High-spending holidaymakers are spearheading a boom in first-class and business-class flight bookings, leading big airlines to bet on a new era of luxury travel with investments in their cabins and lounges.
Lufthansa this month said the “very strongest demand” for travel this year had been in its premium cabins, and that leisure travellers had “almost completely compensated” for the slower return of corporate bookings.
The airline’s chief executive Carsten Spohr said he expected a “permanent shift” towards holidaymakers filling business and first class seats, as he drew comparisons with the recent boom enjoyed by luxury sectors including cars, watches and prime real estate.