What do you mean by ‘Business Class’?

Which airline boss has said for many years that “an airplane is nothing more than a bus with wings on”?Of course, the answer is Michael O'Leary, the CEO of Ryanair - Europe's biggest budget airline. But, as Ryanair's passenger figures show that 25% of their customers are actually travelling on business, they have decided that now is the time to introduce a 'Business Class' service.

As you might expect with Ryanair, the definition of Business Class is not quite in the BA or Virgin mould. No flat bed seats or champagne available here; Ryanair Business Premium ticket holders will sit in exactly the same seats as other passengers, as the airline has no intention of reducing breakeven point with fewer seats available in their planes. But, provided that they remember to tick the right boxes when they make their booking, passengers will have the opportunity to sit in the seats next to the exits on the plane (more leg-room) or at the front (a quicker get-away). More notably the service will include a piece of hold baggage in the ticket price and the chance to change to another flight on the same day, to any airport in the same destination country, up to 40 minutes before departure for no extra fee. Each of these can cost up to £90 on a standard Ryanair booking.

At the other end of the scale, China Southern Airlines is also responding to market demand, by downgrading its current First Class to Business Class on internal flights. This is for a very different reason though - it is a bid to reclaim official customers amid Beijing's crackdown on wasteful government spending. As the FT reported, "President Xi Jinping has instigated a severe crackdown on corruption which has dealt a serious blow to a range of industries, from high-end banqueting to top-price travel, and made it dangerous for public officials to flaunt the luxurious lifestyle to which many had become accustomed." Reuters adds that "Chinese air carriers have been hit hard by the government's anti-corruption campaign, which has generated a sharp decline in business and first-class travel. China Eastern Airlines last year alone lost 1 million premier clients, or 1.1 billion yuan (£107.81 million) in revenue, according to a report posted on the eastday.com news website in February." China Southern expects to make a loss, and Air China warned that its profits are likely to be down by 55-65%.

But, as with the Ryanair story, the new Business Class may not be all that it seems. All passengers sitting in China Southern's newly named business class will enjoy the same service as first-class customers after the change takes effect on Oct. 26. And while some fares will be lower, in other cases the new Business Class fare will be the same as the old First Class. Which all begs the question, how do you define Business Class?

Plenty of other high-end businesses are suffering from the Chinese crackdown on official spending, from cognac and fine wine to bespoke drama troupes, and from elaborate mooncakes (see above) as gifts for the traditional lunar moon festival holiday next month, to seasonal hairy crabs. More than fifty top Chinese hotels asked to have their five-star grades downgraded to four last year, in a bid to win back those top clients whose expenses are rigorously audited.

So perhaps the next big opportunity in the Chinese market is to offer the not-quite-top-of-the-market goods that officials will be allowed to consume.