Skift Take
Travelers hoping for more free first-class upgrades should probably root for a recession. The economy is too strong for airlines to give away their best seats for free.
Travelers love to complain about how U.S. airlines spend major money upgrading premium classes while neglecting travelers who sit in regular coach seats.
It's not always accurate — most airlines have made improvements to coach in the past five years, though they have shrunk legroom and bathrooms — but it is true carriers have invested more up front than elsewhere.
Why?
As Delta Air Lines' executives made clear Thursday on their third quarter earnings call, premium passengers get the spoils because they're profitable. With a strong economy, corporate customers, business travelers and wealthy leisure passengers are increasingly splurging for premium seats, a development that is keeping Delta's profits steady despite higher fuel prices.
Delta said fuel prices for the September quarter were roughly 30 percent more than a year ago. yet it recorded $1.31 billion in net income, up from $1.16 billion in 2017. Meanwhile, total revenue per available seat mile, an industry metric measuring how much an airline makes for each seat it flies one mile, increased 4.3 percent
