Travel class

A travel class is a quality of accommodation on public transport. The accommodation could be a seat or a cabin for example. Higher travel classes are designed to be more comfortable and are typically more expensive.

Airliners
Traditionally, an airliner is divided to, from the top, first, business and economy cabins. In recent years, premium economy classes have been added by some airlines.

Each cabin class is further divided into invisible booking classes, which although booked into the same cabin differ in conditions and benefits outside of the cabin class travelled such as frequent-flyer points, baggage limit, change or refund policy, etc.

Buses
In Mexico, bus services often have designated levels of service, the top of which is de lujo or clase lujo, followed by plus clase, primera clase, and segunda clase.

Ocean liners
Before cruise ships dominated the passenger ship trade, ocean liners had classes of service, often categorized as First Class, Second Class, and Steerage. Companies such as Cunard Line continue this tradition, offering Queen’s Grill, Princess Grill and Britannia cabins, each of which have their own allocated lounges and restaurants on board.

Trains
Trains often have first class (the higher class) and second class (known as standard class in the UK). For trains with sleeping accommodations, there may be more levels of luxury.

The travel class in detail

Economy Class
The Economy Class or Economy for short (economical economy, economy), popularly wood class or tourist class, is the lowest transport class.

The main requirement is to transport as many passengers as possible at the lowest possible cost. The economy therefore includes only a few service and comfort services. On a flight, over 71% of available seats are often reserved for economy bookings, low cost airlines or charter airlinesand on short-hauls, there is usually only this one transport class. In addition, economy class seats are often staggered in their prices: early bookings receive a discounted rate, while bookings that arrive when the flight is nearly fully booked may be more expensive. In addition, the different price categories vary in their flexibility. A cheap ticket can usually not be rebooked or canceled at high additional costs or, while in more expensive tariffs these changes are cheaper or free. On long-haul routes, most airlines offer each passenger a personal screen where they can individually select movies and music. Older aircraft do not have this screen, For this, films can usually be seen over several monitors on the cabin ceiling. On long-haul flights, an economy passenger will receive free toiletries less often than Business and First Class, but most will receive a pillow, headset for the entertainment system, a blanket, and sometimes even socks. For almost all long-haul flights, there are also one or more free meals and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in Economy Class depending on the length of the flight.

Economy Plus
Some airlines offer special seats in the front of the economy class. However, these seats are often characterized only by a little more legroom and do not represent their own cabin class. To distinguish these seats are often referred to as “Economy Plus” and not with “Premium Economy”.

Premium Economy Class
As early as 1991, EVA Air from Taiwan offered a fourth class, the Elite Class and Evergreen Deluxe Class. Over the years, other airlines followed suit and planned to hire Premium Airline Classes for new aircraft types. More than 50 airlines worldwide currently offer this service. Premium Economy Class differs from airline to airline. 10 to 15 cm more legroom than in Economy Class and more comfortable seats are the rule. There are also extra benefits such as increased baggage allowances, preferred check-in and boarding, ergonomically designed seats, adjustable head and leg rests,In-flight Entertainment, LCD – touch screen, send and receive emails and SMS, Free Wi-Fi, 110-volt power outlet, satellite telephone in the seat, menu selection served on china, travel necessaire etc.

Business Class
The business class is the second highest class of transport and designed especially for business travelers. The main requirement is to bring the traveler rested to their destination, to enable them to work on the way and to minimize the time involved. Business offers an increased range of services compared to the economy class, as well as better quality and a wider choice of food and beverages. Business class booked passengers can, for. For example, check-in before the flight on special reserved for this booking class counters and place in lounges, receive during the flight a higher-quality tasting and after the flight their luggage before the passengers of Economy Class (“Priority Baggage”).

