Business Class Ain’t What It Used to Be. Don’t Tell First Class

They’ll be competing with Delta Air Lines, the largest US carrier by revenue, which provides some of the industry’s plushest business-class seating. Its Delta One suites come with a Missoni-branded duvet and slippers, a mattress pad that doubles as a lumbar pillow, and a memory foam cuddle pillow.

Delta One passengers also have access to the airline’s ultra-exclusive, marble-clad Delta One lounges in New York and Los Angeles airports. With shower suites befitting a luxury hotel, spa treatments and massages, and full-service bistro dining, the lounge’s amenities are designed especially to appeal to same-day round-trip business travelers seeking five-star comfort as they fly cross-country to attend a client dinner in Beverly Hills or sporting events like last year’s World Series at Dodger Stadium. Delta is growing its footprint with Delta One lounges in Boston and Seattle.

While Delta has long courted affluent customers, American Airlines and United have typically competed on price. But all three are beginning to home in on the same lucrative fare class. In June, American Airlines debuted its swanky, sliding-door Flagship Suite aboard the airline’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The Flagship Suite includes 51 seats with privacy doors, a dual-sided pillow that uses cool touch fabric and a chaise lounge. American expects to grow its lie-flat and premium economy seating by 50 percent by the end of the decade.

United will enter the fray early next year when the Polaris Studio suites debut on certain international routes from San Francisco, with Saks Fifth Avenue bedding and a double-bed configuration. Altogether, United’s new Boeing 787-9s will feature 99 premium seats—the highest percentage among US carriers.

Airlines are also spending millions of dollars to revamp their culinary offerings through partnerships with celebrity chefs, bars stocked with top-shelf liquor, restaurant-quality meals, or inventive cultural dishes. United has invested more than $150 million in food and beverage improvements this year, including Champagne Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé for Polaris Studio customers.

Turkish Airlines looked beyond the typical playbook by teaming up with Chef Ömür Akkor, a culinary archaeologist with a Michelin-starred restaurant in Istanbul, to revive a 12,000-year-old bread recipe. The joint excavation traced the world's first domesticated grain of wheat to Tas Tepeler, a settlement in southeastern Turkey. Akkor used the findings to reconstruct the first recipe for the early bread, which he described as an “earthy flavor profile that provides a glimpse into the birthplace of civilization.”

The bread, served hot with butter and olive oil in a commemorative muslin bag, is a perk exclusive to Turkish Airlines business-class passengers traveling certain international routes.

Even with the pricey perks, airlines expect to reap significant profits, and business travelers are happy to pay. The element of “surprise and delight” has raised the bar for getting from points A to B. Whether munching on Turkish Airlines’ centuries-old bread, enjoying a full night’s sleep over the ocean on Cathay Pacific’s lie-flat beds, or grabbing a massage and a three-course dinner from the Danny Meyer-inspired Brasserie at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Delta One lounge, flying’s gotten an upgrade.