Inbetweeny class

Alot of business will pay for business class whether its worth it or night so let them.

Alot of business will pay for business class whether its worth it or night so let them.

Mongu,

Doesn’t matter what your company does – there are still MANY business travellers travelling on full-fare economy tickets, mainly because they either (a) book at the last minute or (b) need the flexibility… A mid-class in short haul will win these passengers, who are getting fed up with being treated like the rest of the herd whilst paying several times the price of the lowest fare. Scano have recognised this market and the need to differentiate it from the back of the cabin, and others are beginning to wake up to it too.

Andy

Mongu,

Doesn’t matter what your company does – there are still MANY business travellers travelling on full-fare economy tickets, mainly because they either (a) book at the last minute or (b) need the flexibility… A mid-class in short haul will win these passengers, who are getting fed up with being treated like the rest of the herd whilst paying several times the price of the lowest fare. Scano have recognised this market and the need to differentiate it from the back of the cabin, and others are beginning to wake up to it too.

Andy

Yes but the majority of business travellers won’t pay for “priority check in”.

A lot have silver/gold frequent flyer cards anyway, so can therefore use the Biz check in desks.

The difference between Biz and Economy is not sufficient to justify the extra cost. Maybe my employer (a firm of accountants) is just being very…accountantish, but I do think that a lot of firms take the same line to be honest.

We willingly pay for Biz Class for long haul flights, as in these cases the value for money is tangible: extra comfort, showers in the lounge etc.

Yes but the majority of business travellers won’t pay for “priority check in”.

A lot have silver/gold frequent flyer cards anyway, so can therefore use the Biz check in desks.

The difference between Biz and Economy is not sufficient to justify the extra cost. Maybe my employer (a firm of accountants) is just being very…accountantish, but I do think that a lot of firms take the same line to be honest.

We willingly pay for Biz Class for long haul flights, as in these cases the value for money is tangible: extra comfort, showers in the lounge etc.

Business class on short haul flight shas extra leg room and some other extras that business men want like Priority check in and boarding.Still doenst add up but if they want to pay it let them.the more business class seats that are sold the lower economy seats can become.

Business class on short haul flight shas extra leg room and some other extras that business men want like Priority check in and boarding.Still doenst add up but if they want to pay it let them.the more business class seats that are sold the lower economy seats can become.

Premium Economy usually costs the same (or 1p less) than full business. And given that business class on short haul routes is cr*p I don’t see the point. They have the same seats as Economy. The only difference is lounge access and perhaps a proper plate for your sarnie. The extra cost of the ticket is not justifiable.

My employers usually buy us the cheapo tickets. If we need extra flexibility, and we can’t change on a cheap ticket, we just buy another ticket and claim it on expenses. Works out a fair bit cheaper!

Skymonster, I agree with everything in your post. Swiss is a rip-off and I would pay for the proper ‘economy’ service but cant afford business class!

LOL I love Scando.My cousin flew FRA-DUb with EI in august and told me that there was only 1 person in business class.

PS: The reason why this hasn’t really taken off yet is that the full service airlines are still, to a large extent, clinging to the idea that most business travellers will travel in business class on short haul services. Well they won’t. My timed-for-business-travellers BA flight MXP-BHX last Thursday (ie. a peak evening departure) was full, but only eight were travelling in business. A short haul premium economy service for those paying full economy fares will address this issue, as Scando have recognised.

I believe that there is a latent demand for a short haul “premium economy” product, mainly from the business community that often ends up paying full economy fares because of the need to book at short notice but who then get treated like sh*t and with contempt in the same way as those who pay next to nothing and travel on the same flight. To all intents and purposes, the likes of BA, VS and BD have recognised this demand on long haul (as have UA with their economy plus product), albeit that the premium service involves space rather than catering which is understandable given the nature of the operations on which the premium economy is offered. In Europe, when it comes, I believe that the differentiation will be service rather than space.

Take for example that once fine airline Swiss(air), now a miserable operation as far as short haul is concerned which I refuse to fly on any more. I made a one day return trip BHX-BSL last year, booked only the day before, for which they did the honour of charging me (or more accurately my company) £505. For that economy fare of £505, I got nothing other than a seat – tea, coffee, food were all extra. The passenger who sat next to me, who booked months in advance and paid £78 return, was far less bothered about forking out EUR1.50 for a cup of coffee, which I refused to do on principal.

You’re right – Scando has recognised this demand and will soon provide “full service” economy to those paying full economy fares, and “pay-as-you-consume” service to those who pay discounted fares. I think that this will win Scando quite a lot of friends in the short-haul business travel community which is increasingly travelling economy rather than in business class.

Andy

Hmmmm – it’s been tried before.

It was called “economy class”! 😎