Airlines Sweeten the Upgrade

Global carriers are making major investments at the front of the plane to bring in more of those precious highend passengers.

- Paul Sillers

Advances in premium cabin product tend to follow a predictable trajectory; more real estate, improved seclusion from other passengers, larger IFE screens, new gastronomic concoctions, all tastefully accessorized with a sprinkling of designer-name amenity kits and lubricated with tip top bubbly.

The current and imminent pick of premium inflight offerings and product enhancements doesn’t disappoint, and it’s not surprising. The quest for consolidating passenger loyalty and upping the competition is unceasing. Now, there’s an additional factor in the mix — Premium Economy. This ubiquitous oxymoron proliferating at the rear of the fuselage has been snapping at the heels of business class, propelling the quality and specification of front-of-house offerings to even loftier altitudes.

But before we hit those enormous reclining seats, let’s kick off with some food for thought.

A Taste for Travel Food and travel have always been delectably symbiotic: Foodies love to travel, and passengers love their food; hence the rise of culinary tourism to the far flung corners of the world. When it comes to onboard catering, social media is a decisive catalyst driving competition and ingenuity. The trending habits of passengers Instagraming, Snapchatting, Tweeting and Facebooking photos of the food they encounter at 30,000 feet has brought about an increased consciousness of the diversity, quality and presentation of what airlines are serving. A great piece of culinary creativity can go viral. But by the same token, if your onboard sommelier’s recommendation doesn’t quite hit the spot,that cabin WiFi could be relaying an online rant to that passenger’s network before touch-down.