Looking for a happy medium between coach’s sardine-can accommodations and first class’s hefty price on lengthy flights? Premium economy cabins, featuring cushier seats and more space to stretch your legs (and wallet), are emerging as a less extravagant, more comfortable option on a number of airlines (including jetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, and British Airways, to name a few). Still, said seats on many overseas flights can run upwards of five times the cost of a coach ticket, and transatlantic jaunts in particular see higher fares versus the standard economy class than do their Pacific counterparts. Read the rest of this post »

Following the huge net loss of airline companies in 2008, carriers around the globe are being forced to downsize or turn to increasingly creative and unlikely solutions in hopes of getting their numbers back into the black. The latest of these dubious measures is targeted towards their employees, with British Airways’ sounding a call earlier this week for workers to volunteer up to four weeks of unpaid labor in the name of salvaging company finances. US Airways is also looking for volunteers, 400 in total, to give up their livelihood for up to 16 months as a result of severe overstaffing. Do you think this is an acceptable way for airline companies to cut corners?