When booking a flight from point A to point B, the customer has the option to book either economy or business class. Economy is cheaper and offers little space to make oneself comfortable, while business is most of the time unreachable for the average traveler, due to its price, but offers a bit more legroom and higher service quality. But the question remains; what will the average traveler do to be able to have a bit more comfort for a reasonable cost now a days? The answer to this question is provided by Air New Zealand. Beginning with the 2nd of April the current year, the airline will introduce the so-called “cuddle class”.
The “cuddle class” is meant for couples or for kids that are boarding a long haul flight. With the touch of a button, the footrest will come out of the three seats, the armrest will disappear between the seats, converting the space to a bed similar seating area where one can get some rest during the flight. These seats are only available for a couple, not allowing two strangers to share this “coach”.
Price wise, Air New Zealand, will try to keep it as flexible as possible, meaning that for the purchase of the three seat row, the couple will pay the economy price for the two seats, plus 50% of the economy price for the third one.
It seems very convenient to be able to buy three seats with your partner and have a make shift bed, but this innovation raises a few questions and problems.
1. How many can get this seating area? For the moment it is mentioned that only the Boeing 777-300 aircraft will be converted to have the seating area, yet it fails to mention how many will be installed and available. In long haul flights, most of the passengers travel with their families, meaning the couple plus children. Although the upgrade is done online, how will the airline guarantee that all the travelers have access to this type of seating?
2. Will this modification prompt airlines to purchase new aircrafts that can sustain this type of seating? As mentioned before the demand for the “cuddle coach” might not be sufficient for the supply that the airline has. It is only safe to assume, that the airline might be forced to order specific build aircrafts.
3. What are the economic impacts on the airline? With only a few rows of this new seating, the airline might be forced to take out standard economy seats to make way for the “cuddle coach”. This in a way might impact the traveler since the number of sold seats is diminished, potentially leading to a fail in the selling of the seats.
4. What is the impact on the business class? With this new type of seating, business travelers that travel in two’s might see it as more affordable to buy three seats in economy instead of two seats in business. This might lead to lower number of seats sold and it also forces the airline to come up with alternatives to attract the business traveler once again.
As a conclusion, it can be said that the “cuddle class” is an interesting alternative with the potential to become indispensable and lead to new developments in the airline industry.
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