What makes a cabin a certain class?

Hi

I'm curious - obviously there are certain classes available on airlines - e.g. economy, premium economy, business, first, etc.

A bit of a geeky question, but what determines whether a cabin/the services offered in that cabin meets that class?

I.e. are there certain criteria that have to be met? Do they have to charge certain amounts for the tickets?

E.g., could VS, if they so wished, decide that UC was now 'First Class' and ticket it as such (apart from the fact that it might not compare to FC products with other airlines)?

Hope I've explained that OK!

Thanks
Andy:)

The airline sets the standards to be achieved in each cabin - it is not AFAIK regulated in anyway - which is why the business products of all the airlines are so different. However if they got way off line from their closest rivals (witness BA and VS moving to an extent in paralel) then it would quickly reflect itself on their occupancy levels if they were flying competitive routes. It is this last bit that let's Air China, for example, get away with providing such a poor business product.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by AndyK
Hi

I'm curious - obviously there are certain classes available on airlines - e.g. economy, premium economy, business, first, etc.

A bit of a geeky question, but what determines whether a cabin/the services offered in that cabin meets that class?

I.e. are there certain criteria that have to be met? Do they have to charge certain amounts for the tickets?

E.g., could VS, if they so wished, decide that UC was now 'First Class' and ticket it as such (apart from the fact that it might not compare to FC products with other airlines)?

Hope I've explained that OK!

Thanks
Andy:)

Great topic!

Not that I am aware of. Ypu'd expect airlines to do their homework and see what the competation offer in a particular class.

VS was a pioneed in the W class concept, identifying the sector of business people now travelling on reduced budgets that needed the flexibility and a few extra benefits over Y. It worked really well, once they had sorted out the naming as it was originally called Mid-Class and people were assuming it was VS's business offering. W is a good concept and one VS earn a good deal of money from, its popularity is rising and the mix of business/leisure within that cabin is changing too - it all varies by route and season.

Upper Class is targeted as a J class product, with J stated as 'Premium Business'. Having flown other airlines in their J, C and F cabins I'd say it's on track. I found BD's J service to be lacking, especially in seat design.

In regards to charging certain amounts, well can we say 'cartel'?

In regards to tax, lowest cabin gets the reduced rate of APD, which has novel concepts for carriers like MaxJet and when Concorde wsa around, as they are single class config which meant the reduced rate of APD.

So overall, it's down to the airline and them beign realistic of what they offer in comparison to others within that class (or classes above/below). Offer frills or service above a competitor's equivalent cabin and you are likely to attract customers. Expensive game though playing keeping up with the Jones' in the premium cabins arena, UCS cost VS £50m.

Thanks,
Richard

Originally posted by RichardMannion
In regards to charging certain amounts, well can we say 'cartel'?

I think that is a charge you would find hard to make stick. Remember in a market that has good pricing technology, high visibility of competitive prices and intense competition (all true for mainstream airlines) you would expect to see prices across the industry being in line, and mirroring of price movements. I would say that airline pricing is one of the least cartel/monopolistic areas I can think of (with the exception of the obvious ones like stock markets and Internet Viagra). Also a pricing cartel would of course be illegal.

AFAIK, there are no regulations for classes. It mainly depends on the competition - if there is no incentive to improve the product, then an airline probably won't given that they can still make money even though what they are offering may be sub-standard relative to other areas of the market.

VS.

Really interesting topic. Unlike the hotel industry, where the *'s have to be substantiated by many factors, there's clearly no standard setting body for the airline industry.

So I could start and airline, but economy seats throughout and call it whatever I wanted. Doesn't mean people would fly it though.

Here's a question - if there were standards what should be the minimum offered for a 'business' class, and how might you rate them? For example would business with car and properly flat bed be 5* business?

Originally posted by slinky09
Really interesting topic. Unlike the hotel industry, where the *'s have to be substantiated by many factors, there's clearly no standard setting body for the airline industry.?

Interestingly there's no legal requirement in the hotel industry. I once had a run in with a chain hotel about the provision of basics such as soap and when I rang consumer advice lines was told it all depends on what you would expect at the price.

Paul

Any categories for classes would also have to be divided into regional and international.

I think it would have to be a combination of factors such as lounge access, IFE, flat bed, chauffer, food etc. However, it would probably be quite difficult to measure as most airlines are not totally consistent.[:?]

VS.

Thanks for the responses guys, enjoyed reading them, cheers

Try booking a BD "Premium Economy" domestic ticket and see what you get!

Regards

John

[ChuckC]

Andy,
Congrats for a new and interesting topic; thank you.

As others have said, what drives the definition of cabin classification is good old competition, one of the greatest benefits of which is the natural inclination of the competitors to outdo one another. As long as the race is to improve the product, flyers are the winners.

Your good question causes me to wonder whether there are specific routes where, despite little or no competition the carrier offers an outstanding product at a decent fare? V-Flyers, don your anoraks!

Regards,
Chuck-

I travel to Denver from London via Washington, as it is cheaper to travel Virgin and United than to fly direct with BA. I truely believe that the price would be lower if there was competition on the LHR-DEN route.

Anorak on...but can't think of anything really. Is it not waterproof enough? Or perhaps not pink enough[}:)]

VS.