"It's the bed," one businessman confided to me as we obediently removed our shoes on the way to the airport gate. "The food's still pretty crap, and I can live without the TV channels. But I must have the bed." How I envied him as I reclined my economy seat a full three inches and settled down for the long haul from Pittsburgh. The flight - on one of America's struggling carriers - was as poor as the airline.
Still, the business cabin was full, despite the rise in fares. An American Express study confirmed last month that business fares are expected to rise 4%-5% in 2003 as airlines try to recoup the cost of their loss-leading fares. (If it's any consolation, they predict hotel rates in the US will fall by 1%).
Assuming your company insists on economy - or you run the business yourself and keep costs as low as you can - your only hope is to get a frequent flyer card, dress smartly and pay the full economy fare. "The only way it happens, really, is if you're an executive card holder," says a spokeswoman for BA.
Your chances of securing a better seat depend on the class of card you hold. All applicants start with the Executive grade and move up to the Silver or Gold grades as they accumulate flights.
If your company has at least five employees who travel on business, it can join the On Business reward programme, but this is aimed at those who already buy Club World fares - the free upgrades on offer are to first class or Concorde.
Now that BA and Virgin Atlantic have created a "superior" economy cabin (World Traveller Plus on BA, Premium Economy on Virgin), the chances of getting an upgrade from cattle class are even more remote.
But if you can persuade the company to pay for a business class ticket on a long-haul flight, how can you keep the cost down? The first tip is to search for restrictive business fares rather than the open variety, which Travelocity lets you do. Another is to watch out for special offers and try to plan your travel accordingly. Flynow.com always has a page of competitive business fares (£1,975 to Melbourne and £1,569 to Perth were available at the time of writing).
The customary advice to be flexible about dates and times usually doesn't apply to business class tickets. Airlines know they can't shift seats by discounting them at certain times - so they don't. But you can still save a lot of money by changing planes at a European hub. A business return to San Francisco via Frankfurt in early December on Expedia was nearly £1,000 cheaper than a direct flight on Delta. Not a bad saving for four or five hours of extra journey time.
