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It's a mug's game trying to guess what business travel will look like in a decade. Who knows – maybe we will finally get those silver lamé bodysuits we were all promised by Buck Rogers. But it's a safer bet that within five years it's going to be all about a new class of travel that's a little more comfortable than economy, and a lot less expensive than business.

The recession taught many businesses hard lessons. The travel industry learned just how much corporate travel can be defined as “discretionary” when times get tough. And corporate travellers found out that the often-huge discrepancies between economy and business class fares aren't always worth it.

But flying in a cramped coach seat with no elbow room? That's not what anyone got into the travelling professions for. Which is where the new “premium economy” comes in, just as business class interposed itself between the first and economy classes back in the early 1980s, pioneered by Qantas, with Air New Zealand as its earliest adopter. And as ANZ showed last week with its announcement of Skycouch and Spaceseats – which allow passengers a measure of extra space and flexibility – there's room for airlines to manoeuvre back there in the cheap seats.

Being a small fleet that caters almost exclusively to long-haul clientele has made ANZ innovative by necessity. In addition to the new seats, it will modify its in-flight entertainment systems to enable travellers to order meals and drinks from their seats. And it has already instituted a radio frequency ID chip check-in system for domestic flights (a tiny chip you can stick to the back of your phone), allowing passengers to check themselves and their bags in. According to ANZ's North American vice-president Roger Poulton, it's one step on the way to “people-less airports,” with staffing levels closer to bus stations than Fort Knox.

For ANZ, premium economy, which it's had a more regular-seated version of for about five years now, is not so much about accommodating business-class clients who want to downgrade as it is trying to lure economy passengers upward. This makes sense, since its two most popular routes keep passengers in their seats for 14 and 24 hours respectively. But airlines with less remote home bases are interested, too. Ed Sims, general manager for ANZ's international operations, says that within two days of the announcement they got four inquiries about the new designs from “significant” airlines.

The Skycouches, which ANZ devised in tandem with California design firm IDEO, will be part of ANZ's economy class come December. The Skycouch is a row of seats that reclines into a single couch-like chair, not quite a bed, but much roomier than an economy seat. This will provide space not only for elbows and shoulders, but laptops, papers, briefcases or architectural plans. Two people travelling together can chip in to pay for the third seat, which ANZ will be offering at half-price. Unless you're a very close business-travelling couple, you may find the setup a little too cozy.

If you're not into cuddling with your fellow business traveller, the company's new premium economy seats have leather buffers for every set of two seats, each of which is on a swivel. The buffer, which Sims likens to the hand rest between passenger and driver in a car, can be used as a leg rest (once again, only recommended if you're one of those close travelling duos, since the leg-rester's feet would be on the other passenger's lap) and, more practically, it also transforms into a table, allowing the two passengers to face each other for a meal or meeting.

So when will these innovations reach Canadian skies? Though Air Canada has no premium economy per se, it recently refurbished its entire fleet with new seats and back-of-seat entertainment systems, and is keeping an eye on the competition.

Porter Airlines, the Toronto-based regional airline that flies as far south as New York and as far east as St. John's, got in on premium economy early. Though it prefers to brand itself as business class without business prices, its model – lounges with free coffee, drinks and snacks, and pillbox hats for the stewardesses – indicates a firm grasp on the space between economy and business, with a clear focus on business travellers.

Porter spokesman Brad Cicero says the whole industry has been looking seriously at the prospects of premium economy.

“It's driven by the fact that people were having trouble filling the front of the plane,” he says.

It took almost a decade for business class to spread from Qantas and ANZ to the rest of the world. With ANZ's big lounge forward, it probably won't be that long before this sort of service comes to a plane near you.
Special to The Globe and Mail

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