Fourth Class is Fourth Rate

Over at Portfolio.com Joe Brancatelli tells us there are some wonderful things about flying - inflight TV, Arab Carriers, power at your seat for plugging in your lap top and 'The Class With No Name' According to Mr B. "Every business traveller knows, at least approximately, what you get in first-, business- or coach-class cabins. However, more airlines are adding a fourth class to their international flights. This better-than-coach, not-as-good-as-business-class cabin doesn’t even have a name yet, let alone a set of standards."

He raves about this “fourth class” saying it "generally offers more legroom", exclusivity, and in-flight amenities that normal economy does not. And it only costs “a few hundred dollars more than the prevailing economy fare”. He suggests we should "Look for it when your boss or client won’t spring for business or first class."

Now all this proves that the class system so beloved of us Brits and admired from afar by Americans is alive an well and operating at 35,000 feet. The fact is that these seats are still purgatory personified. There is nothing better about flying in this part of the economy cabin other than a vague sense of "I look down on the poorer people who can't afford to sit where I'm sitting."