Just when we thought that flying first class was headed for extinction, several major international airlines are bringing back over-the-top luxury—and privacy—to the front of the plane.
Last month, Air France unveiled luxurious new suites in its La Première first-class cabin, which are now available on flights out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), on the carrier’s Boeing 777-300 ER jets. Lufthansa also recently revealed new first-class compartments, under its new Allegris brand, which include a double-bed feature, launching this spring on select Airbus A350 flights to Chicago, San Diego, and San Francisco.
Cathay Pacific is planning its own first-class facelift on forthcoming Boeing 777-9s, and Qantas is upping the ante with posh digs specifically designed for what will be the world’s longest nonstop—at 20 hours in the air—when it debuts in 2027 between New York and Sydney. This at a time when many leading carriers like Air New Zealand and Turkish Airlines have jettisoned first class entirely in favor of a tarted-up business class.
However, there’s a very small number of seats available in these refurbished first-class sections—just four per cabin in the new Air France and Lufthansa iterations and only in markets with high demand. So, who is the new first class really for?
As Ben Smith, Air France CEO, made clear when showing off the new product to the press in March, the market they’re really after is the private jet set. During the COVID pandemic, he said, private flying soared, and since then there has been a “huge increase in luxury leisure travel.”
Lufthansa’s new Allegris first-class suite includes this double-bed option that sleeps two.
Courtesy of Lufthansa
“These are people that are willing to spend the money,” he said, but with some limits. What’s changed is that “now, they see that if you’re flying on these long routes to L.A. or Tokyo, it’s going to cost a couple hundred thousand to charter a jet.” And besides, he said, “the optics [of flying private] just aren’t good,” due to concerns such as the environmental impact (private flying is in fact 14 times more polluting than commercial air travel).” In contrast, even at up to $20,000 per one-way ticket, Air France’s new La Première might seem like a bargain for these high rollers, the allure of which is heightened by the current economic uncertainty.
Smith noted that some VIPs are so obsessed with privacy they sometimes buy the whole four-person cabin even if they’re traveling solo, “because it’s still cheaper than a private jet.”
At the event, which fittingly was held at a mansion abutting the iconic Ritz Paris (with giant tins of caviar among the props), Smith noted the new first-class suites have 24 percent more space than the existing La Première and feel roomier because overhead bins have been removed in favor of pull-out drawers where fliers can stow their carry-on gear. There’s more light, too: each individual first-class compartment has five dedicated windows, plus what the carrier claims is the longest flat bed in the industry, at six and a half feet.
The suites will appear first on flights between Paris and New York this spring; a second U.S. gateway, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), will get them this summer. But Smith pointed out that first class, even now, is not available on all Air France aircraft—on some of its planes, business is the top class. “Not every market can support this type of product,” he said.
Business versus first
The days when most airlines just offered a two-class product are long gone, of course. Business class, which began as a “compromise class” with more legroom wedged between coach and first, arrived in the late 1970s, but it wasn’t until the early aughts that it was transformed with the advent of lie-flat seats. As these better business quarters began to poach first class patrons, the front section lost its clearly defined advantage.
U.S. legacy lines, with the exception of Delta, have shifted away from traditional first class internationally, with American Airlines recently announcing it is phasing out its “flagship first” long-haul product as it reshuffles its fleet with the delivery of new aircraft.
While business has become more commonplace, it’s easy to forget that about two dozen global airlines still have a real first class. According to aviation analytics company Cirium, out of about 60 long-distance international airlines the company surveyed for Afar, just under half offer a true, completely separate, first-class cabin. More telling, though, is that in the industry overall, the percentage of available seats devoted to first class has dropped to below 1 percent—and, the company said, there are 1.2 million fewer first-class seats on sale in 2025 than there were in 2023. For mileage hounds looking for the best odds of nabbing a seat up front, the airline with the largest percentage of seats devoted to first is All Nippon Airways, with about 3.2 percent of its capacity devoted to this class, according to the Cirium data.
