As the aviation industry looks towards a future with more videoconferencing and fewer business traveller’s filling business class seats, it’s wooing upmarket leisure passengers to fill the gap.
Airlines are hoping that more business travellers will bring along their partners for “blended” or business-leisure — “bleisure” — travel. Yet most business class cabins were designed with the goal of privacy rather than being able to cuddle up next to Pat from accounting.
Enter a new generation of design that allows two business class seats to be converted into a double bed better suited to couples.
“Covid was an epic reset button,” explains Daniel Baron, a cabin designer and the managing director of airline design house LIFT Aero Design in Tokyo. “It shifted the priorities for many traveller’s. More people now long for things that might have seemed less important before the world turned upside down.
“They want a slightly slower pace, with creature comforts along the way, and meaningful experiences on the other side. Ditto for business traveller’s. Yes, career is still important, but time with loved ones need not be sacrificed. The trend to mix business with pleasure lends itself to an increase in demand in the premium leisure category.”
In ultra-swanky international first class, double beds have been the norm since the mid-2000s, with perhaps the most famous being Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 first class, and later the Etihad Residence one-bedroom suite in the mid-2010s, with a small double bed in its own room.
“Traditionally,” Baron says, “in business class there was an expectation of wide, fixed armrests on both sides of the passenger, with multiple stowage spaces. Large movable dividers were also associated with first class, not business.
“At the end of the day, it is about providing an experience that drives repeat business and positive word of mouth. The industry has shifted from ‘give me total privacy’ in business class to ‘give me options’. Airlines have realized that offering the ability to get that close can be a competitive advantage.”
There’s just something truly delightful about snuggling down with your arms around your special someone as the gentle hum of the aircraft lulls you to sleep.
