Rollout will take three years, so you’ll be seeing old and new seats across the fleet.

But seriously, isn’t 180-degree flat bed seating the standard today? Why would Air France opt for something that’s less than the standard?

I’ve got nothing.

They’re running a strong sale for business class, and throwing in a free (economy) domestic roundtrip ticket. The domestic roundtrip isn’t a connection: it’s a separate ticket that’s valid as long as the dates are embedded between the dates of the international flights.

These business class fares are pretty strong. (The flights to Chile are the least interesting, but still below the norm.) Consider:

• $899 (plus tax) roundtrip to Ecuador. Then for your domestic ticket, think Galapagos…
• $999 (plus tax) roundtrip to Peru. Connect to Cuzco for a trip to Machu Picchu?
• $1799 (plus tax) roundtrip to Brazil. No free domestic ticket this time. Bummer.
• $2199 (plus tax) roundtrip to Argentina. Side trip to Bariloche or Mendoza, perhaps?
• $2599 (plus tax) roundtrip to Chile. Domestic freebie options: Calama, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas

Some of these flights require 30 days advance purchase (Brazil, Ecuador, Peru), while others require 50 days advance purchase (Argentina, Chile).

Here’s the fine print on the free domestic ticket:

Complimentary domestic roundtrip ticket available with purchase of new Premium Business Class Sale ticket by September 29, 2010 from the United States to Argentina, Chile, Peru or Ecuador.** Complimentary ticket must be booked at the same time as the Premium Business Class Sale ticket and used within the travel period applicable to the Premium Business Class Sale ticket purchased. Complimentary domestic ticket is for economy class travel to the following destinations: Mendoza, Iguazu or Bariloche in Argentina; Calama, Puerto Montt or Punta Arenas in Chile; Galapagos Island in Ecuador; Cuzco, Arequipa or Iquitos in Peru. Complimentary ticket not available in Brazil. MINIMUM STAY: To PUERTO MONTT, PUNTA ARENAS/CALAMA/IGUAZU, BARILOCHE/MENDOZA: 4 days. No minimum stay for CUZCO/AREQUIPA/IQUITOS/GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. Passenger responsible for any applicable taxes or airport fees. Seats are limited and might not be available on all flights/dates. Complimentary domestic round trip tickets do not have a cash value and/or cannot be substituted or transferred

UPDATE: I followed up with the company regarding the actual process of booking this deal, which isn’t brazenly apparent on the website. Here are the instructions:

…customers should select their final, domestic destination when booking flights. They will be ticketed through the hub in the corresponding Latin American country (example, final destination is Cuzco, ticketed through Lima and given complimentary domestic flight to Cuzco).

Presumably, booking it as a multi-city itinerary would be the way to go if you are embedding the domestic flights in the middle of the itinerary.

Take Continental’s latest fare sale to Europe, for example. It’s notable for being early. Summer isn’t over yet, and we’re seeing late summer and early winter biz sales.

The fares are solid, such as $1272 from Newark to London roundtrip, $1370 to Paris, or $1420 to Frankfurt.

Dates?

1. Depart November 21 through 27, 2010, returning November 25 through December 1, 2010.
2. Depart December 20, 2010 through January 7, 2011, returning December 24, 2010 through January 13, 2011.

The fine print has both good news and bad news. Bad news: fuel surcharges. Good news: You can fly airlines other than Continental, such as Lufthansa. (Continental is rolling out upgraded flat seats in their “BusinessFirst” class, but the rollout is far from complete as of this writing.)

Fares listed do not include fuel surcharge. Round-trip travel required. Advance purchase of at least 21 days required and must be ticketed within 72 hours of booking. A minimum three-night stay is required. Fares are nonrefundable and require a $400 change fee. Not combinable with any other fares. Other restrictions apply. Offers are only valid for flights on Continental, Air Canada, Lufthansa and United. December travel period excludes flights to Bristol, Delhi, Mumbai and Tel Aviv.

