Page 7 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 Online Magazine

COVER STORY

engine land planes at the end of the war today’s standard of 32-inches (81.28cm).
meant a substantial decline in costs for Tourist class was an instant hit. Traffic
airlines. Pan Am was able to bring fares down doubled within a year and the service was
30 per cent by 1950, while cargo rates had extended to Paris, Rome, Brussels, Frankfurt,
dropped 50 per cent. Amsterdam and Glasgow. By 1954, tourist
In fact Pan Am introduced a no–frills class was available on all Pan Am routes and
tourist class in 1948 on flights from New most routes around the world. The effect of
York to San Juan. The airline used DC-4s in the fares was stunning, with traffic increasing
a five-across 63–seat arrangement and only by 37 per cent in 1955 on the North Atlantic.
soft drinks were served, while boxed dinners In that year, (system-wide) 62 per cent of
could be purchased before departure. passengers were traveling on tourist tickets.
The fare was $75 one-way compared to Into the 60s airlines waged war around
the normal $133 and within five months of the economy fare by reducing seat pitch
the introduction of the service, passenger down to 34 inches but when the 747 was
numbers had trebled. introduced in 1970 it was still the same pitch
But on routes to Europe, it took Trippe in a generous 3-4-2 configuration.
four years to get all the approvals from the However through the 70s the gap
International Air Transport Association between First Class and Economy Class
(IATA), plus a host of governments that started to widen as airlines responded to the
controlled the major European airlines. threat from a new breed of lower cost and
But on 1 May 1952, a DC-6B Clipper charter airlines such as Southwest, Laker
Liberty Bell operated the first tourist class Airways, Overseas National Airlines and
(economy) flights between New York and Trans International.
London. The one-way fare had been set at Seat pitch in economy started to reduce
$270 compared with $395 for first class. towards 32 inches while airlines added an
The lower fare was achieved by upping the extra seat across the width on 747s, DC-10s
seating from 52 to 82 and the tourist section and L-1011s.
was five across rather than four. But tourist Enter Business Class! Bragging rights
class passengers still retained the generous are disputed with Pan Am and Air France
40-inch (101cm) seat pitch, compared to reported as introducing the class in

ABOVE: Business Class product
offerings will hit a wall with regards
space available and limit efforts
to go “Bigger and Better” when it
comes to Premium cabin offerings

RIGhT: The ‘Glory Days’ of
commercial airline travel may
be behind us, but the First Class
cabin product available on today’s
leading airlines deliver outstanding
cabin comfort and high-tech in-flight
entertainment (IFE)
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