First class is dying. Here’s why all fliers should care

If you fly in economy class like me, here’s a meaningless fact: First class is dying. Not all first class, of course. The latest lie-flat seats on coastto-coast routes are amazing. And on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights, the offerings by carriers like Emirates and Singapore Airlines are legendary.

But on domestic routes, the premium seats aren’t what they used to be. There’s less legroom, the amenities are disappearing and the service is lacking. It’s economy class-ish circa 1970 on some planes.

Come to think of it, maybe that’s not as meaningless as it sounds. Because if an airline can’t get first class right, imagine what’s in store for the bleacher seats.

“The days of first-class travel in the United States simply no longer exist like they used to,” says Sheridan Becker, a guidebook writer who recalls the glory days of domestic air travel before airline deregulation in the late ’70s. They used to include luxury amenity kits loaded with gear, overthe-top service even on shorthaul flights, and plenty of personal space.

“Airlines have simply flown away from the good old days,” she adds.

Airline insiders would argue that there are sound reasons for abandoning a true first-class experience. Chief among them: The economics don’t make sense. But there’s a customer service perspective on this industry-wide downgrade, too. Profit margins are not a customer concern, nor should they be. To customers, first class represents the best an airline can do.

And from that point of view, what do the new second-class sections say about the rest of the company?

Bruce Tepper, a tourism consultant based in Sonora, Calif., is “amazed” by the decline in service and amenities in the recent past. He says the seats are less comfortable, notably the amount of legroom, which is barely more than economy-class sections used to have before deregulation. On a recent flight, the airline had unplugged its in-flight entertainment system in first class, because most passengers just bring their own tablets, a flight attendant explained.

As for the food and drinks, that may be the worst part. Gone are the palatable wines and the gourmet food.

“The meal is unappealing,” Tepper says. “A tasteless hamburger or ... bland salad.”

Part of the problem is that first class, which most reasonable travelers would call the section in the front of the plane with the big seats, is often not even called first class any more.

“The line between first class and business class is very much blurred,” says Andrew Royce Bauer, a frequent flier from Secaucus, N.J. To find a true firstclass experience, he has to do a lot of research. His own strict def- inition of first class includes a car to the plane, a large seat, a beautiful lounge and great in-flight dining. Some of those amenities are only available on transcontinental routes, if they are at all.

But another part of the problem — from the customer’s point of view — is the industry’s relentless focus on efficiency, which indiscriminately strips away basic, unprofitable services.

“We all want the cheapest fare possible,” says Heidi Lamar, a frequent business traveler from Scottsdale, Ariz. “So quality is usually laid on the altar of price.”

Lamar also thinks loyalty programs have degraded the firstclass experience. “Now that everyone with a travel perks credit card is eligible for upgrades and early boarding, the frequent traveler has a lot more competition for the good seats,” she notes.

As a shameless supporter of generous one-class configurations where all passengers are treated well, it’s tempting to dismiss these complaints as firstworld whines. I can’t do that. The death of domestic, short-haul first class is a bad omen. When an airline’s flagship product starts to falter, all of us will suffer.