Airlines Boost Premium Offerings as Demand for Main Cabin Seats Slows

Airlines are reportedly focusing on roomier seats and other perks for wealthier leisure travelers as other customer segments cut back on their spending.

Spirit Airlines is marketing its “Big Front Seat” that offers more legroom and other perks for a price that can be three times that of a standard seat, while Air France and Lufthansa have added new first-class cabins, and carriers and credit card companies are continuing to expand their airport lounges, CNBC reported Monday (April 14).

They are focusing on these amenities — and the customers who will pay for them — because their premium segment business is growing faster than their main cabin business for both consumer and corporate travel, according to the report.

Airline CEOs have attributed the slowing bookings to the current trade war, government layoffs, fewer international visitors to the U.S. and weaker demand for domestic coach seats from consumers who are price sensitive, the report said.

“I think we’re acting as if we’re going to a recession,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday (April 9), per the report. “I think everybody is going into a defensive posture.”

Delta said in a Wednesday earnings release that it saw continued resilience in its premium, loyalty and international businesses during the March quarter, while the domestic and main cabin businesses were soft, PYMNTS reported at the time.

“Coming into 2025, we were positioned for another year of strong growth,” Bastian said Wednesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “However, given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.”

It was reported in March that United Airlines announced changes to its lounge memberships and rewards credit card offerings, increasing annual fees while simultaneously introducing new benefits and incentives for cardholders.

Before its Wednesday earnings call, Delta revised its March quarter outlook downward on March 10, compared to the guidance it provided Jan. 10, saying that macro uncertainty had softened demand in the domestic market.

A day later, three more airlines — American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — made similar comments about the macroeconomic environment and revised their outlooks downward or said they expected earnings to come in at the lower end of their guidance.