Business Notes Airlines

In the frenzied battle for the business flyer, airlines are forever trying to outdo themselves. TWA and Pan Am, among others, arrange their seats four or six (instead of eight) across in what is called business class. This is nicer than coach but a little less plush than first class, which tends to cause jitters among the watchdogs who monitor corporate expense accounts. With all of that, could revamping of the seat itself be far, uh, behind? Now TWA has introduced its "Business Lounger," the airline's answer to one of the worst problems in the sky: flying fanny fatigue.

Wider and plusher than standard airline seats, TWA's lounger has a little padded footrest and reclines up to 40 degrees. Says its developer, TWA Industrial Designer Daniel Sauter: "It's a kind of mixture between a barber seat and a La-Z-Boy chair." The design redistributes weight to the legs and back, putting less of it on the buttocks. TWA expects that its lounger will keep it flying high in transatlantic business, where it now leads all other airlines. Says Jesse Liebman, a TWA vice president: "Passengers vote with their feet." With other parts of their anatomy too, the airline hopes.