Rich flyers’ splurges are saving airlines from a margin collapse

ROBERT Doornbos spent more on flights in 2025 than the average American earns annually, but the retired Formula 1 driver said that doing so was his way of buying back time.

Doornbos, who lives in Dubai, said he took about 50 flights last year in business class. He has been willing to stomach higher airfares – like the 7,500 euros (US$8,407) he shelled out for a ticket to Madrid to attend a Grand Prix – for the comfort of arriving rested and ready to work.

“I try to minimise the time loss,” said Doornbos, who now works as a public speaker. “Lots of flying, but in an efficient way.”

Doornbos is exactly the kind of customer the world’s biggest airlines have in mind as they push ever deeper into luxury travel, betting that affluent passengers will continue splurging on expensive seats even as airfares soar. 

Just in the last few weeks, British Airways introduced the biggest business class cabin anywhere in the market; Delta Air Lines said it was almost doubling its fleet of Porsche cars shuttling loyal customers from plane to airport building; and even the once frugally minded Southwest Airlines is adding premium options.

US airline ticket prices jumped 22 per cent in September from a year earlier, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet, executives say demand for their priciest seats has hardly wavered, even as more budget-conscious travellers face increasing pressure.  

“When you look at the top 40 per cent of our customer base, they’ve accumulated over US$40 trillion of wealth over the last few years,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview ahead of the carrier’s third-quarter earnings results.

“They have the means, they’re prioritising travel, and it’s high on their list.”

Consumer demand is providing a crucial lifeline for an industry grappling with rising fuel costs and lower profit margins as a result of the US-Iran war, which is showing no signs of abating.

Analysts expect energy prices to remain elevated, prolonging the financial strain of carriers around the globe. US President Donald Trump has said the fighting could end after the November midterm elections.

Underlying business is strong, airlines say, but high fuel prices are hurting their bottom lines.

Delta, one of the industry’s best performers, recently cut its full-year earnings outlook. United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest appear likely to offer similarly tepid forecasts later this week.

How the turnaround is unfolding

Delta said that, for the first time in commercial aviation history, its quarterly premium ticket revenue surpassed traditional main cabin sales, with premium demand unabating.

Eric Gentry, 65, the co-founder of Jet Set Natural, a herbal supplement to treat jet lag, accepts higher fares because travel is among his favourite ways to spend his free time. He has travelled to Mexico City, Sicily and South Carolina in just the past year.

“If the air travel is significantly increased, you may scale back a little bit on the other end with hotels, accommodations and what you’ll be doing there,” he said. “You have to get there one way or another. So if you want to get to a destination, you absorb the pricing.”

Airlines are pouring investment into their most lucrative cabins, transforming what was once a comfortable way to travel into something resembling a luxury hotel at 35,000 feet. 

Delta’s recent revamp of its Delta One business class includes wagyu burgers, Blanton’s single-barrel bourbon, Champagne Taittinger and wines that can retail for more than US$200 a bottle.

The carrier is also introducing Missoni pillows and expanding its fleet of Porsche vehicles for premium airport transfers.

Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s chief marketing and product officer, said that “consistent investment in premium experiences is so important because customers have choices, and no matter what the environment is, you have to win the day and win the wallet".

Premiumisation around the world

The obsession with the front of the plane extends beyond the US.

British Airways’ retrofit of its double-decker Airbus A380s later this year will offer more business class seats to capture the “very resilient” demand for premium travel, IAG CEO Luis Gallego said.

Rival Air France-KLM recently won an award for having the world’s best first class in Skytrax’s annual airline rankings. 

The rush of upscaling cabins has affected some carriers, including Deutsche Lufthansa, which faced certification delays on its Allegris seats, forcing the airline to fly new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft with largely cordoned off business class areas.

“In the past, economy class would sell out first because people prioritised price, leaving first and business class seats available just days before departure,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said at a media gathering.

“Now, it is the other way around: First, business, and premium economy sell out first.”

Even Southwest, long known for its no-frills approach, is chasing higher-paying customers. Tony Roach, the carrier’s chief customer and brand officer, told Bloomberg on Oct 15 that “adding premium options is about broadening its appeal rather than abandoning its traditional customer base”.

“Travel,” he said, “is a passion point.”

Adding to the frenzy, Bastian and other CEOs have said that higher airfares will not deter people who love to travel.

Gentry is one of those customers. He is in the middle of planning a trip somewhere warm for a beach holiday, and has made some concessions: He opted for Miami instead of the Caribbean because it was a bit cheaper.

He is flexible with the destination, he said, but the trip itself is the priority.

“I don’t think I’m gonna travel less,” he said. “What I’ll do is budget accordingly, especially if I wanna keep the frequency of travel.” BLOOMBERG