Why it's getting more durable to get a free improve to a first-class flight

Passengers disembark an American Airlines flight via the business class seating area, London Heathrow Airport on August 14, 2018.

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Cheap seats are no longer enough for passengers.

Since the pandemic, travelers have shown airlines they are willing to pay for a seat in the relatively spacious front of the cabin. That means many seats are already fully booked, making it harder for frequent flyers to get free upgrades to the front of the plane.

And the number of frequent flyers with elite status is growing from the airport lounge to the crowded first boarding group, meaning more competition for those seats. Even more crowds are expected during the year-end holiday season as airlines expect this to set another record.

Executives also predict strong demand for the off-season in early 2025. U.S. airline capacity will increase about 1% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

“We probably see our best unit revenue on the transatlantic.” [routes]for example in the middle of winter,” said Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein at an investor day in November.

Of course, the price difference between first class and coach varies depending on distance, demand, time of year and even time of day. For example, a return ticket United Airlines The flight from its hub in Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles International Airport in the first week of February cost $347 in standard economy class and $1,791 in the airline's Polaris cabin, which has reclining seats, but does not have access to the international business class lounge.

American AirlinesThe nonstop flight from New York to Paris during Easter week 2025 cost $1,104 in coach and $3,038 in the airline's flagship business class.

A view from the Delta Sky Club at Los Angeles International Airport, September 2, 2022.

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Billions of dollars in revenue that keep airlines afloat are at stake. Airline loyalty programs are a cash cow, and it's important to find the right balance between perks like free upgrades and cash.

In recent years, airlines have changed the status requirements to reward spending, not just distance flown. They have also increased the amount flyers must spend to be blessed with elite status. Next year, customers will have to spend more with United to earn status. But on Thursday, American said it would maintain its requirements for the next earnings year, which begins in March.

From giveaways to payments

About 15 years ago, travelers paid just 12% for seats in Delta's domestic first class. That figure is now closer to 75% and rising, Hauenstein told investors last month.

“We gave them away as part of a frequent flyer system,” Hauenstein said of first-class seats in 2010 and earlier. “The incentive was to spend as little as possible, fly as long as possible and get upgraded as often as possible. This resulted in our most valuable products being the biggest loss makers.”

That's now reversed for Delta, he said, with more money flowing to the front of the cabin. The airline generates 43% of its revenue from economy main cabin tickets, up from 60% in 2010.

The trend extends across the entire industry, from Delta, the most profitable provider, to discounters like Frontier Airlineswhich is adding more spacious first-class seats in the bow to its Airbus fleet in 2025. On Wednesday JetBlue Airways announced that it would introduce two or three rows of domestic business class on aircraft that do not have the highest tier Mint business class with lie-flat seats, calling it “Junior Mint.”

A day earlier Alaska Airlines announced it would retrofit some of its planes with premium seats as it prepares for new international flights following its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines earlier this year, with revenue from higher-priced seats outpacing standard economy seats

“You see the Airbus 330 and the Boeing 787 are under-indexed in business class and don't have an international premium economy cabin,” Andrew Harrison, Alaska's commercial chief, said Tuesday at an investor day in New York. “We therefore assume that our premium mix will continue to grow beyond 2027.”

A Delta Sky Club passenger lounge at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, September 5, 2019.

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Bigger business

Airlines are now looking to add first-class sections or larger international business classes with larger screens and closed doors to the flat-bed seats.

“We have seen more paid demand for premium cabin than ever before before the pandemic,” said Scott Chandler, vice president of revenue management at American Airlines. “More people want to enjoy the premium cabin experience.”

Chandler said American has worked in recent years to make it easier for customers to purchase more expensive cabins by offering post-purchase options to upgrade to first class or other cabins such as premium economy.

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American is retrofitting some of its longer-range planes to include more premium seats and, like other airlines, is ditching first class altogether on some to install larger international business class cabins that feature new seats with sliding doors. Delta and United have also increased their premium offerings to keep up with customers who want to pay for the more expensive seats.

“They do everything they can to entice you to buy their premium products. They absolutely should do that,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group. Customers do not buy a branded item in a department store and then expect “the salesperson”. [to] Call the product and give you a designer bag for free.

Southwest Airlines has chosen its own approach. In 2026, the company plans to fly with multiple rows of seats with more legroom, retrofit the standard coach-only cabins it has flown for more than half a century, and eliminate open seating.

CEO Bob Jordan said it was partly a “generational change.”

“What we’re seeing is that our younger customers are demanding a little more premium,” he said in an interview this week. “A lot of it is a mindset shift, a willingness to spend more on travel and less on other things.”

However, the airline has decided to keep the number of seats on its planes largely the same and not add first class like other airlines after surveying customers and weighing the costs of losing space for more seats on board .

To the first class, Jordan said, “You're talking about ovens, you're talking about meals, you're talking about supplies. It’s a huge capital investment and a big leap.”

“But never say never,” he said.