More fliers pay up for premium seats

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2007 | by Barbara De Lollis

United and American airlines played catch-up last week when each announced plans to install business-class seats that recline into flat beds on their international planes.

Other international airlines have already done that to attract the growing number of international travelers who want big seats and attentive service on long flights -- and can afford to pay thousands of dollars for it.

More than 694,000 people in May bought business- or first-class tickets on major airlines between the USA and Europe, solidly beating the latest 12-month average of 606,432 and surpassing pre-9/11 levels by 11%, according to the International Air Transport Association's latest data. More than 4 million economy fliers crossed the Atlantic in May.

Demand for premium...