How airlines really make their money

19 days ago

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Not everyone gets the chance to fly a plane their entire life. Some see it as so normal they can't believe people haven't even been in one once. I had the chance of flying from one region to another in my country but that's was almost a decade ago. I have learned something interesting about airplane flights.

You would assume they make so much money because of the number of people they carry for just a single flight but it's more complicated than that.

When you enter a plane, you walk through all those large seats up front and wonder who is really keeping the airplane up in the air, as in who's paying for it to still be in business. It's actually the passengers in first class and business class.

Economy class takes up most of the plane but doesn’t generate much income for the airline and sometimes the airline can actually lose money on the long haul flights because of that relatively cheap. Some might argue they are really just there to make the aircraft look full.

Premium Economy is where things start to get interesting. The airline has very little additional expense to operate Premium Economy compared to the Economy seats, just a few more inches of legroom and a little better food. They are charging two or sometimes three times more than for the Economy ticket. So, they are just pure profit.

Business class is where the airline really makes their money. Yes, those seats take up a lot of space, but the fares are so high that they make money regardless. One Business Class passenger can be worth five to six Economy Class passengers.

First class though is not always the same. Sometimes they're profitable, sometimes they’re not. All those large seats, all the food, the service, including champagne adds up quickly, which causes the airline's profit margin to tighten.

So if you get th chance to walk back to row 32, remember that all of those ten people sitting up front in their sleeper seats are probably paying for the majority of your flight.