More fliers opting for premium economy

Hungry for new revenue streams, airlines are installing premium-economy seats for passengers who want to buy more legroom by trading up or save money by trading down from other cabin classes.

Several airlines, mostly foreign, have reconfigured their long-haul aircraft in recent months to offer seats that are 5 inches to 8 inches longer in pitch — the distance between the seatback to the seat behind — and about 1 inches to 4 inches wider than coach seats. Some airlines also provide better food, wine, noise-canceling headphones and priority boarding.

The fee to upgrade to premium economy can range from $30 to $2,000 per round-trip, depending on the distance and services. But seats are also hundreds or thousands of dollars cheaper than flying in business or first class.

For example, the cheapest economy base fare for a February New York-London flight on British Airways costs $170 round-trip, not including fees and taxes. A premium-class ticket is $619, while the cheapest business-class fare costs $2,178.

Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Virgin America, United and JetBlue are among about a dozen carriers that have installed, added or upgraded their premium-class seats in recent years.

Consumer demand is relatively robust, industry executives say, as business travelers increasingly cut down on first- or business-class trips that can cost more than $10,000. They're also targeted at wealthy leisure travelers who are paying on their own to upgrade from economy without using miles.

"Airlines are dealing with customers who aren't interested in paying for business class, (as) employers are asking employees to save money," says Matt Daimler, founder of SeatGuru.com, a site that advises consumers on airline seats.

JetBlue expects to generate about $40 million of revenue in 2008 by charging extra for several rows of seats in the front that have 5 more inches of legroom.

United says its sales of premium-economy seats — previously given away as a perk only to frequent fliers — have grown each year since the carrier started selling them to all passengers three years ago.

British Airways, a pioneer of the concept along with Virgin Atlantic, has its "World Traveler Plus" seats in all its long-haul jets, and is seeing sales continue to rise despite the travel downturn, says spokesman John Lampl.