Airline travel: life in first class is getting cushier (but not back in steerage)

Flying has never been so good – for those able to splurge.

While most Thanksgiving travelers will fight for overhead bins and go hours without a snack or room to stretch their legs, life in first class is stress free. It's always been a special place on the other side of the curtain. Now, it's getting even cushier.

US airlines, profitable again after a disastrous decade, are spending almost $2 billion to upgrade amenities for their highest-paying customers. On the most profitable international routes, high fliers are being treated with preflight champagne, flat-screen TVs, and seats that turn into beds. Flight attendants greet them by name, hang up jackets and serve meals on china.

The lavish treatment is meant to keep people like Tim Carlson happy. Carlson, the chief financial officer of a semiconductor materials company, has taken 189 flights in the past two years, traveling 353,176 miles on United and its partners.

After the pilots, Carlson might just be the most important person on the plane. United will do anything to make sure another airline doesn't steal his business. Agents call him about delays and reroute him so he doesn't miss meetings.

"I go to the top of the list for the next flight," Carlson says.

On a recent trip from Newark, N.J., to Brussels, he was met at the curb with a boarding pass and escorted to the front of the security line. Four minutes after being dropped off, he was past the checkpoint.

Most of the 3.4 million Americans expected to fly this holiday week won't get anything close to that treatment. They've paid a little under $400 for their round-trip tickets. And it's a cutthroat business. To save $5, passengers are likely to choose another airline.

So, it's no surprise that the most loyal customers, and those willing to pay more for better services, are the ones airlines want to reward.

First-class and business-class passengers make up only 8 percent of international travelers but account for 27 percent of revenue, according to the International Air Transport Association. While a round-trip coach ticket between Chicago and Beijing might run $1,000, business class costs $4,000 and first class $12,000.

The Monitor's Weekly News Quiz for Nov. 13-18, 2011

"There is a war going on for the profitable passenger," says Henry H. Harteveldt, co-founder of the travel firm Atmosphere Research Group.

Airlines are focusing on three areas:

• Giving passengers a full night's sleep. Delta, United, and US Airways are installing seats in premium international cabins that recline into flat beds. American isn't making that investment but is adding turndown service on some routes; at bedtime, passengers are given pajamas and slippers while flight attendants lay down a quilted seat cover, duvet and pillow.

• Stimulating taste buds. Come mealtime, passengers can forget TV dinners. US Airways serves citrus mahi-mahi with lemon herb sauce, jasmine rice, baby carrots and grilled asparagus in international business class. American serves Ben & Jerry's ice cream sundaes. Hot fudge, butterscotch, berries, pecans, and whipped cream are added at each seat.

1 | 2

Next