No, it’s not your thing. If you think that when you travel by plane you have less space than a few decades ago, it is because (effectively) the airlines they take time rethinking the internal configuration of its aircraft in the interest of greater profitability. That is something known. The curious thing is that the latest studies on the subject show that companies they keep working in that direction, giving more weight to the premium seats in their grids compared to the tourist class.
This effort helps to understand some decisions of the sector.
Question of ‘classes’. The models may change, but all airplanes share the same characteristic: they force the airlines that manage them to adapt to a reduced space. A passenger cabin measures what it measures. And that is the limited margin that companies have when seeking maximum profitability, distributing travelers by category and designing rates.
Recently Visual Approach Analytics he wondered how the airlines are performing in this endeavor and came to a curious conclusion. Between 2020 and 2026 the number of nationally scheduled ‘economy’ class seats in the US grew by 10%. The ‘premium’ places did almost three times as much, 27%.
The study focuses on a very specific niche (American national market) but is interesting both for the photo it shows and for the trend it draws. The first time Visual published an analysis on the topic, in 2024the ‘premium’ class believed at 14% and the ‘economic’ class at 4%.
Why’s that? In an article On the subject Courtney Miller, founder of Visual Approach Analytics, acknowledges that “the shift towards premium seats in the US market since the pandemic has been constant.” It also confirms that this trend, far from moderating, has strengthened in recent years.
Higher category seats (with more space, comforts or services) are sold at higher prices, so it is not difficult to imagine what leads companies to bet on them. The question is another: How are they making this change? For Miller, the key is not so much a “reconfiguration” of the aircraft that already exist as the transformation of the market itself.
Expanding. “The increase in premium class seats versus economy class seats is largely due to the type of airlines that are increasing their capacity in the market,” reflects Millerwhich focuses its analysis on the US.
“Growth has shifted away from the ultra-airline sector low cost (ULCC) towards the so-called network airlines, where class seats are also found business. In fact, when analyzing the growth at the beginning of the year we observed that it came mainly from traditional companies and very little from low-cost airlines (LCC) or ultra-type airlines. low cost“.
Changes in the market. Miller is not the only one who has noticed the changes the sector is experiencing. On Sunday Dean Seal published another analysis in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in which it confirms that, in their continuous search for higher revenue per seat, companies are modernizing their aircraft or directly purchasing others with a higher proportion of premium seats.
Seal points out an increase in these seats with extra comforts both in US airlines that have been exploiting them for some time (Delta Air Lines or United Airlines) and in rivals that have grown by focusing on other market niches, such as Southwest Airlines, Spirit either Frontierin profile more low cost.
Not all economy class is the same. It is not always about offering preferential or class places businessbut seats with certain advantages, like a few extra centimeters to stretch your legs. The Global Tourism Forum difference for example between “Premium Economy” and plain economy class. In exchange for a little more space or (on longer journeys) better meals, the airline sells the former at double or triple the price of Economy.
“Given that the cost increase is moderate but the price increase is significant, Premium Economy class can offer very high profit margins,” the agency notes. Recent data of Cirium published by WSJ show that, overall, the percentage of premium seats has increased in the last decade on Delta, United, American and Alaska airlines.
Business decisions. The studies are not the only ones that reveal the change. It is also seen in the advertisements of the airlines. United Airlines poses for example, gain more first-class seats and more spacious seats, even on its smaller planes, and Delta has ordered about thirty of Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner models with larger premium cabins.
“It is a financially excellent aircraft,” stood out the company’s commercial director during a conference at the beginning of the year. “It represents a very significant change and a substantial improvement in profit margins.”
Is it something new? Not quite. not long ago we told you as the space that airlines dedicate to each seat has been reducing in recent decades: from the average 90 cm between seats in the 80s it has gone to an average of 80 cm in regular companies and 70 cm in low cost airlines.
The result: a significant percentage of passengers who fly no longer fit comfortably in standard seats. That has not prevented new ideas from emerging in the sector, such as installing rows of double height seats.
Image | Chris Brignola (Unsplash)
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