Indians remain economy air travellers, but over the past few years, there has been a three-fold uptick in premium economy and business class seat selections. Along with that, Indians are willing to pay extra to get their preferred seats. According to data, there has been a 30 per cent uptick in seat selections on a year-on-year basis

India is often regarded as a price-sensitive market. This trend continues to persist in the air travel business. Businessline spoke to multiple Online Travel Agents (OTAs). Data from across players reveal that Indians continue to prefer economy seats over premium economy seats at large. 

Data from ixigo’s bookings showed that more than 99 per cent of the total international bookings in the past three months are for economy class. Cleartrip’s booking trends, too, remained in the mid-90s range of bookings for economy class seats for the same period.

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Sabina Chopra, COO - Corporate Travel & Head of Industry  Relations, Yatra Online, said while business class seats hardly go empty on long-haul sectors, economy segment continues to be the preferred choice for most travelers. “While premium economy and business class have their own set of loyal customers, economy class remains the most popular segment among domestic airlines.” This trend, according to her, can be attributed to the fact that more people are looking for “budget-friendly options” when it comes to air travel.

According to industry experts, a slight uptick in premium economy and business class is noticed within the international segment, especially if the flights are long-haul to the US or Canada. Ixigo’s data showed that between top destinations in the US, Europe, UK and Canada, Indian’s flying to canada paid for premium economy and business class seats followed by the US and the UK.

One must also take into consideration that any aircraft, the business and premium economy seats are a fraction of the economy seats. For example, and Emirates Airbus A380 is configured with 14 first class, 76 business and 390-430 economy and premium economy seats. Whereas a Boeing 787 has 40+ business class seats and 198 economy and premium economy seats. Air India’s dreamliners have 18 business class and 238 economy seats. Recently, the airline has introduced premium economy class segment on certain routes.

Saujanya Shrivastava, Chief Operating Officer of Flights and Gulf Cooperation Council, MakeMyTrip explained that the gross percentage contribution of premium classes has seen an upward swing, but the actual number has not changed significantly. “The increased traction for premium classes gains further significance when one considers that ticket prices for international travel have risen by double digits percentage over the past 3+ years.” He added that MakeMyTrip expects this trend to continue, especially with the upcoming peak summer season.

Within the domestic segment, too, the economy seats are preferred. However, with the low-cost-carrier unbundling their services, travelers now have the option to select their preferred seats, and therefore, pay accordingly. 

“In the current times, 80-90 per cent of seats are pre-booked. Also, we have seen a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in seat selection, as people nowadays block their preferred choice of seats during the flight booking process itself, rather than waiting to pick at the airport,” Yatra.com’s Chopra said. 

Cleartrip’s booking trends show that’ 14.2 per cent of IndiGo’s customers preferred selecting paid seats, for GoFirst 16 per cent of its customers paid for their preferred and for SpiceJet, 18 per cent selected. 

Another OTA player quoted abote shared that on a year on year basis, 26.0 per cent of IndiGo’s fliers paid for the seats and  AirAsia India’s numbers were 24.4 per cent were in the 20’s range. Whereas 13.6 per cent of Air India’s,16.4 Go First’s passengers opted for paid seats, SpiceJet 14.4 per cent and Vistara 14.9 per cent fliers paid for their seats.