Trendspotting: Fancy Plane

By Angie Argabrite, Tuesday, December 20, 2011, at 9:01 am.

A massage before take-off. An in-flight shower. Three-star meals. These days, first-class flights are more dramatically luxurious than ever before—in stark comparison to the spartan amenities afforded those occupying the back portion of the plane. Though first-class passengers account for just 5 percent of those on long-haul routes, and business class passengers for 15 percent, together those seats supply 40 to 50 percent of airline revenue. Is it any wonder airlines are doing their best for their luxe travelers? But with airline profits declining in an industry where a careless tweet or snafu with a celebrity passenger (paging Alec Baldwin!) can outrage thousands of potential customers, public relations must be as carefully plotted as the routes along which jumbo jets travel. Speaking of PR—Southwest Airlines has begun filming a reality television show to air on the TLC network, and we can’t help but wonder how much editorial control the company will wield. As the rich grow richer (paging the Occupy movement!), more can afford the $14,000 price difference between coach and first class for a ticket from, say, Manhattan to Sydney. So this is how the 1 percent fly.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 at 9:01 am. It is filed under Advertising, Brainsnacks, Brands, PR, Social Media, Trends and tagged with Advertising, aviation, branding, economics, first class, flight, luxury market, Occupy Wall Street, plane, public relations, reality television, Social Media, Southwest Airlines, Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.