Airlines are reinvigorating first class as deep-pocketed customers embrace travel again, taking luxury to new heights up in the sky. First-class cabins are increasingly resembling mini hotel rooms, with sofas, double beds, televisions, desks, wardrobes, minibars and in some cases, walk-in showers. The more creative, the better. You can even book a chef. The investment is happening despite slowing economic growth and a cost-of-living squeeze. Airlines are betting that enough people are willing to splurge on flying in style after being grounded by Covid and denied the chance to travel. “Leisure travelers in particular continue to book flights in business or even first class,” Deutsche Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said during an earnings call in March. “This year is the first year all my team tell me, ‘Spohr, we need to grow first class,’” he told investors last week. The German airline is investing $2.7b over two years to revamp its long-haul aircraft under a program it has named Lufthansa Allegris. Qantas is also showcasing a plush new first class, a realm that’s typically beyond the reach of ordinary passengers — the closest most people get is a stolen glance as they shuffle conga-line style to the plane’s exit doors. The IATA estimates that airlines suffered about $200b in losses over the past three years as Covid wreaked unprecedented havoc. They desperately need to claw some of that back, and first class has become a potential goldmine. Premium travel, which also includes business class, is back to 86% of 2019 levels, according to IATA, while total air travel demand, including economy class, is at 81%. Even with first class fares going for more than 10 times as much as standard economy seats, demand is there - either for bookings with cash or the rare opportunity to use up miles accumulated on credit cards during the pandemic. “There is still a large amount of excess savings,” said David Mann, chief Asia economist at Mastercard Inc. “The willingness and the ability to spend doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon, which most likely explains why airlines are making announcements.” Story has more.<br/>
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The National Airlines Council has released a report calling on Ottawa to implement "shared accountability" in aviation, with the goal of smoother travel — and across-the-board responsibility for flight disruptions. Released Thursday, the proposals come precisely three weeks after the House of Commons tabled legislation to overhaul passenger rights, and five days before a Senate committee hearing on the bill. Post-pandemic travel turmoil last summer and over the winter holidays prompted the Liberal government to lay out sweeping changes to Canada's passenger rights charter in an effort to tighten compensation loopholes and toughen penalties. The airlines council recommendations include imposing service standards on industry players, which range from airports to Nav Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency. "They may have internal key performance indicators ... but there's no accountability for them. There's certainly no public reporting on them," council CEO Jeff Morrison said in a phone interview. "Even if, let's say, an airport had a particular standard of getting your luggage through its luggage belt in a certain period of time, we don't know what that is." If those service standards are not upheld and cause flight disruptions, travellers should be entitled to compensation doled out from a pool that is funded by transport "actors" — other than airlines — and overseen by the Canadian Transportation Agency, the report says. "We don't want to create a complex kind of system," Morrison said, acknowledging that he's open to alternatives to avoid a tangle of red tape for customers.<br/>
The 22nd edition of the Airport Show, the world’s largest annual airport event hosted by Dubai, has closed on high note in the wake of full recovery in the global aviation industry led by the Middle East, especially the UAE. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and CE of Emirates Airline and Group, who inaugurated the event, described Airport Show as a crucial event timed perfectly to accelerate the global aviation industry recovery. Ever since the inauguration of the show on May 9, 2023, there was continuous flow of quality visitors, including trade participants and industry stakeholders and the venue saw the footprint of more than 5,000 visitors. The Show was held at a time when massive expansion of airport terminals in the Middle East is on the anvil and the airports are gearing up to handle 1.1b passengers by 2040 with the airports capacity expansions costing an investment of $151b. Abu Dhabi is reportedly spending $3b to open the new terminal and Dubai is reportedly restarting the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport. Sheikh Ahmed said: “The construction of new airports and expansion and upgrading of existing facilities has gained pace to ensure airports meet the future demand as well as the needs and expectations of travellers.” Exhibitors and participants expressed extreme satisfaction as they received overwhelming response from other participants and stakeholders which would be translated into future collaborations and strong business relationships.<br/>
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) will give away over 24,000 sponsored economy-class round-trip tickets to travelers in Korea starting May 16, as part of a government campaign to boost tourism after the pandemic, the airport authority announced, Thursday. "Hong Kong has fully opened up to travel, and we at Hong Kong airport are excited to welcome visitors from around the world once again," said Vivian Cheung, COO of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. The promotion is part of the Hong Kong government's Hello Hong Kong campaign and the AAHK's World of Winners global air ticket campaign, in which a total of 500,000 free tickets are being distributed around the world. The city aims to attract over 1.5m inbound travelers after three years of travel restrictions that were imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each country's share in the ticket giveaway scheme is proportional to the number of pre-pandemic travelers that they had back in 2019. Korea's share is 5%, which is relatively higher than that of other countries such as 1 to 2%, according to Cheung. In 2019, Hong Kong saw around 1.2m travelers from Korea, which is the third largest amount after China and Taiwan.<br/>
Brazilian planemaker Embraer said Thursday it will sell up to 250 units of its Praetor 500 aircraft to Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets Inc in a deal valued at $5b, via an agreed options plan. Netjets, a US company that offers shared ownership of private business jets, will start receiving the aircrafts in 2025, Embraer said in a securities filing. The sale marks the third deal between the two firms, but is the first time Netjets will offer this specific aircraft, a midsize business jet, to its clients. Previously, Netjets had acquired Embraer's Phenom 300 jets. The deal also includes a broad service contract, according to Embraer.<br/>