In the heady days of corporate travel, employees who had to take long flights, particularly overseas, could get their employers to spring for more comfy business-class seats.
They're expensive, but companies figured it was better than losing a big contract or hurting a relationship because their employees weren't attentive after a restless flight squished in coach.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 31 words Type of Material: Correction
Business travel: An article in Business on Saturday about companies scaling back on business-class flights misspelled the name of Rob Greyber, president of Expedia Inc.'s Egencia travel management unit, as Greybar.
But now during perhaps the worst downturn since the Great Depression, companies are curtailing or altogether eliminating business-class travel, sending many employees from the front of the cabin to the back of the plane.
And according to some travel experts, there's probably no going back, even if the economy recovers.
"We're looking at a permanent makeover," said Joe Brancatelli, editor of business travel website JoeSentMe.com
He contends that every recession in the last generation has changed the nature of business travel for the worse. Indeed, with fewer companies willing to pay the much higher business-class fares, airlines are reconfiguring their planes to have fewer premium seats, slashing flights and operating fewer nonstops.
"When the economy turned back up, fewer business travelers were still standing, fewer airlines were still flying and the entire experience of living life on the road was harder, nastier, less fulfilling and more expensive," Brancatelli said. "I don't think this recession . . . will be much different."
Falling demand isn't all bad
Falling demand is opening up business-class seats that are also cheaper than they've been in a while.
In March, the number of international first- and business-class passengers fell by nearly 20%, continuing a downward spiral that began early last year, according to the International Air Transport Assn.
"We have not yet reached a floor to the fall in air travel," said Seven Lott, spokesman for the airline trade group.
Revenue from premium fares slid even more -- down 35% to 40% -- as airlines offered deep discounts to fill seats that otherwise would have remained empty.
As a result, some business-class fares have slumped 70%, and in some cases, the fares match walk-up, fully refundable coach fares. It's allowing some employees to stay in the front of the cabin.
Even when corporate policy restricts it, some savvy employees are booking "Y" class coach fares -- the fully refundable and fully changeable tickets -- and getting upgraded to business class.
