Comments on: Upgrades and Downgrades — June 7, 2007 — more business class, downgraded miles, and more

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:55:43 +0000

A two-part review of L’Avion can be found here:

Part one
http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/2007/06/27/lavion-inside-part-un-a-good-seat-but-a-shortage-of-fluids-and-information/

Part two
http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/2007/07/05/inside-lavion-part-deux-the-airline-that-is-betwixt-and-between/

By: Willard Morgan

Willard Morgan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:40:46 +0000

I’m about to book a flight to Paris on L’Avion and I’d welcome any recent comments and advise.

thanks in advance!

By: L’Avion customer service: Meet your pilot and purser! » Upgrade: Travel Better

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:52:36 +0000

[...] Travel Better reader Marie gave her L’Avion experience two thumbs up recently, which is certainly encouraging. For a [...]

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:04:01 +0000

Thanks for your kind words about the blog, and I’m very happy to hear that your trip was an enjoyable one. It’s good to hear that L’Avion was a good airline for you — this is the first feedback I’ve heard about it, so that’s encouraging. You should forward your comments to the airline!

By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:38:22 +0000

I recently flew on L’Avion, an airline which I had never even heard of, but which I chose to fly after reading about it on this very blog. They happened to have some last-minute deals going, so I snapped one up. The flight to Newark on Continental (coach) was hellish, and I feared the worst, but once we got on L’Avion, it was a dream. The way back was equally delightful.

This news of Virgin going into the Biz-class biz makes me happy.

I love your blog. Thank you for inspiring me to take a dream trip.

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:45:16 +0000

I agree, David, I think this is good news, as it increases competition, both on service and on price. But will there be an amenity trickle-down (or “amenity creep”) to coach, as there has been from luxury to budget hotels?

I’d wager that premium economy will become more common in the next two to three years, while regular economy will continue to decline.

but flying ought to be fun, glamorous, and comfortable again, the way it used to be.

I’ll be happy with comfortable, for starters…

By: David Ourisman

David Ourisman — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:19:28 +0000

From the article, it would appear that the new airline will be New York-based with flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan and Zurich.

From my perspective, this isgood news because, if successful, the airlines may get the message that many passengers are willing to pay a fair (but not exorbitant) price for comfortable transportation.

Many are willing to endure cramped conditions to save an additional 20 bucks … but flying ought to be fun, glamorous, and comfortable again, the way it used to be.