Air travel: the next big things for 2017

More and more airlines are chucking their first-class seats out the door, either deleting the service or halving the seats in their first-class cabins. Slackening demand is the reason, but there are few regrets from travellers who like to fly fancy. Business class is beginning to look more and more like first class of just a few years ago. A business class seat aboard Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines or Etihad is streets ahead of a first-class seat from 15 years ago. First class will survive on international routes favoured by expense-account business travellers, and Middle Eastern and some Asian carriers are still big fans, but expect it to wane among US and European carriers. Meanwhile premium economy is steadily jacking up its service to look like an old-style business class, kind of. Although a gulf still divides a premium economy seat from a bog-standard international business class seat, which is what travellers are crying out for.

BARGAINS AHOY

Air fares from Australia are lower than they've ever been in real terms. A decade ago, a return economy airfare from Sydney to London was equivalent to two weeks' work for someone on the average pre-tax adult wage. Today, that same trip can be had for just one week's work. Return airfares from Sydney to New York for travel next May start at just over $1100. Lower fuel prices, more efficient aircraft, more capacity in the market and strong competition among low-cost carriers with more empty seats to fill are all reasons for the fire-sale prices. Indications are that prices will head north in 2017 and anyone planning a holiday in Europe or North America should look for early-bird bargains.

BEYOND THE SEAT-BACK SCREEN

Travellers departing from Heathrow's Terminal 5 this summer have ben able to download the latest Warner Bros films, magazines and newspapers to their iPhone or iPad from EntertainMe kiosks. Downloads are lightning fast and passengers select from a wide range of free or paid-for content to enjoy during their flight. This could be the shape of things to come for flyers who are flying with a budget carrier that doesn't offer inflight entertainment, or who aren't interested in the content that their airline serves up. In Geneva Airport, SWISS has ben trialling a similar system, SWISS e-media, available to Android as well as i-devices, although in this case content is limited to Swiss radio and TV, plus selected magazines and newspapers.

LIE-FLAT ECONOMY CLASS BEDS

Air New Zealand's innovative SkyCouch, a row of three economy class seats that can be made into a horizontal "bed", has been licensed to a couple of other airlines, and now comes the Piuma Sofa from Italian seat manufacturer Geven. The Piuma Sofa converts a row of seats to a comfy bed by removing the headrests and attaching them to the seats' bottoms to create a flat surface. Spread a mattress cover over the base and you have every promise of several hours of comfortable sleep. Legroom and under-seat storage are not compromised since the design does not rely on an extending the footrests. The Piuma Sofa overcomes the lumpy profile of the seats, which is a drawback with the Skycouch, but it does not offer the same width, and a compact adult and child can sack out on the SkyCouch in modest comfort.

ARE YOU BEING SERVED?

A number of full-service carriers are allowing passengers to pre-order meals and drinks. Passengers get to lock in the meal of their choice while the airline reduces wastage, with a smile on both sides. Although most airlines offer pre-ordering only for business class and above, a couple of others are extending the privilege further down the aircraft. For premium economy passengers and above, Singapore Airlines has Book the Cook, with a wider choice of meals than that available to those who order on board. On outbound flights from Singapore the choice for business and first-class flyers is truly dazzling. Qantas has its own version, Select on Q Eat, available in business, premium economy and international economy on flights departing Australia. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Select on Q Eat works well for business flyers but the menu for economy flyers is some way down the gourmet ladder. A handful of other airlines including Air New Zealand allow passengers to order snacks and drinks between meals via the inflight entertainment system.

A BETTER CLASS OF AIRCRAFT

Aircraft that offer a more comfortable flying experience are appearing in our skies. Boeing's 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s are made extensively from carbon composite materials, which allow the cabin to tolerate a higher pressure than a standard aluminium fuselage. Instead of flying in a cabin pressurised at 8000 feet, you're flying at 6000 feet, so more oxygen and more humidity, and more comfort. Economy class seats in the A350 are an extra inch wider, and that's a big win for comfort and the aircraft has giant size overhead bins that allow every passenger to tote a carry-on of maximum dimensions, so no more fights over the luggage compartments. They're also quieter; much quieter in the case of the A350.

LIKE TO SEE

A fast, decent, modern rail system in Australia: OK, we're not a populous nation, but the Sydney-Melbourne air corridor is one of the world's busiest, does that not bode well for an ultra-fast rail line between the two? With stops at the Southern Highlands, Goulburn, a spur line to Canberra and Albury-Wodonga to garner yet more trade? Three hours would be the sweet spot, and that's achievable with current rail tech.

Online travel agents that take my preferences into account: Searching for flights and accommodation is often made more cumbersome by the volume of choices they offer. Rather than trolling through all the options, what's needed is sites that allow me to construct a profile to take account of my preferences, which would tailor the choices they present.