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Philosophical wordplay or dadaist corporate speak? JetBlue claims it’s not creating a first or business class cabin on its planes. But it does plan to “offer passengers in the first few rows and emergency exit seats of its larger aircraft additional space for an added fee.”

Hmm. Additional space. Higher price. And yet: “We’re not going to a two-cabin airplane,” CEO David Barger says.

Oh, right. You’re missing the free cocktail. Fine, don’t call it first class, then. Call it premium economy.

Or maybe it’s not two “cabins,” because a carpeted bulkhead divider won’t be introduced.

Or maybe they’re not “going” to a two-cabin airplane because they’re already there, with expensive tickets already getting access to seats with more legroom.

Ooh, Barger, you cunning wordsmith, you’re good! Or is it “bad”?

Related:
- JetBlue increases legroom, creates de facto premium section
- JetBlue introduces premium economy cabin after all
- Wilkommen! Bienvenue! JetBlue to go Euro-style with a first class cabin?
- How do you search for premium economy fares?
- Demystifying premium economy

Reader Anton asks:

How do you search for Premium Economy fares? Many airlines (trans-Atl, trans-Pac) have them but NONE of the travel sites/search engines allow you to look for them?!

You’re absolutely right, Anton: You’ll be hard-pressed to find a website that let’s you search for premium economy fares in a way that compares apples to apples.

“True” premium economy is typically a separate mini-cabin on long-haul international flights, and compared to regular economy, it usually offers some combination of wider seats, more legroom, more recline, and better food and drink. Better than coach, but not quite business class. As Dave Demerjian noted in his recent roundup of premium economy options in Business Traveler magazine, some airlines also let premium economy customers check in with the (shorter) business class lines at the airport.

Airlines that feature true premium economy include Air New Zealand, ANA, British Airways, EVA, JAL, SAS, Singapore (ultra long-haul flights like Newark to Singapore only), Thai, Virgin Atlantic. (Acronymic airline names apparently increase the likelihood of a premium economy cabin!)

While that list is not authoritative, there’s one glaring (and intentional) omission: United’s Economy Plus. Economy Plus, at the front of United’s cabin, only offers extra legroom, but none of the other features or services typically associated with premium economy.

Fares for true premium economy can vary widely, but they are rarely cheap, making a search engine for these fares especially desirable. When there’s a sale, fares might be a tiny smidge above regular economy, and thus a great deal. Or, they could run above full-fare economy rates, which is muscling into business class fare levels. At that point, you’re overpaying.

So far, there hasn’t been an aggregator or online travel agency that has created a tool that searches for premium economy fares. And travelers — and, I’d argue, airlines too — have lost out.
UPDATE: Reader Brian in comments notes that Expedia’s UK site does let you narrow your searches to premium economy. But you may run into trouble if you need to book a connection (in regular economy) to the long-haul flight in premium economy. But it’s a start!

So why is it so hard to find these fares? Each airline has a proprietary economy fare basis code for premium economy. And because that code is in the economy fare-class universe, search engines can’t parse it out from regular back-of-the-bus economy class tickets in fare searches.

So you’re left hunting and pecking, browsing over to each individual airline’s website and check the prices. Or doing the same thing by phone. Perhaps you could find a travel agent, too. But honestly, there’s got to be a way to solve this problem. FareCompare? Kayak? I’m looking at you guys!

Related:
- Demystifying premium economy
- Space by Space Basis (Business Traveler Magazine)

eBay auction: Fly the A380 in its commercial debut
If you want to fly on the A380’s maiden commercial voyage with Singapore Airlines, and not just admire Lego miniature models (above), then eBay might have your ticket. Coming soon, a charity auction of tickets on the inaugural flight, with proceeds going to Community Chest of Singapore and Doctors Without Borders. When can you start bidding? That depends on Airbus: “The auction will take place a few weeks before the flight. SIA said that it would announce the launch date once it had a delivery date from Airbus for the plane.”

