Pico Iyer Challenges First Class Flyers

In a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed aptly titled "Globalism at 35,000 feet" writer Pico Iyer asks, "How much would you pay to enjoy six hours away from your fellow humans, in a chair that reclines? $1,500 an hour—or even more?" Baffled by the ludicrous price of a business class flight, Iyer wonders why anyone would pay $9,600 for a business class ticket from New York to London when coach sets you back just $500. Here's the crux of his critical (and very amusing) article:

It begins with the inequity of prices. Those paying thousands for the upper deck of the jet effectively set up a gated community in the air, in which people from other classes are not even allowed to visit their restrooms. It continues with the startling inequality of services—and the unsurprising fact that the countries that often score highest for quality of life (Singapore, Australia, New Zealand) also are the ones that offer the most comfortable coach habitations in the sky.

It turns upon the dividedness that moves some people to fly across Europe on EasyJet for less than the price of a bus ride, while others strap themselves into Virgin Atlantic Airways Upper Class seats for more than the price of a new car. And it ends with perfect chaos. I got a choice of 60 movies in an Asian carrier's economy class section last year, and, only a few weeks later, in an exorbitant business class seat of a U.S. airline, got just five. The end-of-the-line luxury logic: You pay much more to get much less.

The individual details are less important, though, than the economic assumptions behind the scam. Better seats should cost maybe 20% more, or (for movie stars) 50% more. But 1,900%?

You don't have to be a philanthropist to realize that by enduring slightly more human company for six hours, you could build nine homes in Burundi, each big enough to house 10 people with the money left over. And even if you want to keep the savings for yourself, with $9,000 extra you could take five weeklong, all-inclusive tours to Southeast Asia, for the price of just an afternoon's greater comfort en route to London.

Globalism is something most of us have to accept. But as we look to our summer vacations, maybe some of us can make a small bid for justice, or prudence, or just the pleasure of taking 19 trips for the price of one. These days, common sense can be found mostly in the back of the Airbus.

IT agrees wholeheartedly. And if those smart enough to fly coach really want to make a point, they could invest some of the money they're saving and, for just $99, go zero carbon, or offset their carbon footprint for an entire year.   

Comments

[pam]

Something was bugging me about this and now that I'm reading it again here, I think I know what it is. It's the direct correlation between flying first class and the assumption that those people are, well, somehow NOT philanthropic.

I find myself in the odd position of wanting to defend those fliers against Iyer's broad brush. If I crack the "green" issue of Vanity Fair, I see all kinds of celebs - Leo de Caprio, Clooney, RFK, Bonnie Raitt - I'm thinking they're not flying coach. I'm thinking Oprah, who has a philanthropic empire, doesn't fly coach. I'll bet Angelina doesn't fly coach.

Yeah, that money could do amazing things out of British Airlines pockets, but who's saying the fliers don't have enough to go first class AND do good?

Bleh. I hate myself now.

[Mary Beth LaRue]

I don't think he is necessarily speaking about the big name celebrities, but the standard rich. I agree though— there are plenty of celebrities who are doing wonderful things with their money, that may (depending on how you look at it) pardon their first class habits.

[travelina]

Good contrarian point, Pam. People can spend their money as they like. From a sustainable point of view, however, the larger the first-class section, the bigger the carbon footprint, with private jets being the least efficient of all... Cranky Flier had a funny commentary on recently on British Airways' class distinctions: when you make a reservation through their Executive Club frequent flier program, you can specify whether you'd like to be addressed as Air Commodore, Contessa or Crown Princess, among many others: http://crankyflier.com/2007/06/22/youre-in-seat-1a-viscountess/#comments

[pam]

Oh, no, I don't think Iyer is talking about celebs either, I mention them only as examples. "I fly first class" does not necessarily equal "I'm not a philanthropist." "I fly first class" equals "I have a shitload of money." That's all. What first class fliers are doing with the REST of their money is anyone's guess. Probably buying up tracts of rainforest and engaging in slash and burn for sport. :)

[ianmack]

i read this article as well and found the price to sit first class suitably ludicrous. then again, if i had a few hundred thousand in the bank, would i think twice about paying it for some extra leg room and a glass of bubbly? i like to think i would suck it up and fly coach. but i also never say never...

[Aaron]

I don't understand what's gotten Pico Iyer's seatbelt in a twist.

Yes, we (the non-rich) think it's silly to spend $14,000 on a plane ticket.

But imagine that you are an average US CEO making a few million dollars a year. You work hard and have one or two vacations per year. What else are you going to spend all that money on for goodness sake?

Iyer posits taking several 5 weeks of SE Asian vacations, but not everyone is an independent writer like Iyer with the time and leisure to gallivant around Vietnam for a month. Plenty of rich folks have money, but not time.

And if they are already giving $200,000 to charity, should they really give up the first class seat to give $213,500? Iyer would say yes, but then again he probably doesn't give a tenth of that in charity annually.

And as Iyer also points out, airlines get a lot of their revenue from Business and First class seats. If the high fliers balked at paying such lofty prices (as Iyer suggests they should), the rest of us coach fliers would be stuck picking up the rest of the tab. Regular coach fares might double or triple.

And by the way for folks who want luxurious travel without the crazy price tag, there are dedicated business-class only carriers (like MaxJet, EOS, SilverJet and others) that give business-class comfort for sometimes less than twice the price of economy.

The point is that there are lots of options on the market. What is silly to one person (i.e. $350 sushi dinners in New York City) is sublime to another.

[Travel Betty]

My take away from this article is that no matter how much money you have or not, we're fools for allowing airlines to charge so much for so little in return.

I flew a reward ticket in first class on Delta a few weeks back and everything was just like in coach except a little more leg room, a meal instead of a snack and free alcohol. That's a total value of maybe $100 (depending on how much you drink). We didn't get any selection of movies or even have individual screens on our seats. I thought if I were actually paying for this, I'd feel pretty darn ripped off. As it was, I felt pretty darn ripped off.

[FrequentTraveller]

I think the entire premise of this article is ludicrous and it entirely misses the underlying reasons why travelers pay so much for first/business class. Most such travelers are business travelers, perhaps a few are well-off. On any given day, nearly half the people in first/business on a typical US carrier are flying for free on upgrades. Of those who actually pay the price, most are on business. Flyers are not paying those prices to avoid other humanity, this has nothing to do with inequality, it has to do with alleviation of suffering and trying to survive what, for most of us, is a brutal work schedule that leaves us feeling like we're just one step from death. Try working that hard, on a sustained basis, and you'll quickly learn to find every way to be more comfortable and better served just to tolerate the demands and pressures of an 80-90 hour work week. Those, really, are the people who are paying for business class, and that's the reason.