Passengers who are lucky enough to travel in long-haul first class suites experience unparalleled luxury on commercial flights. Such cabins are as close as one can get to flying on a private jet without actually doing so. Of course, such tickets demand understandably high prices. But what about for the airlines themselves – how much they pay to install such glamourous suites?
Money talks
To install a long-haul first class suite will generally cost an airline hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, Executive Traveller reports that the price can range from $250,000 to $500,000 per suite, compared to $30,000 to $80,000 for a business class seat. According to The Points Guy, some suites can even reach the million-dollar mark!
Gizmodo reports that an aspect of the cost beyond the seat itself is the extra work that needs to be done to the cabin to allow for its installation. This can include “extensive rewiring, ductwork changes and reinforced cabin floors.”
All in all, these various costs make for considerably more expensive ticket prices. Last June, Simple Flying found that a flexible London-Sydney return with Emirates in August came in at around $12,200, compared to $1,800 in flexible economy.
Correspondingly classy catering
Not all long-haul airlines offer a first class product. However, for those that do, it needs to represent a tangible step up from business class (which will likely already be very nice) in order for passengers to justify the extra expense. As such, first class products will generally offer advantages such as the following aspects.
Enhanced onboard catering service. First class passengers generally have access to the best quality and widest range of onboard food and drink. Of course, onboard meal service has undergone…