Westjet: No paper required
Canadian airline Westjet is eliminating the need for printouts of e-tickets. A copy of your ticket on your laptop or smartphone will do the trick. Might not work on US-Canada flights — the ID checker at American airports would likely still try to scrawl their initials on your LCD screen. (via TheAirlineHub)

Drunken pilots? So 1990s. But drunken astronauts?
“At least twice, astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so drunk they posed a flight-safety risk.” Be glad Virgin Galactic hasn’t launched.

Eos opens new lounge at Stansted
All-business Eos Airlines escalates the trans-Atlantic wars with a new lounge at London-Stansted.

Qantas introduces premium economy
Wider seats (19.5″), more legroom, legrests, better menu, laptop power, noise-canceling headsets, and a separate check-in line. If flying to Australia, and if you feel like paying about twice the price of coach (but half the price of business), then Qantas premium economy may be the ticket. Coming February 2008 on their Airbus A380s and Boeing 747s.

Time-waster: Statris!
Test your USA geography and your motor reflexes with Tetris-esque geo-fun! (via BoingBoing)

Reader Jeanette writes:

I am traveling to Europe this summer (June 2007) and I wish to travel in comfort without a great expense. I read that British Airways has a something between economy and business. How do I know which airlines have comfortably wide seats and room for long legs?

If you’re interested in wider seats, extra legroom, better recline, and potentially better food and drink on your trip to Europe, you might consider looking for so-called premium economy sections. They’re offered by British Airways (they call it “World Traveller Plus”), Virgin Atlantic, and SAS (”Economy Extra”).

Separately, bmi and United offer a section of the cabin with extra legroom, but no wider seats. Bmi offers improved catering in their version of premium economy, while United doesn’t. Zoom, a discount airline that recently started a New York-London route, also has an improved legroom offering to consider.

Premium economy is never as nice as the business class cabin — especially if a lie-flat sleeper seat is an option — but it’s nicer than regular coach. About an inch more width, 6 inches more legroom or so.

But don’t expect this to be a cheap ticket. I checked arbitrary dates in June for BA flights from Chicago to London, and found the lowest one-way base fare $466 in economy, $816 in premium economy. Still less than BA’s business class, but at that price, consider flying one of the all-business class airlines like Maxjet, Silverjet, or L’Avion.

The challenge is actually finding and booking these tickets. Since the major online travel agencies don’t sell premium economy (they sell only economy, business, and first) you’ll have to check fares at each airline’s own website. Even then, they don’t always make it easy. If you can’t find the premium economy option online, you may need to pick up the phone.

Alternatively, take your chances and ask for an upgrade from regular economy to premium economy at check-in. No guarantee, of course. You’ll likely pay for the privilege, but it could cost less than pre-reserving a seat. (See here for info on paid upgrades.)

Related:
- Virgin Atlantic (aff)

Remember when jetBlue announced it would take out a row of seats, primarily to save on labor costs, but simultaneously adding a few inches of legroom? I noted at the time that the front of the plane was getting the bulk of the benefit. More room than the back, plus easier boarding and exiting (at least at airports where the airline didn’t use the air-stairs.)

I predicted then that jetBlue would “eventually start charging a premium for the seats in rows 1 through 11.”

Looks like my prediction was right:

JetBlue is working on a plan to reserve some of it roomiest seats for higher-paying passengers after it completes the reconfiguration of all of its A320 aircraft next month.
[…]
[CEO David] Neeleman said JetBlue management is convinced some of the public’s highest-paying travelers don’t fly JetBlue today because it doesn’t provide a first class section or a way to get the better seats at the last minute. Neeleman said the airline is working on a program to make up for that.

“To the extent we hold out a few of the 36-inch seats for the highest-paying customers, that’s probably the smart thing to do,” he said. But Neeleman added, with 34 inches of pitch for the rest of the seats, he’s not worried other customers will feel short-changed.

It may not be a full-fledged first class cabin, but the front of the plane is now effectively premium economy. You can’t pre-reserve seats there on a cheapo ticket. Unlike United’s Economy Plus, which is reserved for United elites until the day of the flight, jetBlue’s system doesn’t rely on status.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but face it, the days of egalitarianism at jetBlue are over. JetBlue is becoming a more “normal” airline every day.

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