Revenue from coach class made up a little less than half of Delta's $44.4 billion in revenue last year, down from nearly two-thirds of the airline's revenue in 2011. Meanwhile, revenue from premium seats, such as those in business class, brought in close to a third of Delta's revenue last year, up from 18% in 2011. Delta executives have noted that it used to sell only around 10% of its first-class seats and now sells about 60%.
Delta, like other airlines, is giving travelers more opportunities to upgrade to more expensive seats, even after purchasing tickets. "Airlines now are better equipped from a technology and marketing standpoint to sell their premium cabins," said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel consulting firm."The first thing any CFO does in the face of economic headwinds is say, 'Get to the back of the airplane,'" he said.
In the wake of the financial crisis, the gap between deeply discounted, just-fill-the-plane coach fares and four-figure business-class fares was wide, and travelers had fewer options to upgrade. In an economic downturn, "as a business traveler, comply with all your corporate travel policies, but you have a separate, unique transaction where individually, you can make a choice to buy up to first-class or a premium experience."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: billboard - 🏆 112. / 63 Read more »
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »
Source: DEADLINE - 🏆 109. / 63 Read more »
Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »
Source: Refinery29 - 🏆 26. / 68 Read more »