Sound business or first-class folly?

摘要

How elastic is an airline brand? Two of the big three Gulf airlines have built on their reputations for innovative customer service with VIP charter spin-offs to tap a market beyond their top-end scheduled products. Qatar Airways is growing its Qatar Executive fleet of Bombardiers with Gulfstreams. Emirates may expand its charter offering, launched last year with an Airbus A319 fitted with 10 self-contained berths, a dining room and shower/spa. Such ventures would appear, on the surface, sensible, allowing airlines to target customers who can afford the privacy, comfort and flexibility that even first-class airline tickets cannot provide, and who otherwise would be lost to the brand.