‘A retreat above the clouds’: The airlines keeping first class alive
Long-haul first class with a glass of Champagne in hand is the slowly dying dream of many travelers, with carriers like American Airlines, Qatar Airways and United Airlines sounding the death knell for international top-tier experiences on their planes. Always looking to maximize profits, such airlines have come to believe that improved business class seats are the way forward, rendering the posh, private echelons at the pointy end of the plane redundant. International “first class will not exist … at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it,” American’s former Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja told CNN in 2022. Not everyone agrees. Some airlines, including Air France, Emirates and Lufthansa, are now doubling down on first class and upgrading their offerings for those travelers willing to splash out for a truly luxury, bespoke experience. First class “remains hugely important to us,” Emirates President Tim Clark told travel industry website Skift in 2023. In March, Air France and Lufthansa both unveiled the latest iterations of their top offerings. The former is leaning into an all-inclusive luxury experience that Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith described as “as close to a private-jet experience as possible.” The new La Première includes an exclusive experience on the ground at the airline’s main Paris hub, and what it described as an elegant and personalized product aloft. The new La Première suite debuts on Air France’s flights to New York JFK this spring. Eventually, 19 of its Boeing 777-300ERs will be fitted with the luxurious product. Lufthansa’s new Allegris First Class leans heavily on privacy and, as the airline’s Chief Customer Officer Heiko Reitz put it, “individuality.” Everything about the new suites from seat position to temperature and airflow are at the passenger’s finger tips. “We wanted to create a retreat above the clouds,” Reitz said at a recent preview of the product. “This setting is not a seat, this setting here is a living room — an area where you feel comfortable, where you feel cozy.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2025-04-11/general/2018a-retreat-above-the-clouds2019-the-airlines-keeping-first-class-alive
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‘A retreat above the clouds’: The airlines keeping first class alive
Long-haul first class with a glass of Champagne in hand is the slowly dying dream of many travelers, with carriers like American Airlines, Qatar Airways and United Airlines sounding the death knell for international top-tier experiences on their planes. Always looking to maximize profits, such airlines have come to believe that improved business class seats are the way forward, rendering the posh, private echelons at the pointy end of the plane redundant. International “first class will not exist … at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it,” American’s former Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja told CNN in 2022. Not everyone agrees. Some airlines, including Air France, Emirates and Lufthansa, are now doubling down on first class and upgrading their offerings for those travelers willing to splash out for a truly luxury, bespoke experience. First class “remains hugely important to us,” Emirates President Tim Clark told travel industry website Skift in 2023. In March, Air France and Lufthansa both unveiled the latest iterations of their top offerings. The former is leaning into an all-inclusive luxury experience that Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith described as “as close to a private-jet experience as possible.” The new La Première includes an exclusive experience on the ground at the airline’s main Paris hub, and what it described as an elegant and personalized product aloft. The new La Première suite debuts on Air France’s flights to New York JFK this spring. Eventually, 19 of its Boeing 777-300ERs will be fitted with the luxurious product. Lufthansa’s new Allegris First Class leans heavily on privacy and, as the airline’s Chief Customer Officer Heiko Reitz put it, “individuality.” Everything about the new suites from seat position to temperature and airflow are at the passenger’s finger tips. “We wanted to create a retreat above the clouds,” Reitz said at a recent preview of the product. “This setting is not a seat, this setting here is a living room — an area where you feel comfortable, where you feel cozy.”<br/>