On long-haul flights, it is often possible to convert the seat into a lounger to allow passengers to sleep. However, the large seat spacing required would result in too little capacity, so there are several ways to save space and still allow passengers to sleep and enjoy a private atmosphere. In the past, the couches were often not horizontal, but slightly inclined, so that the legs have space under the front seat (Angled lie-flat seats, example Lufthansa). Some airlines also incorporate slanted seats (herringbone or herringboneArrangement), which allow a horizontal lying position and direct access to each place from the corridor, but make the view to the window and the communication between the travelers more difficult (example Air Canada). Another possibility is that the seats are positioned in a 1-2-1 configuration. When the seats are in a 180 ° position (“flat bed”), the legs are positioned under the side-facing “closet” of the man in front. This allows for extra storage space for the passenger due to its “closet” and direct access to the aisle, (examples Etihad, Thai Airways). Another seating arrangement is the so-called “v-configuration” in which one has two seats which are either inclined from one another or from each other. When these seats are made into a bed, the passenger’s feet are placed under the closet of the men in front. This “closet” is located between the “v”, (examples: Qatar Airways, Lufthansa). At British Airways, half of the seats are rear-facing to get a 2-4-2 configuration.

On domestic flights, on the other hand, the economy and business class seats are more often separated by a curtain only and do not differ significantly in terms of seats or seat spacing. It often happens instead that the middle course of a three-row is kept free. That is even the rule among the renowned Central European airlines. The middle seats are in three-seater seating then z. B. overbuilt with a table, in exclusively double-row seating the aisle is not occupied. This increased level of service is associated with a higher fare compared to economy. In addition, the range of amenities varies greatly between different aircraft, flights and airlines.

First Class
First Class is the highest transport class. It is usually only offered on long-haul flights in large aircraft such as Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Airbus A340, Airbus A350 or Airbus A380, offers all the service and convenience services of the business and also some special features, without the compromises described there to save space. Most First Class seats are made from exclusive materials such as leather and exotic wood. Thus, the amounts to pitch in long-haul flights of Lufthansa First Class more than two meters, 1.5 meters in business class and 79 inches in Economy Class.

The main requirement is to minimize the inconvenience caused by a flight within the limits of what is technically feasible, at considerable additional cost. If possible, even the journey should become an experience, z. B. by top catering on board. The price for a seat in the First is usually at least twice as high as in business and partly ten times as high as in Economy Class. In addition, the supply varies greatly, depending on the route, type of aircraft and airline. Some airlines, such as Singapore Airlines in the Airbus A380, Jet Airways in the Boeing 777-300 and in the Airbus A330-200 and Emirates inThe Airbus A380-800 and the Boeing 777-300ER offer first-class closed single and double cabins with full beds – often referred to as a suite, with a lockable door. However, these cabins are visible from above for safety reasons.

Etihad has been offering the first apartment in a commercial plane since 2015, The Residence.

Miscellaneous
Airlines in the United States or the People’s Republic of China generally only offer First Class and Economy on domestic flights. The first class has particularly pleasant seats (four seats per row in the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320). Accordingly, business-class passengers on their intra-American connecting flights are booked in first class.

Since the terms for the transport classes are not standardized, airlines occasionally offer quite different class designations, so called z. For example, Air Canada has the Business Class “Executive First”, but does not offer any (further) “First Class” like the other airlines. In addition, some companies introduced their own brand names for certain classes, such as the Royal Silk Class as a business class of Thai Airways. The comparability with other airlines then results from the booking codes.

Differences
The differences between the Economy Class on the one hand and the First or Business Class on the other are very large. As a rule, there are some advantages when booking First or Business Class compared to Economy Class. Most travelers in the higher-grade transport categories are granted higher baggage allowances or lower baggage or bulky goods charges, while check-in counters with preferential treatment take place at check-in points. When returning luggage at the destination, business and first-class passengers also receive their luggage in front of the passengers in economy class as part of a “priority baggage” arrangement.

During the pre-departure period, most airlines offer free access to lounges or vouchers for airport restaurants. When boarding, business and first-class passengers are usually allowed to board in front of the other passengers.

During the flight, a trip in a higher-grade class is characterized by a larger selection of journals and magazines, higher-quality meals with menus, higher-quality crockery (eg porcelain dishes, wine glasses, textile napkins) and an individually served set of dishes. In addition, the greater number of (often differently dressed) flight attendants per passenger will result in more intensive passenger service.

The seating layout differs considerably in the Business and First Class on medium and long-haul routes from that of the Economy Class; the higher the transport class, the more comfortable the seat distances and armchairs (distances to the front and to the side, angle of inclination, cover). From the business class, more and more airlines are offering so-called Lie-Flat seats, which can be completely flat, sometimes even horizontally (fully flat), and thus represent a makeshift bed. In the “First” such seats are already standard on long distances and are often upgraded by an applied mattress.

