September. - We believe that our Flagship Suite product provides customers with what they want most on a long flight: doors that allow privacy, reclining seats and direct access to the aisle and more personal space, says the statement of the airline that announced how it will refresh the interior of its Boeing 777- 300ER and retrofit those aircraft with Flagship Suite seats in late 2024.
More premium economy seats will also be added to American long-haul aircraft. The new premium economy-style seat design doubles the amount of in-seat storage space, the airline says, and features headrests for greater privacy and larger entertainment screens.
Source: CNN travel, photo: Singapore Airlines
