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You won’t get Qantas’ in-flight pyjamas in the cheap seats, but at least you have the satisfaction of knowing you’re getting a sweet deal.
THEY speed onto the plane ahead of everyone else and sprawl out in their enormous seats sipping champers, while you’re cramped up in economy.
But turns out there’s a little something to those of us in cattle class can feel smug about too.
It’s those passengers at the pointy end of the plane who are paying for the rest of us to fly.
OK, not entirely (and yes, it’s more likely their bosses are footing the bill), but it’s thanks to huge hikes in first and business class fares that airlines can afford to keep economy fares so cheap.
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Your economy seat doesn’t look quite so bad when you realise it’s the folks up the front paying for you.Source:Supplied
To highlight how much the air travel class divide has widened, the folks at finder.com.au crunched the numbers to compare the average cost of Australian domestic flights over time for both business and economy classes.
Taking inflation into account, the study found a typical economy airfare in the late 1990s would have cost more than $400 in today’s money.
But the actual average fare we’re paying is about half that.
Jealous much? Business on Qantas’ Airbus A330. Picture: QantasSource:Supplied
That period has seen fierce competition, with the emergence of Virgin, Tiger and Jetstar, which has driven economy flight prices down.
But it’s not the case when it comes to business tickets.
The average business-class airfare has risen from 2.5 times the price of an economy ticket in 1992 to a whopping 6.4 times today, finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke writes on his blog.
“It’s those guys and girls in business suits with gold flying status who are (or whose bosses are) paying the bulk of the cost of your flight,” Cooke writes.
“This might be nice to think about next time they skip you at boarding.”
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You won’t get Qantas’ in-flight pyjamas in the cheap seats, but at least you have the satisfaction of knowing you’re getting a sweet deal.Source:Supplied