Why free upgrades to first class are becoming harder to get

Cheap seats are no longer enough for airline passengers.

Since the pandemic, travelers have shown airlines they are willing to pay to sit near the front of relatively spacious cabins. That means many of the seats are already full, making it difficult for frequent fliers to score free upgrades to the front of the plane.

And the tier of frequent fliers with elite status has ballooned all the way from airport lounges to packed first boarding groups, meaning competition for those seats is heating up. More crowds are expected during the year-end holiday period, with airlines predicting new records will be set.

Executives expect demand to remain strong through the off-season in early 2025. U.S. airline capacity is expected to increase by about 1% in the first quarter from a year ago, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

“We probably have the highest unit returns on the transatlantic route.” [routes]For example, in the middle of winter.” delta airlines President Glenn Hauenstein attended the November Investor Day.

The difference between first class and bus fares, of course, depends on distance, demand, time of year, and even time of day. For example, for a round trip ticket, united airlines In the first week of February, fares from the hub in Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles International Airport were $347 in standard economy and $1,791 in the airline’s Polaris cabin with lie-flat seats; was not available. .

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

Billions of dollars in revenue that keep airlines afloat are at stake. Airline loyalty programs are cash cows, and it’s important to strike the right balance between bringing in cash and perks like free upgrades.

In recent years, airlines have changed the requirements for achieving status, rewarding you for your spending and not just the distance you fly. They also increased the amount Flyers must spend to earn elite status. Next year, customers will need to spend more on United to earn the status. But American Airlines announced Thursday that it would maintain the requirement for its next earnings year, which begins in March.

About 15 years ago, travelers paid for a seat in just 12% of Delta’s domestic first class seats. Today, that percentage is closer to 75% and rising, Hauenstein told investors last month.

“We distributed seats based on a frequent flyer system,” Hauenstein said of first class seats before 2010. “The incentive was to spend as little as possible, fly as long as possible, and get upgraded as often as possible. That led to a situation where our most valuable product was our biggest loss leader.”

Now, he said, that situation has been reversed at Delta, with more money flowing into the cabin. The airline derives 43% of its revenue from main-cabin economy tickets, down from 60% in 2010.

This trend is spreading across industries, from the most profitable airline, Delta Air Lines, to discount companies like: frontier airlinesplans to add more spacious first class seats to the front of Airbus planes in 2025. Wednesday, jet blue airlines The airline announced that it will introduce a two- or three-row domestic business class class on planes that do not already have the top-of-the-line Mint business class with lie-flat seats, which it will call “Junior Mint.”

one day ago alaska airlines After acquiring Hawaiian Airlines earlier this year, the company announced it would equip some of its planes with premium seats as it prepares for new international flights, with revenue from higher-priced seats exceeding standard economy.

“We see that Airbus 330s and Boeing 787s have a low business class index and no international premium economy cabin,” Alaska Commercial Director Andrew Harrison said at the Investment Conference in New York on Tuesday. I mentioned this on Home Day. “We therefore expect our premium mix to continue to grow in 2027 and beyond.”

Airlines are now racing to add first class sections or larger international business class sections with larger screens and reclinable doors on flatbed seats.

“We’re seeing more paid demand for premium cabins than before the pandemic,” said Scott Chandler, vice president of revenue management at American Airlines. “More people are looking for a premium cabin experience.”

Chandler said American Airlines has worked hard over the past few years to make it easier for customers to purchase more expensive cabins, giving them the option to upgrade to other cabins such as first class or premium economy after purchase. spoke.

American Airlines, like other airlines, is doing things like completely eliminating first class on some of its long-haul planes and adding larger international business class cabins with new seats with sliding doors. It is undergoing renovations to add more premium seating. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have also beefed up their premium services to accommodate customers willing to pay for more expensive seats.

“They’re doing everything they can to get you to pay for premium products, and that’s what they absolutely need to do,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group. That’s true.” Customers don’t buy store-brand products at a department store and then expect a “salesperson.” [to] Call up the item and we will give you a free designer bag. ”

southwest airlines I have taken a unique approach. In 2026, the airline plans to refurbish the standard coach cabin that has been in service for more than half a century, eliminate open seating and include several rows of seats with extra legroom.

CEO Bob Jordan said this is partly a “generational shift.”

“What we’re seeing is younger customers are looking for something a little more upscale,” he said in an interview this week. “A lot of this is a mental shift, a change in willingness to spend more money on travel and spend more money on other things.

However, after surveying its customers and considering the cost of losing space to add more seats, the company decided to keep the number of seats on its aircraft roughly the same and not add first class like other airlines. .

“You’re talking about ovens, you’re talking about meals, you’re talking about equipment. It’s a huge capital investment and a huge leap forward,” Jordan said of first class.

“But never say never,” he said.