[goodhop]: *American Airlines has done it’s best to mirror United’s “Travel Options” with it’s own “Your Choice” family of convenience offerings. For around $10 to $20 (USD) you’re awarded the following:

1. ) Early boarding, right behind American’s “Priority AAccess” customers (elite frequent fliers). The benefit here is early access to overhead space for  your carry-on.

2.)  The option to standby for an earlier flight for free. (The normal fee is now $50… although we do remember a time when this was just plain free).

3.)  $75 off of any changes you make to your reservation (normally around $150).

*We considered “badhop” for this option as “just another fee” from US Domestic carriers. But as fans of early boarding and hassle-free standby, we think it could be useful. Our only caution is to make sure that you might use 2 or more of the options listed before purchasing.

[badhop]: The new site zugo.co.uk gives you a way to search several sites at once for the best fares within Europe (including those of discounters easyjet and ryanair).  The only reason we aren’t impressed with is the inability to choose class of service. If you’re looking to fly from Manchester to Malaga on a dime and don’t care much about legroom or perks, this may be for you. If you’re looking to do it with a better shot at  comfort try opodo.com where you can search all classes including Premium Economy.

[goodhop]: Speaking of premium economy, we really like the sound of Italian carrier Alitalia’s new premium economy offering, dubbed “Classica Plus“.  The new seats are available aboard shiny new A330 aircraft and feature a generous 120 degree recline. Movie, TV and live news options are offered on your personal 10+ inch screen in addition to noise cancelling headphones. The first route to see this class of service is Milan Malpensa to Tokyo. Alitalia will add New York and Miami to the mix by September 2010. The airline is offering a generous mileage bonus for trying out the new service.

Airline: American Airlines
Aircraft:767-200 (Transcon)
Seat: 8H
Class: Business

The Seat:Compared with seats offered aboard legacy competitors like those in Delta’s new Business Elite and United’s P.S. business class products, American’s Flagship transcon in business class falls short by a few inches in regards to legroom and seat width, but unless you’re nearing 7 foot tall my guess is that you’ll hardly notice. Seat review websites like seatguru mention that this is one of very few rows in business that is correctly aligned with the window, so cloud-gazers will have to lean forward if seated in a different row. Seat controls are, shall we say: “old school”, using manual levers and lacking the multiple and sometimes confusing seat controls of more modern seats. Winged headrests make it easy to nap and recline is sufficient for short term snoozing. Duvets and full pillows are provided as well.

Service:Service from the flight attendants and gate agents was standard. Everyone was attentive and helpful but nothing extraordinary when considering this is business class.

Summary:While I would have preferred an updated seat with a few more recline and lumbar options, I was pleased overall. Decent food selection, inflight wi-fi and abundant entertainment options helped to make the flight very pleasant. With as little as I had to do to get the upgrade, I was impressed.

Rating:3.5 hops (of 5).