Double beds and ‘press for champagne’ buttons: How airlines are wooing the wealthy

Sir Richard Branson has always been a class warrior. His airline, Virgin Atlantic, was the cheeky David that took on the pukka, clipped-vowel Goliath of British Airways – and won. On his very first jet, a leased Boeing 747, Branson offered Upper Class, a cabin between business and first class. Virgin was the first large carrier to introduce Premium Economy, a cabin between economy and business. It also pioneered the optimistically-named Economy Delight, which offers extra legroom seats on its long-haul jets.

At 73, Branson is not tired of waging class war. Virgin is expanding its exclusive new Retreat Suite, introduced on its hangar-fresh Airbus A330neos, which features two large seats with sliding doors for privacy and enough room on either side of the vast dining table for two people to sit comfortably and eat facing one another. More Retreats will be introduced on new aircraft.

Virgin’s move formalises the creation of the first five-class jet: Retreat, Upper Class, Premium Economy, Economy Delight and Economy Classic. Where it leads, others are following. New business-class seats, with names like Business Plus, are emerging on other carriers.

Lufthansa now offers a Business Plus suite, the only seat with privacy doors in its business-class cabin. JetBlue boasts the Mint Studio on its transatlantic Airbus A321 aircraft. The suite has an ottoman seat on one side which gives you a choice of where to sit. Your hand baggage can be stowed beneath the ottoman. Singapore Airlines’ long-haul Airbus A350s and Boeing 777s have vast front-row seats in business class. American Airlines is introducing a new Flagship Suite on its new Boeing 787s, which will also eventually be retrofitted on existing 777s. Air New Zealand’s forthcoming Business Premier Luxe seat offers doors – a first for the carrier.

It’s all a world away from what airlines offered as recently as 25 years ago: only two classes, business and economy, on most long-haul routes.

Savvy travellers have long known which individual business-class seats to choose because they offer extra room. These tend to be at the front of the cabin, where seats have more legroom and a bed that does not taper towards the end because it does not have to tuck under the side of the seat in front. Regular travellers on Qantas’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners plump for the front row middle seats which offer 15 per cent more room than other seats in the business-class cabin. With business plus, airlines are now recognising their frequent flyers’ choices and introducing more premium business seats – with a fee.

The extra cash – on average £250 per flight more than a standard business-class seat, so £500 for a return ticket – is good value for customers. Virgin’s Retreat Suite is a vast 6ft 7-inches long and 22 inches wide. Some airlines plan to follow Singapore Airlines’ lead in its Suites Class by creating beds that can become double beds in business-plus suites. Many are introducing new ottoman seats, either facing the main seat or on one side of the suite. All offer more storage, a bigger TV screen and some come with a separate desk.

What’s driving the shift? The same thing that drives all innovation in aviation: money. That £500, multiplied by four to eight on each flight depending on the number of business-plus seats, will over the life of an aircraft turn into millions of pounds of additional revenue.

Andy Morris, chief commercial officer of Northern Ireland-based seatmaker Thompson Aero Seating, which makes the Retreat Suite for Virgin, JetBlue’s Mint Studio and Qantas’ business seats, adds that, like the showers on Emirates A380s, the new premium business seats are a “halo” product that elevates the airline’s brand.

Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, says the Retreat conveys Virgin Atlantic’s desire to create “brilliantly different experiences, with personalisation at every step.”

Some carriers are flirting with going beyond bigger business-plus seats. Virgin offers an extra pillow in its Retreat Suite and might introduce plusher bedding. Others are considering special amenity kits. Food and drink are likely to stay the same, though, to avoid complaints from passengers in regular business class – although US carrier United recently emailed its frequent flyers to gauge their interest in a “press for champagne” button in business plus seats.

The new classes are not all about the big seats. Many airlines have for years offered passengers the chance to pay a little bit more for front row extra legroom economy class seats but Virgin has created up to 14 rows of Economy Delight at the front of the economy cabin on its new jets. The 28 seats on its A330s have a 34-inch pitch, the most generous legroom of any carrier in economy. All are window and aisle pairs, which makes them appealing to couples.

There are 45 Economy Delight seats on Virgin’s Airbus A350s arranged in sets of three across the cabin. The window seat in the second row of Economy Delight in the rear cabin has no seat in front of it, making it one of the best and best value economy class seats in the sky. Food, drink and amenities in extra legroom seats remain the same as for all the other seats in economy on Virgin and all other carriers that offer extra legroom seats at the back of their jets.

Who will be the winners of the new class war between airlines? The most innovative carriers, of course, but most of all, you and me: the passengers. We’ve never had so much choice.