It’s common for airlines to have inconsistent business class products across their fleet, which often raises the question of what it’s appropriate for airlines to advertise. That brings us to Cyprus Airways, the national airline of Cyprus, which might be taking a few too many liberties…
Cyprus Airways’ incredible A220 business class
Cyprus Airways has a fleet of six planes, including four Airbus A220 and two A320s. I’d argue the airline has the world’s most impressive A220 business class. The seats are in a 2-2 configuration. Not only that, but the seats have a staggering 46″ of pitch, which is downright industry leading.
As a point of comparison, Delta’s A220s have 37″ of pitch, so you get an extra 9″ of space on Cyprus Airways. That’s a lot of inches!
Honestly, this really makes me want to fly Cyprus Airways, as the carrier’s webpage dedicated to its business class looks downright lovely, between the hard product and soft product.
The below promotional video makes it look pretty great as well, though it’s perhaps a bit overdone.
Is Cyprus Airways false advertising, though?
Controversial YouTuber Josh Cahill just reviewed Cyprus Airways business class, and titled the video “Cyprus Airways MISLEADING Business Class promise!”
While I often take issue with his over dramatization of things, he’s actually spot on here.
As shown above, Cyprus Airways’ business class webpage only references one type of business class product, which is these very spacious recliners.
For that matter, when you try to book a flight, you’ll see a picture of those business class recliners regardless of which plane your flight is actually scheduled to be operated by.
So, how many planes actually have this business class product? Of Cyprus Airways’ six planes:
- Two A220s have this special configuration, with 12 business class seats (in a 2-2 configuration) and 115 economy class seats (in a 2-3 configuration)
- Two A220s have a more standard layout with a total of 140 seats, with a 2-3 layout throughout, and business class has blocked adjacent seats
- Two A320s have a standard layout with a total of 180 seats, with a 3-3 configuration throughout, where business class just consists of economy seats with blocked middles
So that means 33% of Cyprus Airways planes have the type of business class product the airline is actually marketing. Even worse is that one of the two planes with that configuration hasn’t flown in nearly a year, so in reality, only 20% of active Cyprus Airways planes have that product.
There’s a certain irony to Cyprus Airways specifically marketing how its business class is a “commitment to providing an elegant journey where every detail is crafted to exceed your expectations.” I feel like for at least 80% of passengers, expectations won’t be exceeded!
I think that constitutes some pretty misleading advertising. Cyprus Airways’ business class webpage does have the following disclaimer:
Disclaimer: Cyprus Airways operates a two type models of AIRBUS – A320 and A220. Products, services and features on actual flights may vary depending on routes and aircraft configuration. Operational requirements may also cause last‑minute changes to the aircraft used on scheduled flights. If you have questions about our products or have specific requirements, please contact us before booking a flight.
However, I don’t think that cuts it. Even beyond aircraft swaps, most planes simply don’t have this product, despite the product being shown at the time of booking.
Bottom line
Cyprus Airways has a very impressive business class product on its A220s. Well, more accurately, on one of its A220s that’s currently in service. The issue is that this is the only business class product the airline markets on its website, and the picture of these seats is shown regardless of which plane you book.
I do think this crosses the line in terms of what’s reasonable advertising, since it’s not the experience a vast majority of customers will get. While airlines marketing their best product is nothing new, I think the fact that this is the only business class product referenced on the website is what pushes this into the category of being deceptive. That being said, I really do want to fly the A220 with this special product!
What do you make of Cyprus Airways’ business class marketing?