Continental may be early on this, but other airlines are bound to follow suit. And there’s always the all-premium class OpenSkies connection from Newark or DC to Paris, which is currently running $1530 roundtrip fares, but that’s likely to go lower as we enter fall…

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That’s the bargain that employees at Energizer and other firms are being offered, according to this article in the NY Times.

[Energizer's] solution [to increasing travel costs] was an incentive program: it pays employees to fly coach, instead of business class, when traveling overseas.

“What we do for all locations except for Asia is we share the difference in the ticket price for up to $2,000,” said Doris Lee Middleton, the human resources and travel services manager at Energizer. “For Asia, it’s $3,000.”

Taxable, but still. That’s real money.

The plan isn’t without its downsides: On the one hand, as the article argues, it potentially creates divisions within the employee base. Those who travel get extra cash. Those whose job descriptions don’t include travel aren’t getting anything extra, and can be resentful of a backdoor raise.

Further, the kickback scheme perverts incentives to travel. If you know you’re going to get paid extra cash to fly, you’ll find reasons to take a longer trip than might be necessary.

From where I sit, the Energizer plan seems like a decent deal for the employee, since the offer retains a choice. From a manager’s perspective, I’m surprised they don’t move to this model:

There are other variations on incentives, too, that feel less rewarding to employees but nevertheless reduce companies’ travel costs. One is allowing employees to fly business class if they book a flight on a less expensive route, but requiring them to fly coach on a more expensive itinerary.

And then there’s this option:

A few companies do another variation on travel incentives — reimbursing employees who use their own points to take a trip. “As an employee, it allows you to monetize your frequent-flier miles,” Mr. Steiner of Ovation Corporate Travel said.

This seems like a bad idea. If I’m running a business, I don’t want to depend on the vagaries of award availability. And if I’m the employee getting paid for the miles (a taxable event), I might be concerned that the airline would nix my account if they ever got wind of the sale of miles. And will the cents-per-mile rate at which the company compensates the employee be sufficiently generous?

I’m still stuck on the idea being bought off — getting paid cash to fly coach, essentially splitting the difference between coach and business class with the company. Is this a great option or a further step in making business travel miserable? Would you take the deal? Vote in the poll, hit the comments, and speak your mind.

(Can’t see the poll? Reading this via the feed? Click here to visit the site to vote in the poll or leave a comment.)

Well, beginning May 3, 2010, OpenSkies, the British Airways subsidiary (formerly known as L’Avion) is expanding its two-cabin premium configuration to the Washington-Paris market.

OpenSkies offers lie-flat seats (“BizBed”) at the front of the plane, and old-style business-class/new-style premium-economy cradle seats (“BizSeat”) in the the rear of the plane.

To me, the significance of this is two-fold:

For starters, it shows that British Airways, which had reportedly been shopping the OpenSkies subsidiary to prospective buyers a few months ago, has recommitted to the brand. This should give customers a smidge of confidence that their OpenSkies bookings are less likely to be canceled anytime soon.

Second, it’s a sign that premium-cabin demand may be coming back. The five Washington-Paris flights per week aren’t being added at the expense of the 17 weekly existing Newark-Paris flights. And the airline’s routemap webpage claims that they “plan to operate non-stop flights from New York to additional Continental European cities including Brussels, Milan and Frankfurt.” We’ll see if the latter claims actually pan out, of course, but even adding a DC flight to the mix says that business travel is starting to pick up.

Fares on the new route are being pitched at $815 plus taxes each way for the “BizSeat” option, and $1570 plus taxes each way for the “BizBed.” Not rock-bottom cheap, to be sure, but far less than the cash fare for an equivalent seat — even on a discounted Z fare — on a major airline. And hey, you earn BA miles.

Upgraded: Consumer rights for “mistake” fares
As I’ve argued in the past, it’s sometimes impossible to know if a low fare is an error, or just a deal. (1 cent fares, anyone?) So I’m pleased to read that, in the U.S., the federal government is warning airlines that they’re (at least partially) on the hook for mistake fares. The DOT ruled: “We believe that all airlines should accept some responsibility for even the erroneous fares they publish.” Customers with canceled tickets must now be “made whole,” though this doesn’t mean that tickets will be honored. Still, a good move.

