First class (also known as a suite) is a travel class on some passenger airliners intended to be more luxurious than business class, premium economy, and economy class. Originally all planes offered only one class of service (often equivalent to the modern business or economy class), with a second class appearing first in 1955 when TWA introduced two different types of service on its Super Constellations.
On a passenger jetliner, first class usually refers to a limited number (rarely more than 10) of seats or cabins toward the front of the aircraft which have more space, comfort, service, and privacy. In general, first class is the highest class offered, although some airlines have either branded their new products as above first class or offered business class as the highest class. Propeller airliners often had first class in the rear, away from the noise of the engine and propeller, while a first class on jet aircraft is normally positioned near the front of the aircraft, often in front of the business class section or on the upper deck of wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380.
History
Early passenger planes were necessarily very uncomfortable – a seat in an open cockpit. As aeroplane design improved, so did the passenger experience, and the airlines concentrated on making flying as comfortable and appealing as possible. Flying was very expensive, but its limited appeal was balanced by the limited capacity of the airlines and their planes.
As aeroplanes became larger, and flights more frequent, airlines came to appreciate that if they offered lower fares, they'd get more people on their planes. The ability to offer lower fares, for flights within and to/from the US, was restricted by the then Civil Aeronautics Board, formed in 1938 and operative since 1940. Originally the CAB only allowed a single fare to be charged for a flight, but after they started to slowly allow different fares in 1952, the airlines first offered different fare levels but still in one cabin style, and then in 1955, TWA came up with the concept of different service standards for the different fares. This marked the start of two-class planes, with the better class generally called First Class and the worse class originally, in the US, being termed Coach Class.
Service
Overview
First-class seats vary from large reclining seats with more legroom and width than other classes to suites with a fully reclining seat, workstation and TV surrounded by privacy dividers. International first-class seats usually have 147–239 cm (58–94 inches) of seat pitch and 48–89 cm (19–35 inches) of width while domestic flights may have 86–173 cm (34–68 inches) of pitch and 46–56 cm (18–22 inches) in width. Some airlines have first-class seats which allow passengers to let one guest sit for a short time while face-to-face with the occupant of the cabin.
First-class passengers usually have at least one lavatory for their exclusive use, with more than one on larger planes. Business and economy class passengers are not normally permitted in the first-class cabin. Normally AVOD (audiovisual on demand) entertainment is offered, although sometimes normal films, television programmes and interactive games are provided on medium-large seat-back or armrest-mounted flat panel monitors. Especially for long-haul and high-yielding routes on top airlines, a first-class seat may have facilities akin to a five-star hotel, such as a mini-bar.
Since the 1990s, a trend developed in which many airlines eliminated first-class sections in favour of an upgraded business class. Newer business class seating is increasing adding features previously exclusive to first class such as convertible lie-flat seats, narrowing the amenities gap to an extent that first-class is redundant. Furthermore, with the late 2000s recession, airlines have removed or not installed first-class seating in their aircraft, as first-class seats are usually double the price of business class but can take up more than twice the room, leaving business class the most expensive seats on such planes. However some, such as Garuda Indonesia, have opted to reintroduce first-class seating sections with new aircraft.