Companies bristle at the cost, but travelers finagle way in on long-haul Asia trips.

It used to be a given. Travelers flying for business would fly business class. Companies had contracts with the airlines that gave them deep discounts for bulk bookings, and all travelers had to do was watch their frequent-flyer points rack up and enjoy the champagne on takeoff.

Now, in the middle of a global economic crisis, business class is no longer a given, even on long-haul flights, noted Bill Connors, National Business Travel Association's executive director.

"In today's economy, travel managers are strengthening corporate travel policies to contain costs where they can," he said. "We've seen that some companies have altered premium-class policies by extending [time] minimums—limiting business class to longer flights." Even the long-haul flights that meetings participants expect their companies to ticket as business-class travel are not exempt.

So, with less business in the lucrative business-class sector, many airlines are having to make hard choices.

This month, Delta Air Lines announced, as of this September, it will reduce international flights by 10 percent. The airline is planning to cut its transatlantic capacity 11 to 13 percent, and transpacific flights 12 to 14 percent, by abandoning money-losing markets, using smaller planes on some routes, flying less to some cities, and completely eliminating year-round service on selected flights. American, Continental and United airlines have similarly discussed cutting international flights to balance loss of business.

And, in the wake of competition from newly merged carrier Lufthansa Italia and the very probable British Airways-Iberia entity, domestic carriers' strength in international markets will be further diminished.

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said the capacity cuts are a direct reaction to the loss of business-class dollars, and predicts airlines might reconfigure planes with fewer business-class seats and more economy-class seats on international flights.

Randy Lynch, president and founder of travNet Inc., a business and first-class service specializing in the Pacific Rim, also sees change on the horizon, but when it comes to Asia, he said business travelers are willing to do almost anything to stay out of coach.

"It's a long flight," explained Lynch. "I had some clients who went coach, came back, and said, 'Never again.' Business travelers will use their own frequent-flyer points rather than fly coach on these long-haul flights."

Lynch also points to new rock-bottom business-class pricing for Asia flights offered by United and American, which are competing with Asian carriers like Cathay Pacific, Eva Air, and Korean Air. In some cases, fares are as low as some unrestricted economy-class fares.

"United recently had a roundtrip business-class fare to Shanghai for $5,000," Lynch said. He also points to new amenities being added to make Asia routes more attractive in business class, such as United's new fully flat-bed seats, once only a first-class feature but now available on selected flights to Asia throughout its fleet.

"Another option meeting planners have is combination flights," Lynch added. "Travelers can combine domestic carriers with international carriers to take advantage of best fares," he said, besides using frequent-flyer miles and promotions. travNet also works with clients to upgrade economy-class tickets through its own certificates.

"Seventy-five percent of these people are working through the flight. It's not like they just want the luxury," he said of businesspeople who go to Asia. "They need the space and convenience business class provides, as well as the electronic hookups to do their work properly on the long-flights."

Concluded Lynch, "A lot of these travelers aren't kids anymore, they are older businesspeople. It's just too long a flight to travel in economy. Business class is a still fundamental tenet of travel to Asia."

Originally published March 23, 2009 This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy