Economy cabin is losing the war on airplanes.
Airlines are retrofitting their passenger jets or buying new aircraft with a larger share of premium seats. Their goal is to get more revenue from each seat, thereby catering to passengers willing to pay for lie-flat and extra legroom seats.
Carriers with first class segments such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have increased premium seating on flights over the past decade. Now, low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines, the leader in low-cost flying, and Spirit and Frontier are adding seats that give passengers amenities like a few extra inches of leg room.
The number of scheduled business and first class seats on domestic flights has increased 27% since January 2020, according to research from aviation data firm Visual Approach Analytics. This is almost three times more than scheduled economy seats, which have grown only 10% over the same period.
Premium sections help airlines in a few ways. According to a report by the Global Tourism Forum, premium economy seats can cost at least twice as much as regular economy seats and take up only slightly more space on the plane. For larger airlines, selling more premium seats helps subsidize their economy cabins at competitive prices with low-cost carriers.
Delta got more revenue from premium ticket sales in the fourth quarter, which were up 9% compared to main cabin, where sales fell 7%. Premium revenue at United overtook basic economy sales in 2025. Both carriers outpaced their peers in profitability last year.
‘Economically great’ aircraft
Attracting customers by offering cash for benefits has been an important part of Delta’s business model. Executives have said households earning more than $100,000 annually were to account for 75% of total airline leisure spending by 2024.
Earlier this year, Delta promised to add more seats in First Class and Delta One suites, its business-class cabin with lie-flat seats on international flights. Effectively, none of the company’s seats will expand into the main cabin this year, Chief Executive Ed Bastian said.
The company has ordered at least 30 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner jets with larger premium cabins than previous generation planes used for long-haul and international flights. The Dreamliners will help Delta replace the aging Boeing 767-400s, which already have premium seats that take up more than a third of their cabin.
“The 787 is a great aircraft economically,” Joe Esposito, Delta’s chief commercial officer, told analysts on a call earlier this year. “This is a very powerful change and it is a phased action improvement [profit] Difference.” Additionally, newer aircraft are generally more fuel efficient, which helps boost the economy of operating flights.
The airline is also taking delivery of Airbus jets such as the A330-900neo and Airbus A350-900, which have an average of 40% premium seating. They are part of a broader replacement of Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER jets, whose 30% to 32% cabin consists of premium seats.
United is about to launch a version of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with an “elevated interior.” Only about 40% of its seats are in the standard economy section, down from 58% of the current version of the aircraft. The aircraft has business-class, premium=economy and economy-plus sections.
American Airlines has flown more premium seats than its US counterparts since 2020, according to data from aviation-analytics company Cirium. The carrier introduced premium economy seats on domestic flights in late 2016, and has invested in new premium-heavy jets and redesigning older aircraft. It has increased the number of premium seats by more than 34% in the last 10 years.
“When I started the business 28 years ago, it was just about getting from point A to point B,” said Nate Pieper, American’s chief commercial officer. “The game has become much more complex.”
tier system
Analysts said the revamped seat layouts are shrinking the standard economy segment and giving airlines a tiered system to collect revenue that can adapt to different consumer behaviors. Basic Economy passengers can upgrade when spending is tight, while Business Class passengers can trade up to Premium Economy when wallets are tight.
“The idea that an airline seat is an airline seat is an airline seat, we’re moving away from that,” said Raymond James analyst Savanti Sith. “It’s not an object.”
Customers have noticed this change in how airlines are selling their new seat arrangements. Luke Vanderberg would usually pay for extra legroom because, at 6 feet 3 inches tall, he has difficulty fitting into standard economy seats on airlines. For a day flight to Europe, he’ll choose a premium economy seat – or what he likes to call “previous business class.”
The sales engineer from New Jersey generally won’t consider upgrading further unless it’s a long flight where he’ll want to sleep. He then estimates whether the amount of money needed could be better spent buying a good seat.
“You’re saying, ‘Wow, with the difference in tickets I can buy a completely new laptop,'” he said. “Can I bear the pain for 10 hours to get a laptop?”
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com