The Prevalence of the Increasing Popularity of Premium Travel
The Rise of Premium Travel: How Passengers Reshaped the Modern Airline Industry
As a dovetail to my previous articles that have touched on the nature of premium travel and one of the key reasons for the post-pandemic failure of low-cost carriers, we should explain the rise in popularity of premium travel.
To explain this briefly, passengers are and have been getting sick of being used and treated poorly by low-cost carriers such as (when they were in existence) Spirit Airlines. We also (we were discussing this topic in the office before Brooke wrote this article) should mention the other low-cost carriers in the group: Frontier Airlines (they can always be identified as “the airline with the cute animals on the tail”), Allegiant Air, Sun Country (before their merger with Allegiant), Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Canadian-owned Sunwing Air, all among numerous other airlines.
After being shut inside for almost three years of quarantine during the pandemic, passengers-to-be decided that they were going to book their vacations and even dared to enjoy them; after three years of evading a deadly disease and finally being vaccinated (all U.N.-affiliated countries required COVID vaccination proof prior to travel or arrival, and some still do), many Americans decided they were going to opt for, and even prefer going forward, a strong degree of premium travel.
Many Americans would unknowingly reshape the air travel industry, as Spirit Airlines would soon collapse, and Frontier would eventually try to reshape itself to cater directly to this new and vital premium demand, with final results expected by 2030. Further, as of September 2026, Sun Country has succumbed to a merger with Allegiant in order to survive.
For the legacy carriers, they did not escape unnoticed. United Airlines has become the undisputed winner in this race by enhancing premium offerings, unveiling a new “suite”-type offering, and increasing the quantity of premium offerings on each aircraft. Delta was slower to act but still changed, following United’s lead.
As for American, well, American Airlines is a different story. For a more accurate analysis of them, please see my trio of articles on American Airlines, including The Downfall of a Titan, A Strategic Miscalculation, and The Eagle Falls. JetBlue was interesting and deserving of its own article. JetBlue is currently hemorrhaging money year-over-year, but they are in a partnership with United Airlines, known as BlueSky, and are now marketing their premium cabin, known as JetBlue Mint, on what they call premium routes, such as New York-JFK to Mallorca, Spain (an immensely popular tourist and vacation spot for Americans and Europeans alike), and domestically on transcontinental routes, such as Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK).
JetBlue hopes that by sharing gates, alliance perks, and revenue with United, this will give JetBlue a huge helping hand. Rumors increasingly circulate in the aviation industry of a merger between United and JetBlue, though United’s CEO, Scott Kirby, vows that won’t ever happen. But those are typical aviation industry tactics: deny, deny, prepare, wait, and execute.
This is how almost all mergers have happened in recent memory: American Airlines and US Air in 2013 (which Kirby oversaw, ironically, before American Airlines fired him), United Airlines and Continental in 2010, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines in 2008, to name just a few of the big mergers since 2006. Regardless, people have influenced and indirectly shaped the industry’s response to the heightened demand for premium travel. Low-cost carriers are changing in response to customer demand in order to survive. Even legacy carriers are embracing this new demand with renewed vigor, sensing new income opportunities. Economy Class (the main cabin) on various, if not all, air carriers is getting smaller, while premium offerings such as Premium Economy and Business Class are getting more plentiful, with numerous options from which to choose. This response, in turn, gives businesses like mine more opportunity for growth and subsequent evolution.
People are finally opening their eyes to luxury and learning how one's vacation does not start when they get off the plane, but when they get to the airport. The flight is not meant to be endured, but rather, in premium cabins, the flight is a key part of your vacation. American-centered airlines are steadily realizing this aspect as well. Middle Eastern, European, and even Asian airlines have already realized this, but it is an entirely different world from American aviation. Emirates is unattainable by any American carrier (even United, who is catching up, is nowhere close). Lufthansa is another clear example. They own the only first-class terminal (FCT) in Europe, and more people are opting for the heightened services displayed and offered by Lufthansa as opposed to simple Economy Class. This is a great reason my aviation history articles are so prescient and valid to today's passenger base. Visit and learn more at our site! Brookeintheairtravel.net!
