Are first-class flights dying? Why airlines are increasingly choosing to replace high-end cabins

While numerous airlines are saying goodbye to first class, some - especially in Europe - are investing more heavily than ever into the luxury cabins. Whether you’re a frequent flyer in first class or it’s a distant dream, the experience may soon be coming to an end worldwide. Oman Air has announced it’s doing away with first-class cabins once and for all, and instead opening up a new Business Studio cabin. The move follows similar ones on the likes of Turkish Airlines and Air New Zealand. Although based in Muscat, Oman Air will run many flights featuring the Business Studio in London, as well as Bangkok.<br/>While the number of airlines getting rid of first class has grown lately, it’s actually been going on since 2000. That year, as budget airlines cornered the cheaper end of the market, British Airways was the first to add lie-flat beds to its business class cabins. Soon, many rivals followed suit, which quickly devalued first-class offerings. Since then, perks in business class have got better and that’s meant that the quality gap between first and business class has been narrowing. While the name of Oman Air’s Business Studio suggests the new cabins might be replacing traditional business class, that’s actually not the case.<br/>