While the Covid-19 pandemic underlined the need for personal space and saw airlines concentrate efforts on safety and cleanliness, this distraction from the normal investment cycle is now over. Although some carriers had to postpone investments, others that were financially fit took the chance when aircraft were grounded to upgrade and redesign their fleet.

“No one foresaw how long travel restrictions would be in place, but for those looking to invest, it did afford them a window of opportunity to implement upgrades,” says Florian Mueller, FCM Consulting’s air practice lead. “These can’t be done overnight, with things like new seat design, production, and installation a years-long process.”

US-based Chris Sabby, CWT Solutions Group director, points out that most investments in new cabins coincide with new aircraft deliveries. “This was stalled during the pandemic as many aircraft were parked until they were needed again,” he says. “The timing wasn’t good to invest in new seat designs when many airlines were even blocking areas on planes for general seating. It’s safe to say the focus on improvements is back, it just varies in the approach by different airlines.”

He picks out Delta Air Lines’ free onboard wifi launched this year as a key innovation for business travellers, as well as United Airlines’ investment in new aircraft – in December the airline ordered 100 Boeing 787s and expects to take delivery of 700 new narrow and wide body aircraft by 2032. 

“It’s important to remember airlines have also made significant investments in the airport experience during the past three years,” Sabby adds. “For example, Delta has new airport facilities in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and New York JFK and La Guardia.

“The level of investment and how it’s focused is key to watch with each airline, but in the end the overall travel experience continues to improve – a good thing for everyone.”

KEEPING UP
Growing investment confidence among airlines has coincided with the need in some cases for carriers to align business cabins with their competitors or and/or joint venture partners.

It has been a long time coming, but three of the European giants, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM, are at last introducing new business cabins – almost all featuring sliding doors – and, except for the Dutch carrier, restating their faith in first class.

Lufthansa will bring the first aircraft with its long-awaited new premium products into service later this year, with new first class suites appearing onboard from 2024. The airline had wanted to debut the product on the Boeing 777X, for which it is the launch customer, but this is delayed until 2025 and the cabins will now be fitted to Airbus A350 and Boeing 787s. The airline is pressing ahead after a better financial year than had originally been forecast in 2022.

“The whole focus is on privacy and offering individual products; in business class there will be seven different seat options,” says Christina Hamilton, Lufthansa Group key account manager, UK.