Business travelers are flying coach

New York- Higher fares and a stumbling economy are taking a toll on airlines' premium-seat sections as more business travelers choose coach, a report said Monday.

The number of business-class tickets American Express sold on international flights totaled 49 percent in the second quarter, down from 51 percent in the same period in 2007, Herve Sedky, vice president of global advisory services at American Express Business Travel, said in the report.

American Express' quarterly AmEx Business Travel Monitor shows that 3 percent of tickets sold for travel within North America in the second quarter were first-class tickets, down from 4 percent last year, USA Today reported.

Many business travelers who paid the premium price for a first-class ticket on domestic flights in 2007 sought to save money this time around -- typically $400 to $800 – and go in coach.

International first-class tickets typically cost $5,000 to $7,000 round trip, while international business-class tickets cost $3,000 to $5,000, depending on the route and length of flight. Coach tickets on such routes typically cost $1,000 to $2,000, depending on flight length, and sometimes even less, Sedky says.

The trend likely will be felt sharply this fall.

"October," air travel price-tracker Bob Harrell at Harrell Associates told USA Today, "is the single biggest month of the year for business travel."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.