The perks of flying first extend beyond the in-flight experience, offering access to additional high-touch amenities like the exclusive La Première lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).
Courtesy of Air France
For some airlines, having a first-class product is more about building brand awareness, especially among premium travelers. “It’s the halo effect,” said Gary Leff, an airline expert who pens the View from the Wing blog. “If you are going to be a world-class premium carrier, it helps to have a first-class product.”
While business class has improved dramatically in recent decades, Leff noted “there is something very different about having enough space to be able to get up and move around in your own room,” as you can in the newest versions of first class, with more amenities and butler-style service available if you want them. “It’s just not the same in business class,” which on some planes can hold more than 50 people.
And he points out that it’s not only about what goes on in the air, it’s the whole door-to-door experience that comes with a first-class ticket, including chauffeured rides between the airport and your home or hotel, separate entrances off the terminal curb to exclusive first-class lounges with restaurant-style dining, and private security screenings and immigration checks. Air France, Lufthansa, and other airlines, including Delta with its Delta One product, offer all this for their passengers holding a ticket in first at key airport hubs. (And it should be pointed out, some carriers that offer a hybrid business–first cabin, like Virgin Atlantic with its Upper Class seats, do as well.)
But is it really worth the money?
Diana Hechler, a travel advisor and president of D. Tours Travel in Larchmont, New York, says even her most affluent clients resist the siren call of the airlines’ come-ons for their first-class products. Even if they can afford it, she says, they aren’t convinced they’re getting good value for the extra bucks—they’d rather spend the money on more enjoyable pursuits at their destination.
“I really don’t see much interest from leisure travelers,” she said. “If they want a more comfortable flight, they’ll book business, and business class these days is a pretty good product.”
And, she added, “there’s always premium economy for people who say, ‘I can’t do steerage.’”
Qatar Airways’ business class, Qsuite, consistently ranks among the best business-class seats in the world.
Courtesy Amer Sweidan/Qatar Airways
As for whether or not you can use your large stash of loyalty points to upgrade to first, because of airlines’ limited capacity and their sizable investment into the new trappings, they prefer to reserve these seats for paying customers.
But you can always try. Airlines would still rather not have a flight take off with an empty premium seat, so if you can stand waiting until the last minute, you might get lucky. But in the case of Air France, you will need more than just a pile of miles.
“In addition to lots of miles, you’ll need to prove you’ve got loyalty to the airline, not just points,” says Gilbert Ott, director of partnerships at point.me, a loyalty rewards search and booking engine. He notes that Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France and KLM, “is very clever in reserving its most exclusive product for people who have demonstrated loyalty to the airline by earning elite frequent flier status.”
Adds Ott, “So, the short answer is yes, you can try.”
First class is here to stay (for now)
All of these issues bring it back to the bigger question: Why do certain airlines persist in “reinventing” their first class, when it is clearly a very niche product? Is there enough demand to support the service?
Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, a market research and advisory firm, says that the airlines’ bets may pay off.
“First class is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” he says. “These airlines wouldn’t be investing this kind of money unless they were committed to it.” And it goes beyond wooing private jet clients; market research, he says, shows that a loyal cadre of corporate CEOs and independently wealthy travelers are willing to open their wallets for this kind of coddling aloft—and on the ground.
First class competes with private jet travel by offering services like delivering clients directly to the aircraft door.
Courtesy of Air France
In particular, he said, it’s the new focus on the airport experience—where first-class fliers can entirely avoid the scrum at the terminal—that will guarantee its future.
“The ground game is getting as much attention as the on-board service,” and that’s one area that defines the difference between the top classes. Business-class fliers still have to cool their heels at security and deal with customs and immigration red tape along with everyone else, he notes.
But for the rest of us, the very existence of a first class on our airplane might be an aspirational spur, he says. Who hasn’t wondered upon boarding a wide-body jet what it would be like to turn left and enter this rarefied world? “At the end of the day it’s a marketing tool, and an airline that has a first class is just in a different league.”