Downgraded: TSA’s mad redacting skillz
Seth, over at the Wandering Aramean has been digging through a document detailing the TSA’s standard operating procedures. The document was redacted, but Adobe Acrobat doesn’t delete the text hidden behind the black boxes. Oops. Now the TSA says the policies were never implemented, after all. (Then why were they posted, and redacted?) Seth has links to the original documents on his site.

Upgraded: Continental systemwide upgrades for top-level elites
In a further alignment of Continental OnePass with United MileagePlus, Continental is systemwide upgrades and a double-secret invitation-only ultra-elite level for high-spend elite frequent fliers.

Upgraded: United’s long-range aircraft… eventually
After slicing and dicing their fleet over the years, and recently killing off their 737s, it’s finally time for United to look at renewing their fleet. They’re ordering 25 Boeing 787s and 25 Airbus A350s, which will replace their 767s and 747s, respectively. …in 6 to 9 years.

Blame seasonality. Beyond the economic slowdown that’s killed premium-cabin traffic, there’s the seasonal slowdown, as business travel grinds to a halt near year-end. What this means for the leisure traveler is premium class deals in premium economy, business class, and first.

Most of the deals are to Europe. Very few deals target Asia. There are a handful of deals to Australia, too, but they’re not the best I’ve seen.

Sure, even the discounted premium seats will still cost you more than a coach seat. But there are some decent prices nonetheless.

Some examples:

Compare a roundtrip in coach from New York to Paris for $858, all-in, on American, with a $1415 fare for the same dates on OpenSkies, the British Airways subsidiary operating an all-premium configuration. (The quoted fare is for a cradle seat, which they call “BizSeat,” vs. their lie-flat “BizBed” product. It’s arguably a high-end premium economy seat, or a low-end business class seat.)

Or Continental’s BusinessFirst sale: Houston to London for $2087 all-in, vs. $1096 for the same flights in coach.

Or check out Lufthansa, which is running specials to a range of European destinations from each of the US cities where it has nonstop departures to Frankfurt or Munich. Cities that don’t see regular fare sales, like Charlotte, get a little love thrown their way, though it’s not quite as generous as the discounts New Yorkers get. (E.g., Charlotte to Amsterdam for $2278 all-in, vs. $1099 for the same flights in coach.)

These flights would cost thousands more at other times of the year.

But not all airlines are playing along. I test-drove Virgin Atlantic Upper Class fares, and I wasn’t impressed at all. Over $3000 for a flight from New York to London? That’s hardly a sale.

Bottom line: If you haven’t booked international travel around the holidays, don’t neglect to search for business class fares. You may find a deal.

Over at View from the Wing, the bottom line is clear:

With this offer you can buy 40,000 miles for $1030, get 80,000 miles in return, and fly business class from the US to Europe. Or if you and a friend each have 40,000 miles, you transfer to each other for $430 apiece, and you now both have 80,000 miles — enough for a business class Star Alliance partner award to Europe.

And don’t forget that US Airways doesn’t block Star Alliance partner flights like United does. This is a great deal, and a great way to book a complex ticket in business class at a low price.

Here’s part of the e-mail that went out last week:

In light of recent international developments, and following our acquisition by the prestigious British Airways, beginning April 4th, L’AVION will fully merge with and formally change its name to OpenSkies.

The premium service you received on board L’AVION is not only being preserved, but further enhanced, all while maintaining very attractive prices. OpenSkies will be a unique, all business class airline featuring 2 cabins of service. You will recognize the normal L’AVION Business Class, which will be called “Biz Seat”, as well as enjoy an entirely new product, “Biz Bed” featuring a 180° fully reclining flat bed available at prices that are still unbeatable! You can combine the rates for the two classes, too. This way, you could, for example, book an outgoing flight in “Biz Seat” and a return flight in “Biz Bed”.

