Business.
Travel.
Premium.
JoeSentMe Experts Talk Premium Travel
COMPLETE COVERAGE
COMPLETE COVERAGE
Falling Out of Bed
Raffio: La Compagnie
Should you fly the all-business-class La Compagnie from Newark to France or Italy? As long as the price is right.
Joe: Norse Atlantic Premium
Norse Atlantic Premium Class is not classic business class, but fares can be dirt cheap and it's quite comfortable.
Raffio: All About Neos Air
Neos Air, the small Italian carrier, is cheap, quite comfortable and stylish. But it has some notable quirks.
Joe: Beds Across the Pacific
Cheap business class seatbeds across the Pacific are rare. The Japan Airlines subsidiary Zipair offers them.
Joe: Beware Airline Caviar
When airline premium classes decline, the carriers roll out dollops of caviar to plaster holes in the service.
Meena: Finnair
Finnair's new business class seat does not lie flat. It may be travel heresy, but it's incredibly comfortable.
Joe: Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific business class is as fine as you will find. Beds are comfortable, meals are good and service is superb.
Allen: Air France
Sometimes an itinerary can be so long and wearying that even business class can’t make the journey tolerable.
One Class to Rule Them All
BusinessFirst, Continental's merger of the two front cabins, essentially jump-started modern business class.
Joe: BA's Calamity in C
British Airways invented the business class bed in 2000. Then it got greedy and stupid and fell out of bed.
Lampl: United v. Emirates
On flights to/from Bogota, I found the Emirates coach experience was better than United Airlines in first class.
Danto: SAS Without Perks
I ignored my United elite "perks" and booked SAS in premium economy to Oslo. The results were mixed.
Joe: One Night, One Flight
It was a remarkable one-off experience: A bad day is saved by an extraordinary flight on Finnair business class.
Secret Flights, Savvy Flyers
International carriers operate "fifth freedom" flights between the United States and third countries.
Joe: Progress by the Inch
If you fly coach, you'd be nuts not to fly on American. The prosaic More Room Throughout Coach is real progress.
Joe: Your MRTC Excuses
Why don't you book AA's More Room Throughout Coach? Your explanations sound like excuses to me.
Joe: The Flying Hell We Own
With its new MAX aircraft, American Airlines will reduce coach seat pitch by as many as seven inches per seat.
Joe: Ticket to Palookaville
The demise of Norwegian Air Shuttle is notable. Something serious has been lost for leisure and business flyers.
Joe: Norwegian Up Front
Sleek new aircraft with an extremely competitive near-business-class called Premium is worth trying for the price.
Raffio: The Long (Legs) View
Lots of legroom for the price. That's Norwegian Air's easy-to-understand, easy-to-buy Premium pitch.
Our Premium Class Archives
JoeSentMe columnists prefer flying in premium class because, who doesn't? But we're tough critics and demand value for money.
Barnett: JSX (fka JetSuiteX)
JSX believes small aircraft with just 30 passengers a flight is the right formula for better travel.
Will Went Backward
The airlines position premium economy as an upgrade from coach. But when he retired, Will stopped flying up front and moved to PE. Here's what he found.Singapore Airlines
To get halfway around the globe and back, my wife and I enjoyed tremendous value for money in Premium Economy.American Airlines to Asia
American Airlines hit it out of the park operationally on all four flights flying to Seoul/Incheon from DFW.American Airlines to Europe
American Airlines Premium Economy to London is quite roomy and comfortable. Light years better than coach.Cathay Pacific
A recent roundtrip in Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy cabin did not live up to its lofty first flying days.Delta Air Lines
Delta's Premium Economy is just okay. Better than flying economy for sure, but nothing to write home about.SAS Scandinavian
My flying experience began far below expectations, but by touchdown, the scrappy, polite SAS had won me over.United Airlines
United's premium economy seats are comfortable. It's the human element that makes it a sad, tiresome experience.Air New Zealand
Based on my personal criteria, I'd fly Air New Zealand’s Premium Economy over its Business Class.Changing of the Guard
The geography of commercial aircraft is changing. International first class? It is dying as business class becomes the best option. Premium Economy? It's now the "fourth" and in-between class. Read about the evolution below.First Among Equals
Lufthansa still maintains a robust first class and it created a separate terminal at Frankfurt for its top customers.Flying Fourth Class Now
The friendlier-than-international-coach skies of Premium Economy, the airline "fourth class," continues to grow.First Class' Classy Corpse
International first class is dying out, but airlines holding on to the concept have created some remarkable cabins.
Dead-Cat Bounce in First
Airlines retaining an international first class service now seem to have run out of creative ideas for up front cabins.We Can't Fly Alone
All-business-class carriers sound like a great idea. But they always fail--because we can't fly alone and be profitable for airlines. Here are some tales of failure.NyLon Niceties
The NyLon run--New York-London--is busy with business flyers. A clutch of carriers tried to make all-business work.The All-Business Boom
For a brief instant, even major carriers tried all-business-class flights. It was a golden age of flying, but it was illusion.The Next Small Thing
Just before the 2008 financial crisis, all-business-class flying seemed to make financial sense for us and airlines.The End Game Begins
The last of the all-business carriers on the New York-London route folds and the end of the concept isn't far behind.
A Tale of Several Cities
A group of British Airways executives returned to BA in 2007 and launched Open Skies, a unique take on low-fare, quality flying. Here's how it developed and, finally, failed.In the Beginning ...
Open Skies launches and its unique in-flight cabins cause havoc with by-the-book reservation computers.Miracle in the Middle
Open Skies' prem+ premium economy class offers fine in-flight food and an astonishing 52 inches of legroom.Practical Package
Open Skies wins fans with a compelling choice of three comfortable classes and fares that are a fraction of the going rates.The Guarantee Gambit
Open Skies pivots to all-business flights and offers a money-back guarantee. But it may be too little, too late.And in the End ...
In 2017, Open Skies closed. It was a sad chapter in the battle for better quality international flying at a reasonable fare.
External links at JoeSentMe are chosen strictly and solely for editorial value. We receive no payment, fee or consideration of any kind for linking to any site. Our site serves members. Period.