The First Class fares we’ve discovered—most notably, $19,623 to $6,817 (San Francisco to Beijing)—are cause for happy disbelief:
And dismay.
All this latest discounting (details here: American and United Wave the White Flag on First Class Fares to Asia) follows the recent European First Class price slashes by American and United.
These desperate discounts signal to me that the end of First Class—for U.S. carriers—will arrive sooner than we wanted it to. Instead they’ll just focus where the business is (as more who don’t invest in a competitive First Class product), Business Class.
But I’m hoping they’ll pull up their First Class socks, not take them off. I’m hoping they’ll compete seat wise and service wise, not throw in the towel.
I hate to see First Class fizzle out on any airline, as the impact is always non-trivial.
But that’s me, publisher of First Class Flyer. It’s not just a vested interest in First Class, it’s a deep attachment to the seats and the service.
That ends my public display of personal dismay.
Make hay, I say!
American and United Wave the White Flag on First Class Fares to Asia.