Doornbos spent more on flights last year than the average American earns annually, but the retired Formula One driver said it’s his way of buying back time.

Doornbos, who lives in Dubai, said he took about 50 flights last year in business class. He’s been willing to stomach higher airfares — like the €7,500 ($8,407) he shelled out for a ticket to Madrid to attend a Grand Prix — for the comfort of arriving rested and ready to work.

“I try to minimize the time loss,” said Doornbos, who now works as a public speaker. “Lots of flying but in an efficient way.”Doornbos is exactly the kind of customer the world’s biggest airlines have in mind as they push ever deeper into luxury travel, betting that affluent passengers will continue splurging on expensive seats even as airfares soar.

Just in the last few weeks, British Airways introduced the biggest business-class cabin anywhere in the market, Delta Air Lines Inc. said it’s almost doubling its fleet of Porsche AG cars shuttling loyal customers from plane to airport building, and even the once frugally minded Southwest Airlines Co. is adding premium options.

US airline ticket prices jumped 22% in September from a year earlier, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet airline executives say demand for their priciest seats has hardly wavered, even as more budget-conscious travelers face increasing pressure.

“When you look at the top 40% of our customer base, they’ve accumulated over $40 trillion of wealth over the last few years,” Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said in an interview ahead of third-quarter earnings results. “They have the means, they’re prioritizing travel, and it’s high on their list.”Consumer demand is providing a crucial lifeline for an industry grappling with rising fuel costs and lower profit margins as a result of a US-Iran war that’s showing no signs of abating.

Analysts expect energy prices to remain elevated, prolonging the financial strain of carriers around the globe. US President Donald Trump has said the fighting could end after the November midterm elections.

Underlying business is strong, airlines say, yet what’s hurting their bottom lines are high fuel prices. Delta, one of the industry’s best performers, recently cut its full-year earnings outlook. And later this week, United Airlines Holdings Inc., American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest appear likely to offer similarly tepid forecasts.

Delta said that, for the first time in commercial aviation history, its quarterly premium ticket revenue surpassed traditional main cabin sales, with premium demand unabating.

Eric Gentry, 65, the co-founder of Jet Set Natural, an herbal supplement to treat jet lag, accepts higher fares because travel is among his favorite ways to spend his free time. He has traveled to Mexico City, Sicily and South Carolina in just the past year.

“If the air travel is significantly increased, you may scale back a little bit on the other end with hotels, accommodations and what you’ll be doing there,” he said. “You have to get there one way or another. So if you want to get to a destination, you absorb the pricing.”Airlines are pouring investment into their most lucrative cabins, transforming what was once a comfortable way to travel into something resembling a luxury hotel at 35,000 feet.

Delta’s recent revamp of its Delta One business class includes Wagyu burgers, Blanton’s single-barrel bourbon, Champagne Taittinger and wines that can retail for more than $200 a bottle. The carrier is also introducing Missoni pillows and expanding its fleet of Porsche vehicles for premium airport transfers.

“Consistent investment in premium experiences is so important because customers have choices, and no matter what the environment is, you have to win the day and win the wallet,” said Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s chief marketing and product officer.

The obsession with the front of the plane extends beyond the US. British Airways’ retrofit of its double-decker Airbus SE A380s later this year will offer more business-class seats to capture the “very resilient” demand for premium travel, IAG CEO Luis Gallego said. Rival Air France-KLM recently won an award for having the world’s best first class in Skytrax’s annual airline rankings.

The rush of upscaling cabins has impacted some carriers, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which faced certification delays on its Allegris seats, forcing the airline to fly new Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner aircraft with largely cordoned-off business-class areas.

“In the past, economy class would sell out first because people prioritized price, leaving first- and business-class seats available just days before departure,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said at a media gathering. “Now, it is the other way around: First, business, and premium economy sell out first.”

Even Southwest, long known for its no-frills approach, is chasing higher-paying customers. Tony Roach, the carrier’s chief customer and brand officer, told Bloomberg on Thursday that “adding premium options is about broadening its appeal rather than abandoning its traditional customer base. Travel is a passion point.”Adding to the frenzy, Bastian and other CEOs have said higher airfares won’t deter people who love to travel.

Gentry is one of those customers. He’s in the midst of planning a trip somewhere warm for a beach vacation and made some concessions: He opted for Miami instead of the Caribbean because it was a bit cheaper. He’s flexible with the destination, he said, but the trip itself is the priority.

“I don’t think I’m gonna travel less,” Gentry said. “What I’ll do is budget accordingly, especially if I wanna keep the frequency of travel.”