‘Business plus’ suites for American, United

Having done away with first class in favour of a vastly beefed-up business class proposition, American Airlines and United Airlines look set to upgrade a handful of business class seats with even more comfort and convenience. Those seats are in the very front row of the business class cabin, where there’s typically extra space facing the bulkhead wall – and it’s become the in thing for airlines to monetise this Row 1 proposition by adopting it into a ’business plus’ product. JetBlue’s A321LR Mint Studio, Virgin Atlantic’s A330neo Retreat Suite, Lufthansa’s Allegris Suites and Air New Zealand’s Business Premiere Luxe are all examples of giving the first row of business class something extra – and making it something passengers will pay extra for. Now American Airlines is jumping on the ‘business plus’ bandwagon and United Airlines is also scoping out the turf. In addition to evaluating an upgraded Polaris business class suite with sliding doors, United Airlines is now testing the waters for a Polaris Plus product. In a survey sent to selected Mileage Plus members, the Star Alliance airline notes it is “considering the introduction of a limited number of new seats within the Polaris business class cabin. These seats would be more spacious than the standard Polaris seats. In addition to the more spacious seat, United is exploring premium amenities that would only be offered to customers in the upgraded seats.” The survey lays out several scenarios where a passenger could ’upgrade’ to this Polaris Plus experience, in one case suggesting prices from US$300 to US$650 for “a 14-hour flight that departs at 11am” where the initial Polaris ticket cost US$2,500.<br/>