Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | B | Business Travel News

Newest products continue to blur first, business class.

Publication: Business Travel News
Publication Date: 27-OCT-03 		Format: Online - approximately 1220 words
Delivery: Immediate Online Access

Article Excerpt
Air France, Lufthansa German Airlines and Qantas Airways in recent weeks each detailed their new first or business class products and joined Northwest Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways in an intensifying battle for higher-yielding travelers on transoceanic routes. The new products, which center on more comfortable services and amenities, are the latest offerings to blur the line between traditional first and business class (BTN, Aug. 11).

The investment in premium products comes amid depressed business travel demand and indicators that appetite for such products will wane further next year. These airlines, however, are eyeing a gradual recovery in overall corporate travel and are positioning their refreshed premium cabins as a means to keep or steal as many accounts as possible.

Such pampering certainly gets the traveler's attention, but many travel managers are not likely to loosen corporate travel policies that restrict first and business class bookings.

"It is going to be really hard for airlines to fill their new premium products," said Yasuo Sonoda, travel manager at Macromedia in San Francisco. The company's international business class bookings fell 80 percent in the...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!



More articles from Business Travel News
Distinguishing service delivery., November 24, 2003
The science of service: analyzing the elements of quality assurance., November 24, 2003
SLAs, traveler surveys remain key travel agency service tools., November 24, 2003
Travel managers want agencies to do more, but not everthing., November 24, 2003
Air apparent: what corp. buyers, flyers want from carriers., November 24, 2003

Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.

Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication name or publication date.

About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company analysis or best practices in managing your organization, Goliath can help you meet your business needs.

Our extensive business information databases empower business professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible, authoritative information they need to support their business goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting, company research or defining management best practices - Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.