Last but not least, more miles are often credited to the corresponding frequent flyer programs in higher classes.

For short distances, where you can hardly benefit from comfort features such as a more comfortable seat, the above-mentioned services make quite a big difference.

China
Traditional trains commonly offer the following classes: soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seat and hard seat, depending on the route.

CRH EMUs offer the following classes: soft sleeper (available only on few overnight routes), business seat, 1st class seat and 2nd class seat.

Taiwan
Prior to 1949, most railway bureaus (under the direction of the Transport Ministry) had a three-class structure. As with most contemporary cases, few people could afford first class or even second class, so at times there would be no first class or second class service available in some trains. Some went as far as offering a fourth class “service” with goods wagons.

In 1949, the first “Limited Express with Reserved Seating” (特快對號車) appeared with the Railway Bureau of Taiwan, and it offered a three-class service, inherited locally from Japanese colonial rule. This structure was the norm for all trains, normal or express, until 1953.

In 1953, the “Equality Express” was introduced with second class carriages only. Eventually, all expresses save for the sole Limited Express offered only second class service, and all other, slower trains, offered only third class. This resulted in the quality of service being associated with the speed of the train. The Diesel Limited Express was introduced in 1956 with one class only.

In 1960, with the reforming of Limited Expresses (the Limited Express with Reserved Seating and Diesel Limited Express merged into one fare), all passenger trains officially offered only one class. Therefore, all expresses had only second class carriages and other trains only third class. As time passes, more types of carriages were introduced, but these were thought as types instead of classes.

Europe
At the very beginning of the railway age in Europe, almost every railway operator offered three classes for passenger services: “First class” was the most luxurious and least demanded class, equipped with rich upholsterd seats, while “second class” was also upholstered, but on a lower level and with fewer seating space. In contrast, “third class” only provided wooden benches. While most passenger trains carried just one or two “first class” and “second class” carriages, every other carriage was “third class” only.

Today there are generally two classes, known as “first class” and “second class”, or the equivalent in the local language. The three-tier class structure was abolished on most European railways by the end of the 1950s in favor of a two-tier structure conceived by the UIC. In fact, the old “first class” from the pre-World War II-era was deleted without substitution because of low ridership in postwar times, therefor the old “second class” became the new “first class” and the “third class”, with hardly any wooden seatings left, was declared the new “second class”.

Trains in Great Britain provide a two-tier class structure, with the higher tier called “first class”. The lower tier was re-branded from “third class” to “second class” by British Rail from 3 June 1956, and then to “standard class” from 11 May 1987.

A convention used by most European railway companies is that the first-class section of a train is marked in yellow, usually with a yellow band above the doors and/or windows. First-class areas may be complete carriages or at one end of a carriage, the other end being second class. Second-class compartments usually have “2+2” seating (2 seats each side of the aisle); first-class compartments are typically “2+1”. In Britain and France, some short-distance Suburban trains use “2+3” for the lower class and “2+2” for first class.

Metro, suburban and local trains are sometimes second-class-only. First-class-only trains were common up to the 1980s (see Trans Europe Express) but are now rare. High-speed trains often charge more than slower-speed trains on the same route, but still have first- and second-class seats.

Trains in Ireland are primarily operated as standard-class only, with only some of the longest distance services having a higher class, called Premier on IE 22000 Class stock, CityGold on Mark 4 loco-hauled carriages and First Plus on the cross-border Enterprise service. No commuter services have premium classes. Premium benefits can be as limited as a reading light and waiter service; but reach to 2+1 recliner seating and enhanced catering options.

In Germany, there existed a “fourth class” (“4. Klasse”) on almost every local train from the second half of the 19th century to 1928. It provided just a very low travel comfort, the passengers had to sit on even wooden planks with rudimentary backrests. Much of the space in the compartments was left empty to allow country folks to carry their goods and livestock inside the carriage.

India
The Indian Railways offers six classes of train accommodation in general.

