There's at least one upside to the economic downturn: Flying in style has never been a better value. Barbara S. Peterson reports on how airlines are bringing their most comfortable seats and pampering service within reach, and reveals how to snag a first-class ticket (complete with caviar) for a fraction of the going rate.

After spending millions to spruce up their first- and business-class cabins and add premium-economy seats to their planes, airlines are facing huge losses as recession-hit corporations around the world slash their travel budgets. In fact, the International Air Transport Association reports that premium-class bookings have dipped as much as 18 percent on some long-distance routes—nearly double the slump in air travel bookings overall. In December, premium-class traffic fell 13 percent worldwide. But the airlines bad timing is a boon to leisure travelers looking to fly in comfort: Carriers are now offering their premium-class seats at bargain-basement prices rather than see them go empty.

I was able to enjoy this largesse not long ago on a flight from New York to Amsterdam, lazing in a capacious leather business-class-style seat and dining on smoked salmon and beef bourguignon washed down with a vintage Château Margaux. After dinner, I drifted off to sleep, for once arriving in Europe without feeling I'd spent the prior eight hours on a rack. The fare for all of this cosseting was $1,100 round-trip, just $320 more than what I was quoted for a cramped seat in coach on another airline—and thousands less than a conventional business-class seat would have cost.

My flight from New York to Amsterdam was on OpenSkies, a new carrier launched by British Airways last June that may be the best airline you've never heard of. I was traveling in Prem Plus, a sort of amped-up premium-economy class that's more like business class than economy. Dale Moss, CEO of OpenSkies, describes the carrier as a "test kitchen" for the notion that a small start-up can offer upscale service at affordable fares. Of course, the company didn't know it would be testing its thesis during a global financial crisis, and plans to expand beyond the three cities it currently serves—New York, Amsterdam, and Paris—have been put on hold.

Meanwhile, even the majors are doing all they can to lure passengers into the front of the plane. At press time, British Airways was offering New York-London round-trip business-class fares for $1,800—a whopping 84 percent off the standard business-class fare. Experts say that we are not looking at a short-term fire sale: These bargains are here to stay as long as business travel remains soft.

"I've been in business 35 years, and I have never seen it so bad," says Al Thomas, a former airline executive who is now with Etravel bid.com, a Web site that sells discounted business-class travel. In February, United Airlines announced that it is reducing the size of its premium-class capacity by 20 percent, and other carriers have already cut flights significantly in response to decreased passenger demand. According to Thomas, the airlines are loath to reduce many more flights for fear of losing their slots at major hub airports when business bounces back. The result: They will continue to discount their most expensive seats as long as cash-strapped companies rein in business-travel spending. "We expect this situation to continue well into this year, perhaps even into next," says Simon Talling-Smith, British Airways' chief for North America.