Airlines bet on food and art to lure flyers back to ageing premium cabins
Global airlines have raced to develop a series of increasingly lavish perks — from bottomless caviar to onboard art galleries — to tempt high spenders into premium cabins while other improvements remain grounded. The race to improve in-flight “soft products” is taking place as supply chain disruption across the aerospace industry has generated long waits for carriers seeking to deploy game-changing new seats or planes. Qatar Airways has started offering caviar, typically a preserve of the highest spenders in first class, to its business class customers on some routes. It will launch high-speed WiFi powered by Elon Musk’s Starlink technology next week. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s China Airlines this year partnered with a three-star Michelin restaurant to offer an in-flight tasting menu. Emirates, which says it has spent more than $1bn on wines and champagnes over the past 16 years, this year touted deals for exclusive use of some vintages from champagne producers Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon. Industry experts said the new perks ranged from gimmicks to upgrades that genuinely improved the customer experience. “Airlines are trying to find a point of difference to attract customers, and are doubling down on soft products because it is faster and the supply chain is quicker,” said Jonny Clark, an airline brand consultant. Supply chain problems have dogged the industry since travel restarted at scale in 2022 following the coronavirus pandemic. Delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus have led to many aircraft being delivered years late, while there is also a shortage of new seats because of production delays. Factors including tighter certification rules, shortages of labour and electronics shortages for embedded in-flight entertainment systems had all combined to slow deliveries of seats, industry experts said. “There are lots of little things you can do,” said Etihad CE Antonoaldo Neves of the luxury touches. “To get new seats takes a long time.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-10-21/general/airlines-bet-on-food-and-art-to-lure-flyers-back-to-ageing-premium-cabins
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Airlines bet on food and art to lure flyers back to ageing premium cabins
Global airlines have raced to develop a series of increasingly lavish perks — from bottomless caviar to onboard art galleries — to tempt high spenders into premium cabins while other improvements remain grounded. The race to improve in-flight “soft products” is taking place as supply chain disruption across the aerospace industry has generated long waits for carriers seeking to deploy game-changing new seats or planes. Qatar Airways has started offering caviar, typically a preserve of the highest spenders in first class, to its business class customers on some routes. It will launch high-speed WiFi powered by Elon Musk’s Starlink technology next week. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s China Airlines this year partnered with a three-star Michelin restaurant to offer an in-flight tasting menu. Emirates, which says it has spent more than $1bn on wines and champagnes over the past 16 years, this year touted deals for exclusive use of some vintages from champagne producers Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon. Industry experts said the new perks ranged from gimmicks to upgrades that genuinely improved the customer experience. “Airlines are trying to find a point of difference to attract customers, and are doubling down on soft products because it is faster and the supply chain is quicker,” said Jonny Clark, an airline brand consultant. Supply chain problems have dogged the industry since travel restarted at scale in 2022 following the coronavirus pandemic. Delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus have led to many aircraft being delivered years late, while there is also a shortage of new seats because of production delays. Factors including tighter certification rules, shortages of labour and electronics shortages for embedded in-flight entertainment systems had all combined to slow deliveries of seats, industry experts said. “There are lots of little things you can do,” said Etihad CE Antonoaldo Neves of the luxury touches. “To get new seats takes a long time.”<br/>
