As reported by Bloomberg:
Airlines are reinvigorating first class as deep-pocketed customers embrace travel again, taking luxury to new heights up in the sky.First-class cabins are increasingly resembling mini hotel rooms, with sofas, double beds, televisions, desks, wardrobes, minibars and in some cases, walk-in showers. The more creative, the better. You can even book a chef...Even with first class fares going for more than 10 times as much as standard economy seats, demand is there - either for bookings with cash or the rare opportunity to use up miles accumulated on credit cards during the pandemic...A return Sydney-Los Angeles flight in Qantas first class costs almost $18,000, while Frankfurt-Tokyo on Lufthansa is about $15,000. That’s still significantly less that what some ultra-wealthy travelers fork out for private jets, a segment that experienced a boost during the pandemic as people looked to avoid crowds and virus-related restrictions...Individual cabins currently feature armchairs and a 212-centimeter (83 inches) flat bed with memory foam mattress, as well as cotton throws, a duvet and pillow menu.
Details and pix at the link.
Reposted from 2023 to add this. The video is lengthy but refreshingly devoid of needless chatter (mostly ambient sounds with text subtitles). You can browse it by clicking the timeline.
I was upgraded from business to first class on an Emirates A380 flight from Prague to Dubai. It came with bottomless Dom Perignon, pajamas, a mattress on my lay flat seat, and access to a shower. Probably more, but between jet lag and and the Dom I can't remember. Figuring I would never get the chance again I made sure to use the shower, in a bathroom substantially bigger than the one in my house.
ReplyDeleteAnd the poor pilot having to adjust the level flight from that shower changing the weight distribution. LoL
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
Instead of being in awe of this luxury, are we allowed to just express that the money spent on things like this could be spent better?
ReplyDeleteFlying is generally bad for the environment, but it's also a necessity for some. But flying like this is much more polluting because you're taking up so much space. Furthermore, people who spend money like this generally got that money by not paying taxes like they should. And, they chose to spend that money on themselves instead of others like the philanthropists that they pretend to be.
In short, the negative externalities of flying like this are enormous.
As Bob Weir (guitarist with the Grateful Dead musical group), when asked if success has spoiled the band, said: "when I'm going through pistachios - the hard-to-open ones, I don't bother with them any more."
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine from a Zoom group once said that she realized her life was getting better when she could afford to buy herself a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store.
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