Japan Airlines’ low-cost, budget subsidiary Zipair has completely unbundled traditional business-class items such as amenity kits, checked bag privileges, bedding, meals and drinks, following the low-cost carrier way of doing things and setting a post-COVID trend in premier class travel.
Business class-passengers purchase just the lie-flat seat, and pay extra for all perks in an ‘à la carte’ menu format.
The airline, launched in 2020, now has wide-body jets equipped with fully lie-flat seats in its generously-spaced business class. It calls its business product ‘ZIP Full-Flat’, and sells a fully flat seat for the price – and that’s it. Everything else, including lounge access, is extra, and is added on in the booking process to make the traveller’s own bundle.
Other airlines have experimented with similar concepts, notably Emirates, which rolled out a ‘Basic Biz’ feature in 2019, where travellers could buy just the seat with none of the other trimmings, but it appears Emirates is no longer offering it.
South Africa’s FlySafair says its range of extras allow passengers to build a full business-class experience at a fraction of the price, with priority boarding, extra-leg-room seats and lounge access making up a business class experience that it believes rivals anything else currently in the domestic market.