First Class A/C (1A) is the highest rail travel class and is not available on all trains. It offers air-conditioned cubicles in two-bed and four-bed formats with closing doors. There usually is only one 1A bogie (carriage) on a train.
Two Tier A/C (2A) offers air conditioned cubicles in four-bed + two-bed format, but the privacy is provided by curtains instead of the doors found in 1A. There are typically one or two 2A bogies on long-distance trains.
Three Tier A/C (3A) offers air conditioned cubicles in six-bed + two-bed format(six beds on one side and two beds on other side of the hallway). Most trains have two to five 3A bogies.
A/C Chair Car (CC) is a feature of short-distance trains that cover the journey within a day. The seating is usually in 3×3 format.
Sleeper Class (SL) is configured similarly to 3A but is not air conditioned. There are typically ten to fifteen SL bogies in a train.
Second Class (Reserved) (2S) similar as CC, without the air-conditioning. These may be reserved in advance or may be unreserved.
Second Class (II) for long-distance trains is similar to the SL cars but has wooden middle berths instead of upper berths. However, local and suburban trains may offer a different variety of second class, which has an open cabin with rows of wooden seats facing each other in pairs.

Some trains also have one of these classes:

Third AC Economy (3E). Similar to Three Tier A/C, however this class have an additional middle berth in the side section of the air conditioned cubicle, making it a six-bed and three-bed format. This type of accommodation is created for less well off people, who desire a comfortable travel at lesser fare.
First Class (FC), which is similar in configuration to the 1A class but lacks air conditioning. The class is currently being phased out in favor of the slightly expensive 2A and cheaper 3A classes. In 2011, it could be found only on Mumbai local train and a few trains across all of India.
Executive AC Chair Car (EC), has a 2×2 seat configuration and includes food catering service. It is available only on the “Shatabdi Express” and “Tejas Express” trains, which link major cities located within a day-trip distance.

Indonesia
Indonesian trains, operated by the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia, have three classes for long-distance travel. All types of carriages are seating-only (no sleeper cars).

Eksekutif (executive/First class) – offers the most comfortable means of travel – 2+2 seating, reclining seat, onboard TV. Also, trains having Eksekutif cars are certainly the fastest ones – see the note below.
Bisnis (business/Second class) – medium level, ticket price is around 60% of eksekutif. 2+2 seating, fixed 60° seat.
Ekonomi (economy/third class) – the most basic and cheap class, tickets are 4-5 times cheaper than bisnis. 2+3 or in some cases 2+2 face-to-face seat, fixed 90° seat.
All classes are non-smoking, air conditioned, and require a seat reservation. All seats can be reserved from 30 – 90 days before travel date until minutes before departure time when seats are still available. Medium-Long distance train have onboard cafeteria, toilets (older carriages have squatting toilet), onboard customer service representative (Train Manager), onboard security, and onboard cleaning services.

Eksekutif trains are the fastest and stop only on a few major stations. However, the eksekutif train may also contain some Bisnis cars, with slightly more expensive tickets than in All-Bisnis trains. Bisnis trains are somewhat slower, but generally do not stop too often as well there may be Ekonomi cars in these trains. Ekonomi trains take significantly more time to reach the destination, as they stop on many smaller stations and have to pass all Eksekutif and Bisnis traffic going in the same direction. Many less important routes lack either Bisnis or Eksekutif service, or both.

For local or commuter trains, single class service is the most common type of service. But in some areas there may be other classes as well which have different seating arrangement and travel time in which the lower classes has more stops than the upper one. For example, Jogjakarta – Solo corridor there are Sriwedari train which is air conditioned and has transverse seating and also Prambanan Ekspress train which is non air conditioned, has longitudinal seating and more stops. Meanwhile, in Jakarta metropolitan area, there’s only one class of service available since mid-2013 which is air conditioned and has longitudinal seating. Commuter trains in Jakarta are operated by PT Kereta Api Indonesia subsidiary, PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek.

Japan
From 1872, Japan had a three-class structure for both seating carriages and sleeping carriages. By 1960, as conditions improved on second and third class trains, there were few passengers travelling on first class; therefore, the few remaining first class carriages were rebranded “special” carriages available for hire, and consequently moved Japan’s railway system to a two-class system, of which the original second class became the first, and the original third became second.

In 1969, the class structure was abolished altogether. The first class was renamed “Green” carriages and the second “Standard” carriages.

