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Global airlines have raced to develop a series of increasingly lavish perks — from bottomless caviar to onboard art galleries — to tempt high spenders into premium cabins while other improvements remain grounded.
The race to improve in-flight “soft products” is taking place as supply chain disruption across the aerospace industry has generated long waits for carriers seeking to deploy game-changing new seats or planes.
Qatar Airways has started offering caviar, typically a preserve of the highest spenders in first class, to its business class customers on some routes. It will launch high-speed WiFi powered by Elon Musk’s Starlink technology next week. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s China Airlines this year partnered with a three-star Michelin restaurant to offer an in-flight tasting menu.
Emirates, which says it has spent more than $1bn on wines and champagnes over the past 16 years, this year touted deals for exclusive use of some vintages from champagne producers Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon.
Industry experts said the new perks ranged from gimmicks to upgrades that genuinely improved the customer experience.
“Airlines are trying to find a point of difference to attract customers, and are doubling down on soft products because it is faster and the supply chain is quicker,” said Jonny Clark, an airline brand consultant.
Supply chain problems have dogged the industry since travel restarted at scale in 2022 following the coronavirus pandemic. Delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus have led to many aircraft being delivered years late, while there is also a shortage of new seats because of production delays.
Factors including tighter certification rules, shortages of labour and electronics shortages for embedded in-flight entertainment systems had all combined to slow deliveries of seats, industry experts said.
“There are lots of little things you can do,” said Etihad chief executive Antonoaldo Neves of the luxury touches. “To get new seats takes a long time.”
His airline has focused on ironing out the problems that most irritate frequent flyers — lost bags, cancellations and missed connections because of delays.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific faced delays refitting their new business class seats with sliding doors, but this week unveiled the new cabin including an onboard art gallery.
It will take until around 2027 before it completes the installation of the new cabin on 30 of its existing fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft. The airline’s new first class, meanwhile, is scheduled for introduction on the new, heavily delayed Boeing 777X model. These will not appear until 2026 because of delivery delays.
Lavinia Lau, Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer, said there had been a “slight delay” in the introduction of the new business class cabin.
“The first couple of aircraft are being slightly delayed, but we will try to catch up with the rest of our schedule,” she said. “Supply chain issues and challenges — that’s a known fact. And we are facing this as much as every other airline.”
Middle Eastern airlines were under particular pressure to elevate the passenger experience, said Rob Burgess, editor of frequent flyer website Head for Points. The airlines need to persuade passengers to take an indirect journey with a stopover in the Gulf.
“It is a case of keeping every box ticked, from seat to food and drink and entertainment,” Burgess said. “Each customer will prioritise these elements differently and you want to ensure you are on top with whichever one someone cares most about.”
The spending on upgrades comes as airlines are making strong profits. The International Air Transport Association forecasts the global industry will record net profits of $30.5bn in 2024, with a net profit margin of 3.1 per cent.
High-spending holidaymakers have also replaced many business people at the front of the plane following a decline in corporate travel. These leisure travellers typically expect a richer experience when flying compared with corporate customers, who value privacy and sleep.
Clark said passengers were becoming more demanding.
“Airlines have had a couple of good years of profits and are doubling down to offer more and more to passengers,” he said. “I’m not sure how valuable some of these initiatives are though. To be honest, the caviar . . . how many people are going to eat it?”