Hello Quartz index readers!
Is the neo-golden age of air travel passing us by?
Recent years have shown what airlines can do when on solid financial footing (or perhaps engaging in collusion): new Planes get bought; amenities get upgraded; wifi, TV, and lay-flat seats get installed into cabins.
Emirates has a bar and lounge on board for first and business class passengers as well as a shower. Singapore’s offers a two-person suite where the seats convert into a double bed.
But new grumbling about big planes could be a harbinger that the era is coming to an end. Airlines are scaling back their ambitions with the world’s largest planes and in the processes letting go of their best tactic to shape the hearts and minds of travelers.
First, the Boeing 747 fell out of favor. It was and remains the literal embodiment of jet-age travel. It was originally designed with onboard lounges not just for first class passengers, but coach ones as well. Today, the copious space is sought after to carry freight rather than passengers
Now a shift away from the Airbus A380 is underway. Despite new interest from Hawaiian Airlines and commitment in Dubai to add more gates to accommodate the jumbo jet, the manufacturer has cut production by half. Current A380 operators, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines are all publicly wary of the plane.
Despite low oil prices, airlines want efficiency, and that means smaller planes with less space and more seats. Budget carrier JetBlue has hinted at its intercontinental ambitions to use smaller planes with efficient enough engines to cross the Atlantic. Norwegian is looking to do the same.
While the lay-flat seat and private pod are likely here to stay. It might be decades before we see another age of the onboard lounge, first-class shower, or hotel room in the sky. If you could ever afford it in the first place, enjoy it while you still can.—David Yanofsky
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