Luxury game in the skies for new Indian class

Luxury game in the skies for new Indian class

New Delhi: Plush lie-flat beds, fancy wines paired with gourmet four-course meals served on designer tableware, and luxurious vanity kits – Indian carriers are elevating the luxury quotient for business class passengers, catering to the rising demand.

After two sluggish years due to the pandemic, airlines have not only seen a rousing revival in corporate travel, boosting occupancy in the business class, but also a new class of leisure travellers willing to spend more for extra legroom and other perks.

Deepak Rajawat, chief commercial officer of Vistara, said the debate over whether the pandemic would drive a shift towards work-from-home and reduce business-related travel has been put to rest. “There has been a phenomenal increase in the percentage that we carry in the front end,” he said, referring to business class flyers.

Air India, under its new owner Tata group, is seeking to position itself as a world class airline and target more higher-paying customers. On long-haul international routes, the airline’s business class passengers will dine in fine chinaware, access a collection of over 2,000 movies on-board and use amenity kits by Italian luxury fashion house Ferragamo.

Air India is planning to amplify its offerings with first class in A350-1000 planes and is also upgrading cabins in its A320 narrow-body aircraft.

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New Class of Leisure Travellers

The airline will retrofit around 40 of these A320 planes with three-class cabins along with premium economy as part of a $400 million upgrade. “We see this incremental opportunity that can support larger premium cabins, both in business class and in Premium Economy. It underscores the nature of transformation and opportunity of India,” said Campbell Wilson, CEO, Air India.

Market leader IndiGo, which for long has had a single economy class, is planning to have few aircraft with roomier seats and will roll out perks like hot food and a loyalty programme.

By the end of this year, the budget airline plans to have around 35 Airbus A321s fitted with premium cabins which will have four rows of seats with two on each side against the current configuration of three.

IndiGo didn’t officially comment on the move.

But executives involved in the plan said the airline doesn’t want to lose out on high-yielding customers to rivals like Air India and Vistara for the lack of a distinct product. “There is a section of high-end leisure travellers and small business owners looking for a business class product at fares lower than those charged by legacy airlines,” said one of the executives.

According to industry estimates, premium cabin passengers, constituting only a third of the total, drive two-thirds of airline revenue.

Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, was forced to induct some aircraft with business class seats due to supply chain constraints. But the airline is seeing increased demand for these and may rethink whether to convert them back to single class.

“On some routes, we find that there are people who don’t mind paying more for that extra comfort of leg space or hot food. We will take a call accordingly,” said Aloke Singh, the airline’s managing director.

Travel portals are also responding to this change, with the likes of MakeMyTrip setting up a separate funnel on its website for business class tickets where customers can preview visuals of cabin comfort, meals, lounge access and other amenities.

Rajesh Magow, group CEO of MakeMyTrip, said, “We have revamped this (website) to provide an enhanced booking experience to our premium users and cater to their specific needs and preferences.”

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