All members of the Japan Railways Group (JR) offer separated classes of travel, with varying levels of availability on any given train.

The Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyūshū), Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and East Japan Railway Company (JR East) all offer an enhanced service known as the Green Car on nearly all of their intercity trains. Additionally, the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) offer a Green Car on some trains, and a few West Japan Railway Company (JR West) trains also have a Green Car. The alternative to Green Car is the Ordinary Car. Although Ordinary Car tickets may be purchased with or without reserved seating, all Green Car tickets are reserved seating. A ticket must be purchased in advance, and a special version of the Japan Rail Pass allowing travel in Green Cars is available.

Most JR Group Green Cars seats have increased width and pitch. In some stations, Green Cars are located nearer to the staircases and escalators leading to/from the train platform. Green Cars also frequently offer slippers and reading materials in Japanese.

Additionally, JR East offers a third category of service, the GranClass, available on its Hayabusa route. Features of GranClass cars include leather seats that recline to a 45 degree angle, raised footrests, adjustable dining tables and cocktail trays, and personal reading lights. Full-service meals, both Japanese and Western, are provided by specialized GranClass attendants, who also serve soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. Because the Hayabusa is a long-distance service to the Tōhoku region, overnight amenities such as slippers, blankets, and eye masks are provided.

Great Britain
During the Victorian era, most trains in the United Kingdom had three classes of accommodation: first class (for upper-class people), second class (for middle-class people), and Third Class (for working-class people). From 1875, when the Midland Railway redesignated its “second class” accommodation as “third class”, second class (equivalent to either premium economy or business class) was gradually abolished, while first class and third class were retained. This was because the Railway Regulation Act 1844 required a third-class service to be offered. In addition to this, British third class was initially of a comparable standard to continental European third class and British first class with European first class (the continent having retained three classes). This meant that boat trains in Britain still often operated with three classes of accommodation after the abolition of second class in the rest of the country. From 3 June 1956 British Railways redesignated third class as “second class”, finally (as British Rail) renaming it “standard class” from 11 May 1987, in view of the pejorative overtones of “second class”.

A coach with accommodation for more than one class is called a “composite coach”.

North America
In the United States and Canada, train classes emulate the airlines, although airlines probably took the class levels from trains of the time when they were coming of age (e.g. first, business, coach).[citation needed] Amtrak Acela Express trains have two classes: First Class and Business Class. Amtrak Northeast Regional trains have Business Class and Coach class. Canada’s Via Rail has the same classes as Amtrak. Trains with sleeper cars have additional levels. Most commuter trains in USA and Canada generally have a business class and economy class or standard fare. Although business class is offered it typically is just more spacious seats in a more modern sleek cabin. WiFi is available on commuter trains in the southern Ontario corridor, as well as southern Quebec (Via Rail). Full services, such as food and beverage, may not always be a given.

Booking Class Codes
To assign a booking class to a flight booking, booking class codes are used, the so-called class codes or booking codes. The Class Codes are generally not public, but are printed on the tickets and boarding passes, either as a single letter or as a capital letter composed of multiple asterisks.

Class codes do not always match exactly on all available documents. For example, the ticket may have a Class Code Y (for Economy), but M is printed on the boarding pass. Sometimes only the letter for the transport class is indicated on the boarding pass (M or Y – Economy, C or J – Business, F – First).

That there are several codes for the different classes, is quite intentional: how the codes are ultimately used, depends solely on the airline. It is trying to align the codes within an airline alliance. So a code Y seat z. For example, a € 50 seat will be awarded, while a Code M seat costs € 120, but both are economy seats.

On the other hand, an inserted code does not have to have any particular statement about any quality features. The booking codes can also result in different reimbursement in frequent flyer programs: Lufthansa’s Miles & More program, for example, reimburses 1.5 times the class Y (Economy) intercontinental flights, while only half the class W class Distance value credited. In the LH subsidiary German Wings some booking classes are completely excluded from mileage collection.

The booking classes also have another function as part of yield management for airlines: each booking class is subject to certain travel conditions that are not always published by airlines. In particular, the period between booking and issuing of the ticket, rebooking options, advance booking periods and residency requirements have a direct impact on the fare.

Source from Wikipedia