You will also benefit from the “British Airways Executive Club” customer-loyalty frequent flyer program, allowing you to accumulate BA Miles that can be converted to complimentary flights or upgrades.

What’s odd here is the branding of the cabins. OpenSkies has already been operating a two-cabin aircraft (down from three cabins, when they ditched economy), which this will align. But OpenSkies labels their cradle seats “Prem+,” while the L’Avion planes will use the “biz” title, implying business class.

From various reports from the field, L’Avion’s product has been widely described as a better premium economy product. Which is fine. And which would align with OpenSkies’ terminology. So the fact that they’re becoming OpenSkies, while at the same time still calling themselves “biz,” is odd.

(There is no sign that OpenSkies is (yet) adopting the “biz” nomenclature, so somehow, the merged airline will still maintain two distinct cabin identities.)

This is what L’Avion’s seats – the “Biz Seats” – look like now:

In any case, for aficionados of the discounted premium class travel, it seems that BA is sticking with their OpenSkies sub-brand, and that L’Avion really is the sole survivor of the all-premium independent airlines (though admittedly it’s not independent anymore…).

Related:
- Booking flights on L’Avion just got less risky
- Inside L’Avion, part un: a good seat but a shortage of fluids and information
- Inside L’Avion, part deux: the airline that is betwixt and between

Upgraded: Job applications on Virgin Atlantic
The unnamed author of this complaint letter to Virgin Atlantic, who ranted against the food served on board his flight from Mumbai to Heathrow, has been offered a new job: food tester for Virgin. Call me biased, but I still like Robert P.’s letter to Midwest Airlines better. (“You have chunks in your beer.”) Hey Robert, get any job offers lately?

Upgraded: Air Canada’s forms and applications
Remember the requirement that overweight passengers on Canadian airlines need to get a doctor’s note in order to get a second seat at no additional fee? The form that doctors must fill out is priceless. It’s practically designed to make both doctor and patient uncomfortable and embarrassed. To wit:

Have your patient sit on a paper covered examination table. Rest a ruler or straightedge on the left side of patient at the widest point (hip or waist) as shown on diagram below.

Mark the touch point between the ruler and the paper as Point A. Rest a ruler or straightedge on the right side of patient at the widest point (hip or waist). Mark the touch point between the ruler and the paper as Point B. Measure the distance between Point A and Point B. Indicate this measurement above under d) Surface Measurement.

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Upgraded: Extended stay hotels, again
Hilton is adding a new chain to its lineup: Home2 will be a new extended-stay brand, with an intended price point around $100 a night (less than the existing Homewood Suites brand in the Hilton family). The development cost is estimated at $70-75,000 per room. Launch locations are in Alabaster, AL, Baltimore/White Marsh, Charlotte, Elko, NV, Gadsden, AL (Alabama, again!), Jacksonville, NC (not FL); New York City, and three locations in San Antonio.

Upgraded: Ease of investing in a money-losing industry
Warren Buffett once said, “…if a capitalist had been present at Kittyhawk back in the early 1900s, he should have shot Orville Wright. He would have saved his progeny money.” Well, the assume that ol’ Warren isn’t putting money into in the new exchange-traded fund that invests in airline stocks, including 30% in non-US airlines. The symbol for the Claymore/NYSE Arca Airlines ETF: FAA. How clever. But will the folks at Proshares come up with a double-short airline ETF?

Upgraded: The return of all-business class New York-London flights
Maxjet, Silverjet, and Eos may be gone, but British Airways is bringing twice-daily all-business class flights between London and New York back to the air. The twists: 1) The service is on the smallest plane yet to fly the route, an Airbus A318. Not ’19. Not ’20. Forget ’21. ’18. 2) Instead of Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, or Stansted, this flight will use the very centrally located London City Airport, which thusfar has only been used by regional jets to short-range destinations. 3) They’ll allow wireless text messaging and e-mail on board, but not phone calls. (hat tip Jared Blank)