First Class Is Back and Bigger than Ever — But Sometimes in Disguise

First class isn’t dead — it’s just evolving. As airlines chase high-margin passengers, luxe cabins are back, but often rebranded or reimagined as ‘business plus’ instead.

Coming as it usually does around Easter, the Aircraft Interiors Expo has a funny habit of resurrecting aspects of the inflight experience that were supposedly dead. Think proper meals in economy, seatback inflight entertainment screens, and now first class.

It turns out that the increasingly luxurious business class seats and suites are not enough for airlines with a high-end customer profile segment. Some passengers want even more than that.

Notably, the future of first class is not just aboard the government-backed airlines with unlimited money. Airlines that actually need to make a profit, such as Air France, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss all have new first-class cabins. These are an entirely separate product from their business class seats.